1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom I

Sold for $364,500 at 2008 Bonhams - The Greenwich Concours d'Elegance.
This Rolls-Royce Phantom I Convertible Sedan was built in Springfield, Massachusetts at a time when Rolls-Royce thought it prudent to have a factory in this country. The venture began shortly after the First World War and ended following the effects of the Great Depression.

This car was originally built for Jacqueline de Rothschild of the Hotel Delmonico in New York, who purchased the car for use while she was in the city. It is a late-U.S. built chassis with bowl headlamps, double-bar bumper, and an aluminum cylinder head on its 7.7-liter inline 6-cylinder engine. Coachwork is by the firm of Hibbard & Darrin, consisting of Tom Hibbard (one of the founders of LeBaron) and the legendary Howard 'Dutch' Darrin, who established their carrossier in Paris. The American duo hoped the added cachet of a Paris address would add to their success in building both stylish and high-quality bodies from 1926-1931. This is one of three slant-door convertible sedans built and the only one known to survive.