It’s probably no surprise that the Royale features here. But which of the six 12.7-litre, eight-cylinder masterpieces is the most important of all?

It’s difficult. Each was designed and built by a different coachbuilder, and none could be said to be an unsuccessful interpretation. Chassis 41111 is the elegant Coupé de Ville by Binder, which is thought to have attracted the highest price paid for a Royale. In the late 1990s the Volkswagen Group bought it for an undisclosed sum, thought to have been more than million. This is even higher than the Kellner-built Coupé, chassis 41141, that famously sold for .7 million in 1987. But the Royale Cabrio by Ludwig Weinberger, 41121, is the only fully convertible cabriolet, and for this is arguably the most valuable. Owner Charles Cheyne donated it to the Henry Ford Museum, where it is still exhibited.

NEXT: No. 4 - Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost AX201