1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom II 40/50hp Sedanca de Ville Coachwork by Barker Chassis no. 171GN Engine no. BH85

BH85 Launched in 1929, unlike its predecessor which inherited its underpinnings from the Silver Ghost, the Phantom II employed an entirely new chassis, semi-elliptic rear springs replacing the cantilever springing of the Ghost and Phantom I. The new low-slung frame, with its radiator set well back, enabled coachbuilders to clothe the new car in the modern idiom, creating sleeker designs than the more upright ones in the past. The six-cylinder 7,668cc engine was built in-unit with the clutch and gearbox, and although similar in dimensions to that of the Phantom I engine, it came in for extensive revision, the combustion chambers re-designed, the cylinder head now of the cross-flow type, with improvements made to the manifolds, performance being greatly enhanced.

Road-tested in 1929, a short-wheelbase Phantom II recorded a maximum speed "well over 80 mph (130 km/hr)", that well-known ‘purveyor of horseless carriages to the nobility and gentry’, Bunty Scott-Moncrieff later declaring the Phantom II to be a "magic carpet, wafting you silently". Barker, old established coachbuilders, had shown an example of their work to the Hon C. S.

Rolls as early as 1905; so impressed was he that this coachbuilder was viewed as the ‘official coachbuilder’ to Rolls-Royce for the next twenty-five years, this Sedanca de Ville being one such example of Barker’s work. ‘The Duchess’ has been part of family life for a local couple for nearly 40 years, using it on their wedding day, the vendor, a retired motor engineer, formerly of the well-known Rolls-Royce and Bentley specialists, The Jack O’Lantern Garage near Romsey, Hants. With new leather to front and grey West of England cloth to rear some years ago, this fine car, formerly in black, was resprayed in the 1970s, and continues to offer stately transport.

By coincidence, we are also aware of a former owner of this car, also a qualified engineer, also formerly of the Jack O’Lantern Garage, the car being in sympathetic ownership since the 1950s. Understood to be a two-owner car for nearly 50 years therefore, in cream with blue, this vintage Phantom II must surely be one of the few remaining untouched examples left, and comes with Swansea V5, road licence and new MoT.