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| Chassis No. | ||
| 4JS | ||
| Estimate: | ||
| $160,000-$180,000 US | ||
| AUCTION DATE: | ||
| To be auctioned on Friday, October 9, 2009 |
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| 7,668 cc overhead-valve six-cylinder engine, four-speed manual transmission, front and rear semi-elliptic leaf springs and power assisted four-wheel drum brakes. Wheelbase: 150" Rolls-Royce’s “single model” policy had proved an outstanding success for the company, but immediately after the end of the Great War, the recession in the motor trade prompted the introduction of a smaller, cheaper 20 hp car to be built alongside the existing 40/50hp Silver Ghost. Henry Royce’s new design incorporated a number of modern features such as overhead valve-gear for its six-cylinder engine, a centre-change gearbox and “Hotchkiss drive” rear axle, and the advanced newcomer’s arrival only served to emphasize the Silver Ghost’s Edwardian origins. However, the 40/50hp model would soon benefit from developments pioneered on its smaller sibling. Introduced in 1925, the New Phantom (retrospectively known as the Phantom I) boasted an entirely new overhead-valve six-cylinder engine displacing 7,668 cc and, like the contemporary 20 hp model, adopted a disc-type clutch and adjustable radiator shutters. Its chassis, though, remained essentially the same as that of the later four-wheel-braked Silver Ghost, and would continue fundamentally unchanged until the arrival of the Phantom II brought with it an entirely new frame. Reputedly the last model that Henry Royce designed himself, the Phantom II was announced in September 1929 with deliveries commencing immediately. Unlike its predecessor, which inherited its underpinnings from the preceding 40/50hp model, the Silver Ghost, the Phantom II employed an entirely new chassis laid out along the lines of that of the smaller 20 hp Rolls-Royce. Built in two wheelbase lengths - 144" and 150" - this new low-slung frame, with its radiator set well back, enabled coachbuilders to body the car in the modern idiom, creating sleeker designs than the upright ones of the past. The engine too had come in for extensive revision. The PI’s cylinder dimensions and basic layout - two blocks of three cylinders, with an aluminium cylinder head common to both blocks - were retained, but the combustion chambers had been redesigned, and the head was now of the cross-flow type, with inlet and exhaust manifolds on opposite sides. The magneto/coil dual ignition system remained the same as on the PI. The result of these engine changes was greatly enhanced performance, particularly of the Continental model, and the ability to accommodate weightier coachwork. Highly favoured by prominent coachbuilders, the Phantom II chassis provided the platform for some of the truly outstanding designs of its day, and this example wears imposing sedanca de ville coachwork by the respected London-based firm of Thrupp & Maberly, a concern noted for a succession of coachbuilding innovations during the 1920s and 1930s. Lawrence Dalton’s definitive work, Rolls-Royce - The Derby Phantoms, lists PII chassis number 4JS as completed in November 1931 and sold to first owner Sir Ronald Gunter – English Baronet, privateer “Bentley Boy” and Lagonda works driver at Le Mans in 1934. One of only six built in this particular style, this rare motor car has been the subject of a full restoration carried out by John Sanders Antique Auto, of Rockport, IL, which was completed in the spring of 2007. This lovely motor car is suitable for touring in the grand manner and any number of prestigious events including, of course, Rolls-Royce Owners’ Club meetings. |
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