The first owner of the car was the director of the Russo-Chinese Bank of St. Petersburg, Major-General Davidoff. During the October Revolution, the car found its way over to Finland, but nobody knows how. Banker Davidoff is suspected to have entered Finland passing by Terijoki. He may have left his car here and continued his journey west. During the combats in Lahti in spring 1918, the car became war booty of the Whites, after which it ended up in Helsinki and was given over to the use of the Supreme Commander of the German troops in the country, General Rüdiger von der Goltz.

In the autumn of 1918, the Rolls-Royce was transferred to the Car Contingent under the General Staff. It became the personal official car of the Regent of Finland, General Gustaf Mannerheim. Since 1919, the Rolls-Royce served in the Car Battalion as the most senior officers’ official car. The car served in the Defence Forces until 1932 when it was deregistered and handed over to the Military Museum’s collection as the first Defence Forces vehicle preserved as an artefact. The car lay around in a warehouse for almost 30 years and got in a bad shape, until it was restored at the Vehicle Depot in Tampere in 1960-1962.