1962 Rolls-Royce Phantom V

Seven-Passenger Limousine by James Young
Chassis number: 5LCG25

In the post-War era, most of the production Rolls-Royce cars were built on the Silver Wraith chassis. The top offering and most exclusive vehicle of the company was the Phantom IV. Between 1950 and 1956, only 18 were created, and all were sold to royalty and heads of state. The successor was introduced in 1959, the Phantom V and would continue the linage as being a favorite of monarchs and moguls.

This example wears coachwork by James Young. It is a seven-passenger limousine that was put on display at the 1962 Geneva Motor Show. After the show, it was delivered to 8c, Avenue de Miremont in Geneva, the local residence of its first owner Althani Ahmed, Prince of Qatar. It was delivered with optional rear roof-ducted refrigeration, rear speedometer, Sundym tinted glass, adjustable footrests, bar and sunshine roof, and a speedometer in kilometers.

The car has resided in southern California for the past two decades. From mid-1992 to early 1993, it was given a major restoration. The original color scheme of black with beige hides in front, beige cloth in rear was changed to the present Pewter over black with beige hides front and rear. The current owner acquired the car in January of 2006 at which time the odometer read 50,143 km.

In 2009, this Phantom V Limousine was offered for sale at the Sports & Classics of Monterey auction presented by RM Auctions. The car was estimated to sell for $90,000 - $125,000. As the gavel fell for the third and final time, the lot had been sold for the sum of $88,000, including buyer's premium.

by Dan Vaughan

Coupe by James Young
Chassis number: 5LBX76

The Phantom name was revived by Rolls-Royce in 1959 with the introduction of the Phantom V. It was the first time that Phantoms were offered for sale to the public in 20 years. The Phantom V was based on the Silver Cloud II, shared its V8 engine and four-speed Hydramatic gearbox. The chassis was lengthened and strengthened considerably and the final drive permitted unfussy progress at a speed only slightly above walking pace, which was much appreciated for use during ceremonial occasions.

This car is one of only two imposing four-seat, two-door coupes built by James Young and is probably the largest saloon coupe ever built by any coachbuilder. It was delivered to its first owner Carlton Smith of Dayton, Ohio, in February of 1962.

Sedanca de Ville by James Young
Chassis number: 5BX44

As in the classic era, despite the fact that the era was decades in the past, Rolls-Royce only supplied the Phantom V chassis to independent coachbuilders to be bodied to customer orders. As custom coachwork demand declined in the mid-1950s only four specialists remained. The most prominent were James Young and H.J. Mulliner, owned by Rolls-Royce. The Rolls-Royce of the 1950s and early 1960s were the only cars that spanned the handmade and modern eras.

This Sedanca de Ville's most spectacular feature is its sedanca sliding roof, which at the turn and pull of a handle neatly slides back and stows under the rear part of the roof, an engineering marvel perfected by James Young. Only nine Phantom V limousines were fitted with such as sedanca sliding roof. The first owner is listed as Jack Taubman, however it is believed that the car was used by Victor Barclay, the managing director of the London Rolls-Royce dealer, for his personal use before the car was sold privately.

Limousine by Park Ward & Co.
Chassis number: 5LBX4
Engine number: P3563

Rolls-Royce vehicles have always been exclusive, especially the Phantom IV, of which just eighteen examples were produced strictly for ruling heads of state. For 1959, the Phantom V was introduced and intended for the very wealthy. The Phantom V was based upon the all-new chassis design and powered by a new V8 engine, as well as a Hydra-Matic automatic transmission and servo-assisted brakes. They were special-ordered vehicles that continued the tradition of custom coachwork. The small list of qualified coachbuilders including the UK coachbuilder H.J. Mulliner of Chiswick, which in 1961 merged with Park Ward under Rolls-Royce auspices, becoming Mulliner Park Ward. Thus, only the earliest Phantom Vs were bodied by Mulliner independently.

This particular example is a Limousine by Park Ward and is fitted with rear compartment air conditioning, a Park Ward–fitted radio aerial, instruments in MPH, and Windtone horns to the order of original owner H. Richard Dietrich of Mt. Pleasant Road, Villanova, Pennsylvania, to whom it was delivered on January 2, 1962. Dr. Billy R. Eubanks of Marrero, Louisiana purchased the car in November of 1982. It came into the care of its current owner around 2006.

