Description:
In 1929 the arrival of the Rolls-Royce Phantom II set new standards for others to follow. It was a vehicle specifically designed with the chauffer driven passenger in mind. At the time the only home produced rival to compare with the Phantom II was the Bentley 8 Litre, which was a faster vehicle but was thought to be far less chauffer friendly, with considerably heavier steering and a gearbox which was more difficult to operate. During the development of the Phantom II, the majority of the long distance testing was carried out on the long straight roads surrounding Chateauroux in France. This fact and Mr Henry Royce’s many journeys between the South of England and the South of France no doubt opened his eyes to the type of motoring not available upon England’s narrow and windy roads. With long distance high speed motoring in mind, the Phantom II Continental chassis was created, the project being personally overseen by Henry Royce with assistance from Ivan Evernden. The whole car, including originally its style of coachwork was conceived by Royce, to be a more sporting and compact four seater owner/driver motor car when compared to the long wheelbase standard Phantom II. Just 281 such chassis were produced and they differentiated themselves from their standard cousins with thicker springs and a 6 inch shorter chassis, measuring 144 inches. The steering column was optionally lowered to what was known as the “F” rake position, and the floor was also lowered to allow more rakish coachwork to be fitted. Mechanically speaking the Continental was fitted with a higher ratio back axle (12/41) which provided brisk acceleration and higher top speeds at lower revolutions. Royce decided that the use of 5 thicker leaf springs as opposed to the standard 9 or 10 would save weight and allow for a smoother ride if the road surface was less than perfect. To assist control of the ride additional shock absorbers were also added to the standard hydraulic units, which were controllable from the driver’s seat in the later examples. With lightweight coachwork being fitted the final result was a motor car capable of carrying four people in comfort, at high speeds, for many hours at a time over great distances. It is rightly considered by many, including ourselves, to be one of the finest pre-war Rolls-Royces ever built.
In 1929 the arrival of the Rolls-Royce Phantom II set new standards for others to follow. It was a vehicle specifically designed with the chauffer driven passenger in mind. At the time the only home produced rival to compare with the Phantom II was the Bentley 8 Litre, which was a faster vehicle but was thought to be far less chauffer friendly, with considerably heavier steering and a gearbox which was more difficult to operate. During the development of the Phantom II, the majority of the long distance testing was carried out on the long straight roads surrounding Chateauroux in France. This fact and Mr Henry Royce’s many journeys between the South of England and the South of France no doubt opened his eyes to the type of motoring not available upon England’s narrow and windy roads. With long distance high speed motoring in mind, the Phantom II Continental chassis was created, the project being personally overseen by Henry Royce with assistance from Ivan Evernden. The whole car, including originally its style of coachwork was conceived by Royce, to be a more sporting and compact four seater owner/driver motor car when compared to the long wheelbase standard Phantom II. Just 281 such chassis were produced and they differentiated themselves from their standard cousins with thicker springs and a 6 inch shorter chassis, measuring 144 inches. The steering column was optionally lowered to what was known as the “F” rake position, and the floor was also lowered to allow more rakish coachwork to be fitted. Mechanically speaking the Continental was fitted with a higher ratio back axle (12/41) which provided brisk acceleration and higher top speeds at lower revolutions. Royce decided that the use of 5 thicker leaf springs as opposed to the standard 9 or 10 would save weight and allow for a smoother ride if the road surface was less than perfect. To assist control of the ride additional shock absorbers were also added to the standard hydraulic units, which were controllable from the driver’s seat in the later examples. With lightweight coachwork being fitted the final result was a motor car capable of carrying four people in comfort, at high speeds, for many hours at a time over great distances. It is rightly considered by many, including ourselves, to be one of the finest pre-war Rolls-Royces ever built.
The majority of Phantom II Continentals were fitted with closed, compact, close coupled four door coachwork. However, a few cars were more stylishly bodied and in our opinion very few came in a more desirable configuration that Chassis No 186MY which is fitted with three position drophead coupe coachwork by Barker. Testing was completed on the 12th of April 1933 and 186MY was subsequently delivered some four weeks later to its first owner, Captain John Wanamaker of New York City. It returned to England in 1936 when purchased by Sir T.J. O’Connor of Oxfordshire and then became the property of The Brooklands Motor Company of Sloane Street London in 1938. It had two further English owners during the second world war and was then purchased in July of 1950 by a London based Rolls-Royce and Bentley specialist called Mr Frank Dale. The name sounds familiar. 186MY remained in London until 1959 when it returned to the United States after being purchased by Herman R Zinn of New Jersey and following various successes and concours level was subsequently purchased by Gerrard Schultz of Buffalo New York. It is thought that 186MY remained in the United States for the ensuing decades where it was restored some 8,000 miles ago, with a new exhaust system and clutch included in the works. The car drives superbly having just been prepared in our workshops and should serve the next owner very well on long distance tours. Cosmetically speaking the car is in very good condition in every respect. The coachwork and brightwork are excellent and the hood and headlining are almost as new. The interior is in outstanding order, with lightly patinated but exceptionally sound leather and beautifully restored woodwork. The car is fitted with a tail mounted trunk that provides good luggage space and comes complete with a wide range of small tools fitted under the bonnet, along with its correct large tools.
According to all known records just two such bodies were produced by Barker for the Phantom II Continental chassis and in our opinion a more balanced and stylish example of this increasingly sought after classic would be hard to find.
Condition : In very good condition in every respect.
Technical Data : Four speed manual gearbox, 6 cylinder in-line engine, 7.7 litres displacement, 7,668cc capacity. Servo-assisted brakes.
Beautiful Corolla Doug. The silver components and rims look great.
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