MOTORING


A Phantom with its spirit back


In the early 1930s, Britain was awash with the great divide that came with the Great Depression. Yet while some areas of the country were broke and destitute, others flourished – particularly the motor industry.


The engine missing


The streets around us began to flicker with electricity instead of the slow burning of gas


lamps. And horse-drawn carriages were phased out with the sudden influx of motor cars.


While some scrimped their last shillings towards bread, others flashed the cash and took advantage of low interest rates with no expense spared.


Jack and wife Elsie at Chatsworth


made over their short production time as the asking price would have cost more than an entire housing estate or street. At a time when if a man was getting £2 a week he was doing well, you can see it would have been unaffordable for most. Rolls-Royce have long been synonymous with wealth


“It felt a little selfish to buy something like a Phantom. I’d had a Rolls-Royce for over 30 years but I’d always wanted a classic car. But everyone has enjoyed it over the years, especially my three grandchildren,”


In London’s affluent Kensington, the Olympia exhibition centre would become the shining platform on which one of the world’s most luxurious motor companies would unveil their latest design. At the annual new motor show in 1930, the clear curved roof shed light onto the new Phantom II by Rolls-Royce; a stately and elegant new car that was to become the pinnacle of extravagance.


Only 1,680 Phantom IIs were 80 aroundtownmagazine.co.uk


and indulgence, their expert craftsmanship and cutting-edge technology making them popular amongst the upper class, rich and powerful. The Mountbatten family, descendants of Prince Phillip, are said to have had a Phantom II in their fleet.


After the success of Blue Angel which made her a Hollywood starlet, German actress Marlene Dietrich was gifted a green version by director Josef von Sternberg,


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