The car has accumulated fewer than 20,000 miles. The lower half of the body has been refinished in Tudor Grey; the remainder of the car is largely original and has not been restored. In the rear compartment there is cut crystal glassware and decanters in the cocktail cabinet, as well as thick carpeting and broadcloth seating surrounded by veritable acres of rich burled walnut. The driver's compartment is done in leather and the dashboard has its own sliding picnic-and-map table beneath.

The engine is a 380 cubic-inch overhead-valve V8 unit offered an estimated 220 horsepower. There is a four-speed automatic transmission and four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes.

by Dan Vaughan

As the successor to the coveted Silver Ghost, Rolls-Royce buyers had high expectations for the original Phantom. When it was brought to market in 1925, the Phantom had no problems living up to the high standards of its intended customers. It was an excellent car of unrivaled quality that continued the traditions of Rolls-Royce while introducing a name that would eventually carry the company into a new century.

The latest Rolls-Royce Phantom is the seventh model to come from Rolls-Royce under the Phantom name. A thoroughly modern car introduced by a BMW-owned Rolls-Royce, the newest Phantom has all of the high-tech features its wealthy clientele could ever want. Its advanced V12 engine and modernistic design mark departures from the staid engineering and subtle styling of Rolls-Royce models before it. It's difficult to believe that just 12 years before the radical new Roller was released, the last of the old-style Phantoms were being produced. The antiquated Phantom VI reached the end of its run in 1991, an incredible fact given that the model could trace its origins back to the Phantom V of 1959.

The year 1959 was an important one for Rolls-Royce. The English company, which had long before bought out the coachbuilding firm Park Ward, purchased H.J. Mulliner. Mulliner was another coachbuilding firm that had done a great deal of work for Rolls-Royce. Once both long-time coachbuilding partners were under the control of Rolls-Royce, a more modern era was reached in which it was no longer necessary to contract out for the design and production of even the finest bodies.

Also for 1959, Rolls-Royce introduced a new Phantom model. Called the Phantom V, it was a substantially more modern car than its predecessor. Though H.J. Mulliner and Park Ward were now both under control of Rolls-Royce, not everybody was built in-house by them. There were 195 Phantom V bodies built by the James Young Company and styled by James Young employee A.F. McNeill.

A 6,230cc V8 was used in the Phantom V. It had a 90-degree V configuration and was made of aluminum alloy. The advanced construction was supplemented by cast-iron cylinder liners that allowed the lightweight engine to have the durability and longevity required of a fine motorcar. The engine was oversquare, a feature that further enhanced reliability and drivability. Twin SU carburetors fed the V8, and power was transmitted to a hypoid bevel rear end through a four-speed automatic transmission. The four-speed auto was an impressive and advanced feature for a car introduced in 1959.

The rest of the car was less advanced than the new engine and drivetrain. The suspension was a conventional layout with coil springs in front and leaf spring out back. Body-on-frame construction was used. The styling was traditional, using rear suicide doors that allowed entrance to a roomy and opulent rear seat with the familiar look and feel of the rest of the interior. A design update in 1963 used revised front fenders with two headlights each. A more powerful engine was included with the facelifted cars. Production lasted through 1968, by which time 516 Phantom V vehicles had been produced.

Later in 1968, the Phantom VI was introduced. H.J. Mulliner and Park Ward merged under Rolls-Royce ownership in 1962, changing their joint name to Mulliner Park Ward, and it was Mulliner Park Ward that bodied almost every Phantom VI produced. Even though Rolls-Royce owned the coachbuilding subsidiary, Mulliner Park Ward was unlike any other in-house styling agency. They built Phantom VI bodies slowly and painstakingly as traditional artisans. The bodies were handcrafted and elegant, with styling as stately as the royalty resting in the rear seat could imagine.

Originally outfitted with the 6,230cc engine of the Phantom V, the Phantom VI had its twin SU carburetors replaced with a single Solex carburetor in 1975. Its displacement was enlarged to 6,750cc in 1979 when it was given an engine based on the Silver Shadow's. For 1982, the engine of the Silver Spirit was adopted, sharing the 6,750cc displacement. The cars had become outdated, but they still trickled out slowly to privileged buyers. The use of drum brakes at all wheels continued in defiance of technology, and the four-speed transmission that seemed so advanced on earlier models was strangely replaced by a three-speed unit in 1979. The Phantom VI became the last Rolls-Royce to have a separate chassis as it limped and wheezed its way into the early 1990's.

Production was discontinued in 1991. This year, after a few final body panels were produced for the Phantom VI in case of an accident, the Mulliner Park Ward factory at Willesden was closed. The Willesden works had produced most of the bodies found on Phantom VI vehicles. Production numbers for the Phantom VI totaled just 374 in over two decades.

