1927 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Ascot Tourer

It was 1925, and the fabled Silver Ghost, which had been launched in 1906, was being retired. After seven years of experiment and test the six-cylinder Phantom chassis was introduced. The New Phantom, as it was called, received the Phantom I designation retrospectively when the Phantom II appeared on the scene in 1930. From 1926 until as late as 1931, the American version of the Phantom I was produced at the Springfield, Massachusetts factory. Of the 3,340 Phantom I's produced, 1,241 were built stateside. P-I's continued to be built and sold in the United States even though the model had been replaced by the Phantom II in England.

Coachbuilder Brewster, located in Long Island City, Queens, New York (and purchased by Rolls-Royce in 1926) provided much of the coachwork for cars built stateside. The New York firm bodied more than 800 Phantom I's, far more than any U.S. coachbuilder; including 28 Ascot Tourers.

This car was delivered new to Henry G. Lapham of Brookline, Massachusetts in 1927 with coachwork by Lonsdale. It was fitted with its current body (from chassis number S 186FR) in the early 1930's and was a gift to Winterthur from the family of Philip C. Beals of Southboro, Massachusetts who purchased the car in 1947. It was first restored in 1975.