Born: 1925 Died: 1939
If some versions of the pre-second World War Rolls-Royce Phantom look familiar, it is probably because you are a film and TV buff who either remembers or has a penchant for the moving picture entertainment of the James Bond-type. A 1927 Phantom I, for instance, was one of the cars used by the eccentric and so very British TV spy/sleuth John Steed in the iconic The Avengers TV series, while the slightly notorious transportation of the evil Auric Goldfinger in the James Bond film of the same surname was a 1937 Phantom III.
The Goldfinger car was supposed to have solid gold trim and fittings, Goldfinger's method of smuggling the stuff through by the eagle eyes of HM Customs. And then there was also the 1964 film, The Yellow Rolls Royce, a comedy of manners in which a Phantom II's life through a number of different owners and the second World War is the link.
But the original Phantom of 1925 was true to Henry Royce's motto of "buying the best available, or, if the best doesn't exist, invent it". The replacement for the car which he himself had claimed to be the Best Car in the World, the Silver Ghost, the first generation Phantom was a large and imposing vehicle in whichever expensive bodywork the 150.5-inch chassis carried. The engine was a brand-new six-cylinder unit, inline and long-stroke, with detachable cylinder heads. The capacity was 7.7 litres, and the power output was only given as "sufficient" by the maker, in a break with the more transparent tradition of its Ghost cars and establishing a practice which it was to continue for ever more.
Depending on where it was built - in Derby in England or Massachusetts in the US -- the Phantom came with four-speed or three-speed gearboxes. Not that it mattered: the available torque allowed the car to accelerate smoothly from walking speed to its top speed in top gear. After three years, the cast-iron cylinder heads were changed to lighter aluminium ones.
With more than 3,500 produced, some 1,200 in the US, the Phantom was a very successful model for the company. But in 1929, the "New Phantom" that was to become the Phantom II came along. The engine was the same, but now had an integrated four-speed gearbox with synchromesh on the top two. There were changes to the rear suspension too, which allowed the mounting of lower bodies, as well as a number of lighter "Continental" sporty variants. Many of the Continentals had rear-mounted spare wheels, a suggestion from the chassis/engine provider to the coachbuilders, to improve weight distribution. In all, some 1,680 Phantom IIs were produced up to 1936, when the last pre-war version was rolled out.
The Phantom III was a very significant change from its two predecessors, having a V12 engine made entirely of aluminium apart from cast-iron cylinder liners, and considered very state-of-the-art. In capacity the engine was smaller than the in-line sixes, at 7.3 litres. It again utilised a four-speed gearbox which had, during the life of the previous car, gained synchromesh on its second cog. In 1938, the further transmission refinement of an overdrive was added. Because the engine format was shorter than the six, there was more room available for occupants, and the coachbuilding reflected this.
The Phantom III was also distinguished from its earlier incarnations by having a General Motors-inspired independent suspension at the front. Not having as long a life as its predecessors, because of the outbreak of war, just 727 Phantom IIIs were built. After the war, the Phantom name was revived for a series of exclusive models through the 1970s and 1980s, the most visible of which were the preferred cars of the British monarch. After a further hiatus, the name has recently been revived again.
- BRIAN BYRNE