With so few produced and with such a high price tag, the Rolls-Royce Phantoms of 1959 to 1991 were made for a very special type of customer. Celebrity seemed a prerequisite for owning a Phantom. Queen Elizabeth II had a Phantom V, and her mother owned one as well. The king of Norway used his 1962 Phantom V limousine as an official car. The governor of Hong Kong had one for ceremonial purposes. John Lennon purchased a new, white Phantom V. He proceeded to have it covered with psychedelic paintings, turning it into one of pop culture's most vivid and expensive pieces art. The owners of the Phantom VI were no less remarkable. Rolls-Royce understood the kind of customer base it had with the Phantom models and offered an armored version of the Phantom VI for higher-profile buyers that wanted added protection.

With the end of Phantom VI production in 1991, Rolls-Royce reluctantly let go of its most antiquated and obsolete customs. When the Phantom V was being sold, it was traditional but not quite old-fashioned. With the advent of the Phantom VI, though, the series was becoming outdated. While the Phantom V was simply a top-of-the-line Roller, the Phantom VI was the swansong of Rolls-Royce tradition. It flew in the face of cheaper cars from Mercedes-Benz and other luxury brands that offered more feature content and more performance for far less money. It was an overtly dignified symbol of the auto industry's most aristocratic company.

Producing a car as obsolete as the Phantom VI into the 1990's would have been an embarrassing decision for most carmakers. For Rolls-Royce, though, it was a symbol of the company's unwillingness to stray from the core values that cemented its reputation for excellence. The Phantom VI aged like fine wine and, as the Morgan sports car continues to do even now, provided a special vehicle for special customers who wouldn't settle for anything else.

Sources:

Roßfeldt, K.J.. 'Rolls-Royce and Bentley Models: Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph.' rrab.com Web.10 Aug 2009.

'Phantom 5,' 'Phantom 6.' Rolls-Royce Phantom Web.10 Aug 2009.

by Evan Acuña

Unlike the Phantom IV, the later Phantom V and VI coach-built cars were available to anyone with the money to buy them. As well as heads of state and royal families, the Phantom was chosen by the newly wealthy: among the more famous owners of a Phantom V was Beatle John Lennon.

Built on a huge 3,683mm wheelbase, the vast majority featured Silver Cloud style bodywork built by Mulliner Park Ward.

It was produced from 1959 to 1968 and mechanically mirrored the V8 Silver Cloud II. Some 516 examples were built.

The Phantom VI, which stayed in production from 1968 right through to 1991, was built in small numbers - 373 - and was a mild evolution of the Phantom V.

Interestingly, some early examples had rear-hinged coach doors. It was to be some three decades before technical advances allowed the current Phantom to bring the elegance of coach doors back in complete safety.

by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited

by Rolls-Royce

The Rolls-Royce Phantom V was introduced in 1959 with a huge wheelbase of 145 inches, and a markedly rigid and strong chassis. A total of 516 of these models were produced during its production run until 1968. The Phantom V was based on the Silver Cloud II and shared its V8 engine and the automatic gearbox to GM's Hydra-Matic design. The chassis was the same as the Silver Cloud's layout, but it was lengthened and strengthened significantly by massive reinforcements. The front and rear track were also improved by greater dimensions. The overall length of the Phantom V was increased by 10 inches in comparison to the Phantom IV. Measuring 19 feet long, the Phantom V weighed three tons.

Manufactured in 1965 by the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited, Crewe, Cheshire, the Phantom 5 was fitted with a limousine body by Mulliner Park Ward. The Phantom V received the 7% more powerful Silver Cloud III engine in 1963 along with new front winds that incorporated twin headlamps.

The Phantom V was placed at the top of the Rolls-Royce hierarchy. An ultra-luxurious Rolls-Royce model, the Phantom V came with drum brakes and featured a wheelbase of 3,683 mm. The featured engine was a 90 degree V8 with a capacity of 5,230 cc and twin SU carburetors with a 4-speed automatic transmission.

Proud owners of the Phantom V included John Lennon, Queen Elizabeth II, and the Governor of Hong Kong. It has appeared in movies such as 1965 'Help!', 'Steptoe and Son' in 1972, 'Herbie Rides Again' in 1974, 'Rosebud' in 1975, 'The Toy' in 1982, 'Trading Places' in 1983, 'Spiderman' in 2001 and 'What a Girl Wants' in 2003.

by Jessican Donaldson