1930 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Salamanca

The New Phantom was introduced by Rolls-Royce in 1925 and featured an entirely new overhead-valve six-cylinder engine with a 7,668cc displacement size and, like the contemporary 20hp model, adopted a disc-type clutch and adjustable radiator shutters. The chassis, however, remained essentially the same as the Silver Ghost and would remain fundamentally unchanged until the Phantom II arrived in 1929 with an entirely new frame.

Rolls-Royce of America Incorporated subsidiary was established in December 1919 when the parent company acquired the American Wire Wheel Company's plant in Springfield, Massachusetts. Like its Silver Ghost predecessor, the New Phantom was available with Springfield construction. The Wall Street Crash in October of 1929 reversed the momentum, and the cost of re-tooling for the Phantom II was too steep, signaling the beginning of its decline. Phantom I production lasted for five years and the Derby-built models ran parallel with the Springfield cars but ended in 1929, whereas the Americans continued until 1931.

This particular Springfield Phantom wears Salamanca coachwork by Hibbard & Darrin. It was built for Louis A. Mitchell of Evanston, Illinois, and delivered on May 14, 1931. It remained in Chicago for many years, later joining the garage of inventor Walter Goodman of Skokie. By the late 1990s, it was in Southern California and restored around 2000 by restorer Stu Laidlaw.

Over the next decade, the Salamanca was used sparingly before the engine was rebuilt in 2009 by Rolls-Royce specialist Roger Ford.

The current owner acquired the Rolls-Royce in January of 2010. It currently wears polished aluminum bodywork offset by is blue paintwork and a matching blue top. The 7,668cc overhead-valve inline six-cylinder engine has a single carburetor and delivers 100 horsepower at 3,000 RPM. There is a three-speed manual transmission, four-wheel servo-assisted drum brakes, and a semi-ellitpical leaf springs suspension with rear cantilever springs.

By Daniel Vaughan | Sep 2021