“STARTING FROM REST THERE IS NO NEED TO


ENGAGE A LOWER GEAR THAN SECOND. THE CLUTCH TAKES UP THE DRIVE SMOOTHLY AND ONE DOES NOT HEAR THE ENGINE ACCELERATE”


system, which provided a metered supply of lubricating oil to all essential points from a central reservoir. Lubrication of the chassis is taken care of by simply pushing a pedal inside the cabin every 50 to 100 miles. Think how much time and effort this system saves compared to crawling under the car with an oil gun every few hundred miles.


BEHIND THE WHEEL People often ask what is a Phantom III like to drive? The answer is simple: an absolute dream. I was once told that the sign of excellence in car design is that the car seems to become smaller as you drive it. This is certainly true of the Phantom III. At first attempt it appears to be a Leviathan, but it becomes a nimble and sure-footed friend after just a few miles. The car is barely audible at idle. In fact,


on some, the loudest mechanical noise is that of the fan belt rotating and the points opening and closing. Around 26 ft of exhaust system serves to ensure that the exhaust


Opposite, clockwise from top left: A 1937 Phantom III by Windovers built for the Prince of Berar; a beautiful drophead coupé by James Young on chassis 3AX193; a Barker Open Touring Body mounted on chassis number 3BU134


note is carried quietly to the rear and discharged without fuss as a whisper. First gear is engaged for pulling off on


most occasions and can be used to make a quick getaway from a junction, but second gear and up is where the machine really comes to life. The synchromesh gearbox allows for timely gear changes, although the car will pull away steadily from around 10 mph in top gear and accelerate steadily to its maximum speed of over 90 mph, and faster still if the motor car is fitted with light coachwork. Here is an extract from a contemporary


road test carried out by H E Symons on behalf of The Sunday Times (more on this fellow’s exploits later): “Starting from rest there is no need to


engage a lower gear than second. The clutch takes up the drive smoothly and one does not hear the engine accelerate. Unless the speedometer is closely watched one does not realise the extreme rapidity with which the car gathers speed. Even at 80 mph one drives easily without any sense of strain and able to converse in normal tones with one’s passengers. I ran the car up to 73 mph on third gear without there being any sensible vibration or noise from the power-unit. On top gear, on a suitable stretch of road, the speedometer reached 95 mph. Yet the car held the road as


STRIVE FOR PERFECTION 098


well as if it had been at 40 mph, and the springing was just as cushioned.” Rolls-Royce was able to supply a


Phantom III chassis around six to eight months after ordering when production was in full swing. In total, there were 727 chassis built (or “erected” as the factory termed it), including experimental chassis. The chassis was retailed at £1,850, and included the lamps, instruments, spare wheel, tools, spring gaiters, horns and the front bumper. The rest of the car was supplied by the coachbuilder, and by the time the body was built the price of the complete car would have risen to around £2,600 – or £165,000 in today’s money. To put this into perspective, a relatively large house in the Home Counties of England could be had in 1935 for around £600! The most expensive bodies to be fitted were generally Sedanca de Ville types, with the open touring cars being the least expensive by £100 or so. Rolls-Royce was keen to give the model as much publicity as possible, so some of the early cars were lent to motoring journalists throughout 1936 and 1937 to promote the cars wherever possible. One such journalist was the previously mentioned H E Symons, who wrote the extolling article in The Sunday Times. In 1937, Symons – accompanied by H B Browning and H F Hamilton – left Folkestone on a journey


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