1933 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Cabriolet

• Originally bodied as a limousine by Mascot Motor Body Works
• Current body believed made by Peter Plunkett
• Present ownership since 2012

The Phantom II was introduced in 1929 as a successor to the New Phantom (retrospectively known as the Phantom I) with deliveries commencing in September of that year. Unlike its predecessor, which inherited its underpinnings from the preceding 40/50hp model, the Silver Ghost, the Phantom II employed an entirely new chassis laid out along the lines of that of the smaller 20hp Rolls-Royce. Built in two wheelbase lengths - 144" and 150" - this new low-slung frame, with its radiator set well back, enabled coachbuilders to body the car in the modern idiom, creating sleeker designs than the upright ones of the past.

The engine too had come in for extensive revision. The PI's cylinder dimensions and basic layout - two blocks of three cylinders, with an aluminium cylinder head common to both blocks - were retained, but the combustion chambers had been redesigned and the 'head was now of the cross-flow type, with inlet and exhaust manifolds on opposite sides. The magneto/coil dual ignition system remained the same as on the PI. The result of these engine changes was greatly enhanced performance, particularly of the Continental model, and the ability to accommodate weightier coachwork.

Chassis number '144MY' was completed in June 1933 with limousine coachwork by the little-known coachbuilder Mascot Motor Body Works for first owner J B Joel Esq of Aldwickbury, Harpenden (probably the independent school of that name). Documents on file show that by August 1982 the Rolls-Royce belonged to Messrs J R Norris Funeral Services of Kettering, serving, as many of these Rolls-Royces did as a hearse at this time. The Phantom was in that configuration when purchased by The Real Car Company in 1990 as a project with a dismantled engine. The following year they sold the Rolls-Royce to Peter Plunkett. It came back to The Real Car Co in 2012 carrying its current four-door cabriolet body, presumably bodied by Peter Plunkett, as that was his profession. In February 2012 the Phantom was purchased by our vendor, who went on to finish the restoration. The accompanying file contains copy chassis cards, assorted correspondence, sundry bills, and a current V5C document.