1925 - 1935 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Jonckheere Coupe - Images, Specifications and Information

Model history:

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The motor car may have been invented by German engineers, but it took two Brits to refine the concept; Charles Rolls and Henry Royce. With the Silver Ghost, introduced in 1907, Rolls Royce had set new standards in build quality and reliability. The British manufacturer has never been known for their innovations, yet has excelled in perfecting well proven principles.

For over 15 years, the '40/50' Silver Ghost was the only model on offer, at a time where many of the competitors offered multiple of models and types. In 1922 it was joined by the Twenty, which was aimed at a slightly wider market. From 1921 onwards, the North American customers were served more directly by a new factory in Springfield, Massachusetts. The 'Springfield' Silver Ghosts were intended to be identical to the British built cars, but after a few cars were built, changes were carried through to comply with the North American's needs.

Competition from rivals like Hispano Suiza and Isotta Fraschini had grown considerably. In 1922 work was started on a larger, more powerful model to replace the Silver Ghost, which had served the British company so well for nearly two decades. Delayed several years because of other pre-occupations, the new Rolls-Royce was introduced to the public in May of 1925. First known as the '40/50 New Phantom', this model is now commonly referred to as Phantom I.

Much of the development concentrated on the new straight six. In many ways this was a larger version of the 'Twenty' six cylinder engine introduced in 1922. Cast into two banks of three cylinders, the new engine was only slightly larger than the Ghost's but performance was considerably improved by adaption of overhead valves. The first Phantoms featured cast-iron heads, which were later replaced by twin-plug, aluminium examples to cure 'pinging' problems when run on poor quality fuel. In good Rolls-Royce tradition all that was said about the power was that it was 'sufficient' but it is believed the Phantom 'six' developed around 100 bhp.

The new engine was mounted in what was effectively a Silver Ghost chassis of the latest specification. Since 1923, this included such luxuries as brakes on all four wheels. The Phantom was available in two wheelbases to accommodate the widest variety of coachwork. As with the Silver Ghost, the Phantom was produced on both sides of the Atlantic. The 'Springfield Phantom' not only had the steering wheel mounted on the other side but to accommodate this change, the intake and exhaust ports on the engine were also reversed.

As was the norm with the luxury cars of the day, the 'New Phantom' was offered by Rolls-Royce as a rolling chassis for specialist companies to body. In England most customers opted for more formal coachwork but the more extravagant Americans had developed a taste for the lavish. The likes of Brewster offered their bodies with exotic names like 'Huntingdon', 'Pall Mall' and 'Playboy'. At the British factory several more rakish experimental (EX) models were also built to explore the options of a higher performance version of the Phantom to take on Bentley.

Although well received by media and customers alike, the Phantom I would serve Rolls-Royce for a relatively short time. In 1929 the Phantom II was announced, which was the company's first all new car since the Silver Ghost. Production of the Springfield Phantom continued into 1931 when the American branch was shut down altogether. Effectively an interim model, the original Phantom has long been overlooked but in recent years the interest in and passion for the 'New Phantom' is steadily increasing.

Chassis: ?

The featured Phantom I started out life as a 'regular' Hooper convertible, but early in the 1930s that body was scrapped and the rolling chassis sent to Jonckheere in Belgium for something a little more exotic. A few years later a fire destroyed all of the company's records, so it is uncertain who commissioned and who designed the new coupe coachwork. What remains however is the end-result; one of the most extravagant designs ever put on four wheels. From the huge front fenders on to the oval doors and finishing off with a tall fin on the back, the Jonckheere Coupe is six meters of exuberance.

Shortly after it was finished in 1934, it won its first Concours d'Elegance; the Prix de Cannes. Not much later, it was acquired by an American and on its way to the United States, where the lavish coupe would fit in slightly better. During the 1950s it was painted gold and used in an automotive freak show together with a number of other striking 1930s designs, which people could look at after paying $1. Fast forward to 1991, the peak of the classic car craze, when the gold painted behemoth was auctioned to a Japanese collector for a staggering $1.5 million.

In good Japanese tradition, the car entered a collection and was not seen for many years, until the Petersen Automotive Museum pursuaded the owner to part with the gold Phantom. He had it painstakingly restored to be entered in the 2005 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. The unique design proved troublesome to restore, but the owner figured he had a winner on his hands and urged his team to complete the job. They did, but because the car's early history could not be fully recovered, the Pebble people already hinted it would not be eligible for the big one before the show. Nevertheless, the car was one of the big (no pun intended) stars on the field and was awarded the Lucius Beebe Trophy reserved for the finest Rolls entered.

After its grand debut, it received much attention in the leading classic periodicals and travelled to a variety of shows. It is seen above at its Pebble debut and at the 2006 Meadowbrook Concours d'Elegance where it received the Public Choice Award.