Unique coachwork by Hooper, meticulously documented

1935 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Open Two-Seater

Coachwork by Hooper
Designed by Osmond Rivers & Douglas Rogers

7,668cc OHV Inline 6-Cylinder Engine
Single Carburetor
120bhp
4-Speed Manual Transmission
Leaf Spring Suspension with Single-Shot Chassis Lubrication
4-Wheel Servo-Assisted Drum Brakes

*Believed to have had only three owners since new
*One-off sports coachwork by Hooper, designed for former owner Douglas Rogers
*Accompanied by extensive build correspondence
*Older restoration performed in concert with specialist Jeff McDonald
*Among the most unusual and striking of all Phantom IIs

Many an enthusiast of Classic Era automobiles has dreamed of commissioning a coachbuilder to build one's own design on a great chassis, just as the original owners had the opportunity to do in the 1920s and 1930s. Douglas Rogers had that occasion, thanks to unusual foresight. In the early 1950s, with the collector car hobby in its youth, he acquired this Rolls-Royce Phantom II, chassis 54UK, an unusual right-hand-drive chassis supplied to the United States. While Lawrence Dalton's The Derby Phantoms references only "American coachwork," photographs in the file of 54UK as-acquired show it mounted with a body presumably built by J.S. Inskip in the former Brewster Works, and resembling Inskip's Trouville design for the Phantom III. The car was purchased from the estate of the R. C. Grew family in Boston, who were the original owners.

Mr. Rogers saw the formal Phantom II as a basis for his own dreams. As a customer would have in 1935, he sketched out what he wanted; a rather dramatic two-passenger open car with a "dipped" beltline reminiscent of a Darrin-bodied Packard and curvaceous, deeply crowned fenders. These sketches were submitted to London coachbuilders Hooper & Company, who by 1954 was winding its way towards the history books, but nonetheless still engaged in producing fine coachwork on Rolls-Royce chassis.

While much of their work was focused on the new Silver Wraith and Silver Dawn chassis, Hooper was very willing to take up building a body for Mr. Rogers's Phantom II. Extensive correspondence, kept in a bound album, documents the process, with designer Osmond Rivers fleshing out the drawings as design no. C-4385, copies of which are included on file.

Mr. Rivers seems to have appreciated Mr. Rogers' intense interest, as the two struck up a correspondence and friendship. Indeed, the owner himself contributed to the build process as he wished to have the four fenders shaped out of stainless steel, which Hooper balked at, commenting that it would too difficult a job and that their standard aluminum fenders would be rustproof and sufficient for the task. Undeterred, Mr. Rogers used the machine shop at General Electric, his employer, to shape four stainless steel fenders to his own specifications, although he continue to correspond avidly with Mr. Rivers in consultation on the design. Indeed, the final installation and completion of the body appears to have been completed in Mr. Rogers's hands. He notes in the file that a leaf was removed from the rear spring to better support the lighter sports coachwork, and that he commissioned a high-compression cylinder head from Rolls-Royce, Ltd. This, he further notes, "added appreciably to the engine power output, and the resulting performance leaves nothing to be desired. The car is a beautiful machine both for appearance and roadability, being very fast, very quiet, and having the characteristics of a sports car."

The judges agreed. When Mr. Rogers exhibited 54UK at the Rolls-Royce Owners Club meet in Montreal, Quebec, it was awarded both major honors, the Rolls-Royce Trophy and the Hooper Award—the only automobile to have received both awards. Not long thereafter, Hooper notified its customers, including Mr. Rogers, in writing that they were ceasing the building of new coachwork. Accordingly, this was the final Phantom II bodied by the firm, and among the last new bodies created for the chassis by any original coachbuilder.

Mr. Rogers eventually retired with his Phantom II, and he continued to lovingly maintain it until 1992, when it was sold to the late owner, a fellow longtime Rolls-Royce Owners Club member and close friend. Subsequently, the car underwent a complete frame-up restoration, a joint effort between the owner and Rolls-Royce specialist, Jeff McDonald of McDonald Vintage Restorations in Canby, Oregon, with the owner handling much of the mechanical work. The special sporting design developed by Messrs. Rogers and Rivers was preserved, with the color scheme changed to an attractive Delft Blue with cream inserts in a bare-metal repaint. All chrome trim that required refinishing was properly replated, and new wiring installed throughout. While the restoration is older now, the tan Connolly leather interior originally fitted in the late 1950s remains in place and is in good order for its age.

This unique and most unusual Phantom II, with a superb pedigree, is a fascinating Rolls-Royce for any connoisseur of Hooper coachwork.