Rolls-Royce – Phantom III (1938)

The Rolls-Royce Phantom III was the marque’s flagship from 1936 to 1939 and was the only Rolls-Royce to be fitted with a 12-cylinder engine until the Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph came along in 1998. The V12 engine powering the Phantom III had a displacement of 7.3 litres and reached a top speed of 140 km/h (87 mph). As was customary until after the Second World War, bodies were built individually to customer specifications by independent coachbuilders. This luxurious car was ordered in late December 1937 by Colonel William Parkinson, Chairman of Blackpool Football Club, who had already owned a Phantom I in the past. The new chassis was to receive a two-door, coupé body modelled by Hooper & Co. Coachbuilders Ltd. The chassis was delivered in February 1938 and underwent its final test at Hooper’s on 30th March 1938. This is the only two-door body styled by Hooper for a Phantom III.

In those days, it was a rarity for the top-of-the-line Phantom chassis to receive anything other than four-door saloon coachwork. The majority of bodies produced by Hooper, Mulliner or Park Ward were examples of rather formalistic conventional coachwork. This unique and elegant one-off fixed head coupé body reveals subtle hints of streamlining and influences of Art Deco fashion. The sloping roof is a design feature that could not have been accommodated by most chauffeur-driven larger cars. A special feature is the Rolls-Royce Hydraulic Jacking System that facilitated a convenient wheel change. A total of around 727 chassis were built in Derby for the Phantom III. This was the last of the true great pre-war Rolls-Royces from the golden era of coachbuilding.