Lot details
Registration No: SV 8070
Chassis No: S342FM
Mot Expiry: June 2019

- 1 of only 6 made by Murphy and reputedly only 1 left with original body

- Current ownership since 2001 ,Body restoration by Steve Penny with photographic record

- Comprehensive toolkit , New clutch just fitted in March 2001

"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 Henry Royce and Rolls-Royce 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 33 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 in the UK until 1929, by which time some 2,269 chassis had been delivered.

In common with the Silver Ghost before it, the 'New Phantom' (retrospectively dubbed Phantom I) was also manufactured in Springfield Massachusetts between 1926 and 1931. The US versions differed in a number of respects, including: the long wheelbase chassis were four inches shorter than the UK ones, the transmissions were three-speed units with a centre change rather than four-speed with right-hand change as fitted to the UK specification cars, while the Americans opted for a one-shot centralised chassis lubrication system rather than the multi-point Enot set-up of the home market vehicles. US production totalled 1,240 units giving a grand total for Phantom I manufacture of 3,509, a pleasing number of which are still doing good service in all corners of the world.

It was on a Springfield-built Phantom I chassis that this simply stunning left-hand drive All-Weather Cabriolet was constructed in 1927 by Murphy of Pasadena - apparently one of only six ever made by the firm and reputedly the only one remaining complete with its original body. Immaculate inside and out, it is finished in sparkling Maroon over Black and trimmed in Beige leather, and everything that could shine does, from the brass updraft carburettor to the Rolls-Royce branded headlamps. The substantial hood is also Beige in colour, as are the covers for the twin-wing-mounted spare wheels, while the Rolls rides on immaculate white-walled tyres, offset by enormous highly-polished wheel trims. The sheer presence of this car has to be seen to be believed.

Within the same ownership since 2001, 'SV 8070' has apparently benefited from a restoration by Steve Penny. It has also been fitted with a replacement clutch as recently as March this year. This splendid motorcar is now being made available for somebody else to enjoy, and comes complete with an extremely comprehensive toolkit and photographic record of the restoration. A wonderful testament to a sadly bygone era.