The Ultimate RR Snow Cat

[Lyndon]

Rolls Royce built a Silver Ghost or Phantom I for Lenin around 1925. It was a convertable in the summer, and had Tracks, Skiis parallel to the front wheels that allowed it to be driven on snowy roads, and a winterized convertable top. Some famous painter like Renoir or Dega did a painting of it that is in various art museums. It's Summer, it has the top down and there are a bunch of kids riding in it with Lenin himself at the wheel. There is also an actual photo of this that I believe the painting was made from. I've seen both and read about it in various Rolls Royce books. The car has been in a Museum in Moscow for many years. It was the only one they built, and boy is it a beauty! I'll start looking for Pictures, but if anyone comes across the picture of the car, picture of the car with the kids and driver, or a picture of the painting, the three would make a nice post. They built P1's ( Phantom Ones's) from about 1924 to 1935 and almost exactly as many as ST4's ( about 2300). They sported a 7.6 liter motor that had dual ignition, 2 coils, 2 distributors, 2 plugs per cylender and a central chassis lubrication system, and they ran forever. This was truely the ultimate snow machine.

[Snowcat Operations]

That would be one nice ride!

[Lyndon]

OK I've found a picture of it in the Museum. It's not the best picture of it I've ever seen but it's a place to start. I will attempt to attach it but my guess is that I don't have it compressed enough. I''ve already tried sending a copy to Bob S, maybe he will have better success.


Edit by Bob: Here is the page that Lyndon sent me. . . the photo on the bottom of the page is the RR snow cat.

[OkeeDon]

Here (http://www.tin-soldier.com/sg/rrw.htm) you go.

http://www.tin-soldier.com/lenin2.jpeg

[OkeeDon]

How about...

http://www.prewarbuick.com/110e1b640.jpg
"This is an Alpine Eagle conversion for Russian winter roads, said to have been made especially for one Mr. Lenin back in the early '20s. The base vehicle [can you really use that term for a Rolls?] was confiscated from some member of the Russian nobility and equipped with the so-called 'Kregresse drive' -- a hang-on device converting any car to a halftrack 'Kegresse audosledge'. (Adolphe Kegresse, born French, lived in Russia and served as a consulting engineer to one of our former imperial departments. He was the very man behind the later Citroen half-track lories upon returning to his native France [see next pic below].) The car still exists and is kept in one of the still-numerous Lenin museums. RR Silver Ghost was a very popular vehicle amid the motorized Russian nobility, being a well-built and tough chariot, quite capable of withstanding our awful running conditions -- even in winter. The Czar himself had a limo on this chassis. By the way, the original Alpine Eagle tourer was a 1914 model."
(From http://www.prewarbuick.com/features.htm)

Also from the same site:
Here's the Citroen referred to above:

http://www.prewarbuick.com/123a182c0.jpg