Eric Minoff
Vice President, Head of Department - US
LOT 113
1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Convertible Sedan Coachwork by Hibbard & Darrin Chassis no. S235KR Engine no. 20359
Sold for US$184,800 inc. premiumLot to be sold without reserve
Lot 113
Ex-Jacquelyn de Rothschild and John Webb de Campi
1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Convertible Sedan
1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Convertible Sedan
The Audrain Auction|3 October 2025, 16:00 EDT|Newport, Rhode Island, International Tennis Hall of Fame
1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Convertible Sedan
Coachwork by Hibbard & Darrin
Chassis no. S235KR
Engine no. 20359
Coachwork by Hibbard & Darrin
Chassis no. S235KR
Engine no. 20359
7,672cc OHV Inline 6-Cylinder Engine
Single Dual-Throat Carburetor
108bhp at 2,300rpm
3-Speed Manual Transmission
4-Wheel Leaf Spring Suspension
4-Wheel Drum Brakes
*One of only a handful of Hibbard & Darrin bodied Springfield Rolls-Royces
*Bought new by philanthropist, sculptor, and nationally ranked chess player Jacqueline de Rothschild
*Only three owners in the last 30 years
*Restored in the ownership of Rolls-Royce in America author John Webb de Campi
THE ROLLS-ROYCE PHANTOM
America in the first third of the twentieth century was a wide-open, fast-growing economic colossus. Its vast area yielded riches both mineral and agricultural. Exploitation of seemingly endless resources created fortunes for daring entrepreneurs, capital that soon was redeployed to support growing industries, compounding wealth upon wealth.
Like its natural resources, an epic stream of immigrants created synergies as the expanding and industrious population consumed food, news, entertainment and dwelling space. Roads, which at the turning of the twentieth century were nearly non-existent outside America's cities, expanded with the advent of the automobile, a means of transportation singularly adapted to the largely dispersed, rural character of America.
Not surprisingly, then, America became the most significant foreign market for Rolls-Royce. Rolls-Royce automobiles appealed to newly wealthy American financiers and industrialists with their quality, luxury and reliability. A newly wealthy society appreciated the cachet of Rolls-Royce's reputation. Production of Rolls-Royce aircraft engines in America during World War I introduced the company to the skills, resources and suppliers rapidly turning America into a manufacturing power. Claude Johnson recognized the potential for building Rolls-Royce automobiles there soon after the war and in 1919 arranged to purchase the former American Wire Wheel factory in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Springfield was located along the axis of America's industrial development, in an area famed for its armories and machine tool industry. It had a workforce trained in precision manufacturing and was easily accessible to a network of suppliers from Boston to Buffalo. Manufacturing began in 1920 using components imported from Rolls-Royce in Great Britain but soon began to incorporate domestically produced content, particularly electrical, that was readily available, easily serviced and found to be as good as, if not better than, that sourced from Derby. Eventually, some of the finest automobiles built by Rolls-Royce came from the Springfield factory.
The "New Phantom", now known as the Phantom I, represented an incremental approach to the evolution of Rolls-Royce's premier model. At its core was a significantly new engine. Still a straight six, at 7,672cc displacement it was slightly larger than the Silver Ghost that preceded it. Rolls-Royce's years of experience, particularly with aero engines, resulted in a pushrod operated overhead valve head with significantly better cross-flow breathing. Real output increased from 86bhp in the Silver Ghost to 108bhp in the Phantom. The new overhead valve engine rested in a developed but largely unchanged chassis with semi-elliptical leaf springs and four-wheel drum brakes with mechanical servo assist. Springfield Rolls-Royces had the U.S. pattern 3-speed center shift gearbox and left-hand drive.
New Phantom production in Springfield persisted from 1926 until 1931, but only about 1,240 were built as the world descended into the Great Depression. Most were bodied by Brewster in Long Island City, New York, a Rolls-Royce subsidiary since 1926.
THE CAR OFFERED
A few Springfield Rolls-Royce chassis received coachwork from a rapidly declining cadre of custom coachbuilders. Executed with nearly unique style, they are the ultimate New Phantoms.
Sold new to Jacquelyn de Rothschild, resident at the Hotel Delmonico, New York City, this left-hand-drive Springfield-built Phantom I bears stylish coachwork by Hibbard et Darrin. Co-founder of LeBaron Carrossiers with Raymond H Dietrich, Thomas L Hibbard moved to Europe with new collaborator Howard 'Dutch' Darrin in the mid-1920s. The pair founded Hibbard & Darrin in Paris, and for a few years continued in the LeBaron manner, bodying exotic chassis for the rich and famous, until the partnership dissolved. Between 1970 and 1990 the car was owned by Bob Githian of Ohio and Arizona, and between 1995 and 2003 it was the property of noted Rolls-Royce historian and author the late John Webb de Campi. It was restored in 1998, engine work being entrusted to Bob Jefferson of Brookfield, Mass., with body renovation by Jim Hery of Chalfont Motorcars and interior and top the work of Sam Ellingsworth of Glen Moore, PA. Offered at Bonhams Rolls-Royce Sale here in Newport, Rhode Island on August 1, 2003, it was acquired by Yankee Candle founder Michael Kittredge. Burning bright in Kittredge's collection of for five years, it again returned to Bonhams at the June 2008 Greenwich Auction where the current owner acquired the car. Since purchase, the car has been sparingly shown and well stored. Little used in the last few years; some recommissioning is recommended prior to active use.
This car possesses an enviable concours record including but has been sparingly shown in the present ownership. Previously owned and restored by the individual who literally wrote the book on Springfield Phantoms – Rolls-Royce in America by John Webb de Campi – and with only three owners in the last 30 years, this stunning Rolls will no doubt provide plenty of enjoyment on tours or awards at shows for years to come.
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