1936 Rolls-Royce Phantom III

The Rolls-Royce Phantom III, originally dubbed the Spectre, was the first Rolls-Royce powered by a V-12 engine that was incredibly complex, yet silent, smooth and powerful. It was also the first Rolls-Royce to feature independent front suspension along with hydraulically adjustable shock absorbers and an onboard jacking system. The 160 horsepower 7.3-liter twelve-cylinder engine could go from zero-to-sixty mph in 16 seconds.

Between 1936 and 1936, Rolls-Royce built 727 Phantom IIIs. 21 of the V-12 powered Phantom IIIs were produced with American coachwork, most all by the East Coast Rolls-Royce importer and distributor, J.S. Inskip. Inskip had succeeded the former Brewster coachworks, were former employees and built custom coachwork in the former Brewster facilities in very small amounts under Inskip's name. Brewster had been the most prominent builders of bodies for American Rolls-Royce chassis, prior to bankruptcy proceedings that began in mid-1935 and the last of Brewster's assets were sold by auction in 1937.

The Rolls-Royce Phantom III would be the only 12-cylinder engine produced by the automaker until 1998 with the Silver Seraph would arrive. Not all of the 727 PIII chassis were sold prior to the start of the war; records show the last unit wasn't' delivered to its owner until 1947. As was the practice of the era, the customer purchased only the chassis from Rolls-Royce, and then contract with a coachbuilder of their own selection for the body.

The Phantom III was the last model that Sir Henry Royce actually worked on before he passed away at the age of 70.

by Daniel Vaughan | May 2019