A classic Rolls-Royce Phantom I, which was gifted to film star Marlene Dietrich in 1930 on her arrival in Hollywood, is being put up for sale after its most recent owner passed away.

The lovingly restored vintage vehicle was one of the most expensive automobiles in the world when it was originally built and on today's market it is anticipated to make upwards of $550,000 when it is sold at auction next year.

Paramount Studios director, Josef von Sternberg, presented Dietrich with the luxurious motor as a present when she made the jump to the US during Hollywood's Golden Age.

It spent years in private ownership, eventually ending up with a collector of classic cars who spent a large sum of money completely renovating it, from the engine upwards.

The work was completed before he died, but now his estate is auctioning off this car which is steeped in the mystique and magic of the movies.

It has a 7.7 litre engine which delivers around 50bhp and it was actually modified to have a drop-top roof by Paramount Studios, in order to make it all the more stylish and unique, so it is a truly special vehicle.

*Car pictured is not the car in question, rather it is another Rolls-Royce Phantom I.