From the Knox Kershaw Collection

1927 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Transformal Phaeton

Coachwork by Hibbard & Darrin

7,672cc OHV Inline 6-Cylinder Engine
Single Dual-Throat Carburetor
108bhp at 2,300 rpm
3-Speed Manual Transmission
4-Wheel Leaf Spring Suspension
4-Wheel Drum Brakes

*Offered from single ownership since 1984
*A truly sporting, innovative, and dramatic Springfield Phantom I
*Wonderfully detailed, dynamic design by Howard Darrin
*Well-preserved AACA, CCCA, and national concours award-winning restoration
*Accompanied by Rolls-Royce Foundation documentation

THE TRANSFORMAL PHAETON

Every one of the American Rolls-Royces built at Springfield, Massachusetts, was quietly elegant. Some were truly beautiful. Few were downright dashing and sporting, and those that were often bore the distinctive imprint of Hibbard & Darrin, one of the few Parisian coachbuilders to work on the American chassis. It was only appropriate, as Thomas Hibbard and Howard Darrin were themselves Americans, young expatriates living the high life in Paris when not designing spectacular, highly detailed and innovative coachwork for the world's wealthiest personages. A total of 35 Hibbard & Darrin bodies were mounted to Springfield Phantom I chassis, and the survivors are among the most prized of their type.

The delightfully named Transformal Phaeton was among Hibbard & Darrin's finest offerings. At its heart a convertible sedan, it was built using the coachbuilder's patented Silentlyte method, with a cast aluminum inner framework and pressed aluminum outer panels, resulting in a body that was both strong and lightweight. A narrow molding at the hood swept up in a blade-like curve as it reached the cowl, while the sides of the body featured the prominent beltline molding common to Hibbard & Darrin's bodies in this period.

Perhaps the Transformal Phaeton's most instantly distinctive feature was the top, which was relatively low and featured circus tent-like flaps that neatly filled the space between trapezoidal side windows, creating a very unique appearance when the top was raised. A center division served as a windbreak when the top was lowered. The woodwork across the dashboard and door panels, elaborately figured and detailed, was a Darrin signature feature, and one that made the highly tailored interior of the Transformal Phaeton instantly stand apart from coachwork by Brewster and the like. In many ways, this was the most European body mounted to the Springfield Phantom I – and it was more extravagant and eyecatching that virtually anything mounted to a Derby Phantom I by a continental coachbuilder!

It is believed that fewer than five Phantom Is were delivered with similar Transformal Phaeton coachwork, one of which was famously owned by Marlene Dietrich and featured in her 1930 film Morocco. The survivors are well-loved by their owners and in recent years several have become part of permanent museum collections, leaving the opportunity to acquire a Transformal Phaeton particularly scarce, indeed.

THE MOTORCAR OFFERED

The example offered here, chassis no. S355FM, was delivered on April 13, 1928, to the original owner, Mr. George G. Bourne, at his residence at The Madison, a luxurious hotel located at 15 East 58th Street in New York City. Mr. Bourne was the son of Frederick G. Bourne, the founder of the Singer sewing machine company, and the family enjoyed both tremendous wealth and a passion for both yachting and fine cars that extended through several branches. The younger Bourne was a partner in the stock brokerage firm of Talcott, Porter & Company, and at the time of acquiring the Phantom I, only a few years removed from a marriage to paper heiress Helen Cole Whitney. He was, in other words, exactly the type of aristocratic, young devil-may-care sportsman one would have expected to find in the Transformal Phaeton!

According to its Rolls-Royce Foundation records, by 1952 the car had been acquired by George A. Briggs of North Augusta, South Carolina, then passed within the year to George Lawson, also of North Augusta. In early 1955 it was purchased by early American Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost enthusiast, Archie Hough of Monroe, North Carolina, who held on to the car until Mr. Kershaw acquired it for his collection in 1984 – completing a wonderfully short and tidy chain of owners.

A meticulous complete restoration followed, completed in 1988. S355FM was shown the following year at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, receiving the prestigious Lucius Beebe Trophy as the most elegant Rolls-Royce present. Afterward Mr. Kershaw, in typical fashion, continued to refine the car's presentation and mechanical condition with the hopes of bringing home even more laurels, a hope that was fulfilled.

In 1990 the car was awarded 2nd Place in the Phantom I class at the Rolls-Royce Owners' Club National Meet in Newport, Rhode Island. The Antique Automobile Club of America bestowed a Senior First Prize in 1992, as well as a National Award nomination. In Classic Car Club of America judging, the Rolls proved tremendously successful, as well, achieving Senior Premier honors at the 1993 Annual Meeting and bearing badge no. 1507SP. More recently the car received Best in Class here at the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance.

Today the very well-done restoration remains strikingly well-preserved, with the only signs of use in typical high-wear areas within the interior and engine compartment, and is still extremely attractive from top to bottom. Most importantly, like all of Mr. Kershaw's automobiles, the Phantom I has been superbly maintained, on-the-button. This was demonstrated in a recent road test in which S355FM was exercised and found to be smooth, quiet, and superbly well-behaved, exactly as a proper Springfield Phantom I should be. It is truly an automobile that's condition reflects the passion and love its owner has had for it.

There are few more prestigious examples of the American Rolls-Royce than a Transformal Phaeton. Jauntily designed and lavishly appointed, fairly dripping power and wealth, it was an automobile that looked the part of the car owned by "an American in Paris" – fitting, as that was precisely who had designed it. This is almost certainly the finest example presently available, from over 35 years of loving care in one of this country's most superb, carefully curated, and well-maintained collections.