1910 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost balloon car roadster

https://i.wheelsage.org/pictures/rolls_royce/silver_ghost/autowp.ru_rolls-royce_silver_ghost_balloon_car_roadster_1.jpg

The soft and flexible rear fenders were made of patent leather, so that there would be no damage when the balloon basket was loaded and unloaded.

http://frankdale.com/images/gallery/5-1910ghostsideangled.jpg
http://newatlas.com/a-tale-of-two-auctions/39596/#p366381

http://www.wakuimuseum.com/home/garage/1909fd-RRSilverGhostBalloonCarRoadster.html

Charles Rolls was of course a motoring pioneer by profession, but it could be argued that his true passion lay in aviation. He was a great friend of Wright Brothers and entertained them during their visit to Britain in 1909, making the first fixed wing return flight over the English Channel in one of the Wright’s planes in 1910.

Prior to this Rolls took great pleasure in balloon racing, taking part initially in a race in 1906 in Massachusetts and completing in excess of 100 balloon flights in the following four years.

 For his balloon expeditions, Rolls had a Silver Ghost roadster created by H.J. Mulliner, capable of carrying the basket of his balloon. The long platform behind the seats left ample room for the car to be loaded at the conclusion of a flight.

 A limited number of replicas of the original balloon car Rolls had built have been constructed over the years, to varying degrees of accuracy.