Lot details
Registration No: DS 8933
Chassis No: 57EF
Mot Expiry: None

Supplied new to the Maharaja of Pithapuram


"After seven years of experiment and test, the 40/50hp six cylinder Phantom chassis emerged, and is offered to the public as the most suitable type possible for a mechanically-propelled chassis under present-day conditions" (New Phantom launch brochure, May 1925).

By 1925, the Rolls Royce Silver Ghost had been upstaged by a younger generation of more technically advanced luxury cars. The glory days of the 1913 Alpine Trials had long passed and both F. Henry Royce and RR sales manager Claude Johnson felt the need to produce a new claimant to the title 'best car in the world'. Just as the competition between car manufacturers was becoming increasingly fierce so that between rival coachbuilders had intensified correspondingly. With the arrival of each faster, more powerful chassis came the opportunity to construct ever more lavish, sophisticated coachwork. To ensure that their cars could be fitted with the finest bodies in the world, Rolls Royce introduced the 'New Phantom'. While, its tapered channel-section chassis, four-speed manual transmission, supple springing (semi-elliptic front, cantilever rear) and ingenious gearbox driven servo assisted four wheel brakes owed much to its predecessor, the Phantom's 7668cc engine was all new. Quoted as being an impressive thirty three per cent more powerful than the Ghost's unit, it featured overhead valves set in a detachable cylinder head, two cylinder blocks with three cylinders each, aluminium alloy crankcase and a massive seven bearing crankshaft. Bore and stroke dimensions of 108 x 139.7mm resulted in abundant torque enabling the flagship Rolls-Royce to accelerate from walking speed to approximately 80mph in top gear. Unveiled at the company's 14/15 Conduit St, London showrooms during May 1925, the `New Phantom' remained in production until 1929 by which time some 2,269 chassis had been delivered.

The Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts' Club-issued copy chassis cards for this particular example - chassis number 57 EF - make for fascinating reading. Ordered by Rolls-Royce Ltd of Bombay and destined for a member of India's ruling elite, the Phantom was dispatched to leading coachbuilders Hooper on April 8th 1927 where as well as an elegant Open Touring body (number 6752), it received a novel `Parso-Glaze' paint finish and truly bespoke interior. Stocked with silver-faced instruments and a cigar lighter, its polished aluminium dashboard was offset by an ivory white steering wheel and control levers. Able to accommodate four or six people depending upon whether its occasional seats were folded out, the car also boasted pleated rather than buttoned upholstery, a `receptacle for revolver between front seat cushions and flap to cover' not to mention a `polished teak cabinet behind driving seat with two bottles, card case, mirror and watch', while further refreshment was provided by the thermos and beakers clipped under the scuttle. As imposing on the outside as it was on the inside, the Phantom sported a raked, four-piece windscreen, rear-mounted luggage grid, multi-louvered bonnet, capacious running boards, twin side-mounted spare wheels, domed wings, quad scuttle vents, sidelights and SG (presumably Stephen Grebel) headlights. Underpinned by an English ash frame and panelled in aluminium, the exquisitely proportioned Hooper coachwork was complemented by a full length hood and sidescreens housed within its four `clap handed' doors (save for the rearmost pair which were stowed elsewhere).

There was nothing serendipitous about a motor car fit for a prince being bought by a king. Shipped from London to Bombay aboard the SS Rampura on 2nd September 1927, chassis 57 EF joined the household fleet of Sri Raja Rao Venkata Kumara Mahipati Suryarao Bahadur Garu, Maharaja of Pithapuram the following month. Ruler of a district famed for its ancient Hindu temples, the Maharaja was born on 5th October 1885. More progressive than some of his peers, he established various colleges and orphanages but still appreciated the finer things in life hence the Phantom. Ascending to power during 1905 and appointed a C.B.E. before India gained its independence, the Maharaja died in 1964. The length of his custodianship remains a mystery but by the late 1980s the Rolls-Royce was resident in America. Repatriated to the UK by renowned dealer Charles Howard during 1989, the Hooper-bodied tourer was road registered as `DS 8933' on 25th April 1991. Present for the Pebble Beach World Classic Auto Exposition some two summers later, chassis 57 EF was deemed to have been `recently extensively restored both mechanically and cosmetically'.
Sold to its previous owner by Thomas Barrett III, the co-founder of the Barrett-Jackson Auction Company, on 31st January 1996, the Phantom has recently been re-imported to the UK. Retaining many of the features with which it has originally ordered plus the same grey livery and red leather upholstery that visitors to Pebble Beach would have witnessed some seventeen years ago, the motor car is described by the vendor as being in "good" condition with regard to its engine, gearbox, electrical equipment, interior trim and paintwork, while he rates the coachwork as "excellent". Quite simply one of, if not the, most exceptional New Phantom we have had the pleasure of offering, chassis 57 EF is worthy of close inspection.

PLEASE NOTE: This vehicle does not have a current or previous V5 registration document as it has been in the USA. However, the registration number DS 8933 displayed on the car is showing on the DVLA system for this vehicle.