• Make: Rolls Royce
• Model: Phantom II
• Year: 1930
• Price: £99,000

1930 Phantom II Kelner style roadster with dickey.

Chassis number 199GN
Registration number GJ4487

Originally Bodied as a Pullman Landaulette by Barker.

199GN has had a recently built open body beautifully built to a Kellner inspired design. The frame is crafted from ash. This was then skinned with two layers of 3mm birch ply strips with each layer running at right angles to the other. This has resulted in an incredibly strong tight body which was then covered in Green fabric.

The coachwork takes the form of an open two seater with dickey seat to the rear & has been masterfully executed with great attention to detail. The roof stows unobtrusively between the seats & is very very simple to erect. Out of the first 611 chassis produced, just 21 were short chassis models of which this is one. Very sought after by coachbuilders, the short chassis cars allow for a very long bonnet making for rakish appearance.

The coachwork is very light & this is reflected in the driving experience. Steering is fingertip light & very precise due to the fitment of new kingpins etc. The car starts readily & pulls strongly in near silence. A Laycock overdrive is fitted which drops the RPM's 25% in top gear making for relaxed highway cruising.

The dickey has doors on either side, with two flaps on the upper surface in the closed position. In use the rearmost section slides backwards and down, to form the seat back for the rear passengers, whilst the front flap lifts for access. The dickey will accommodate two adults, whilst in the closed position it can be locked, so as to protect the luggage from opportunist theft.

A further locker is provided in the tail, and there is in addition a toolbox mounted on the offside running board. The wheel-changing tools are stowed under the rear seat, with an additional small compartment hidden behind them, for safe storage of passports and valuables.

The radiator is of nickel silver, and all the plating, the lights, windscreen and fittings, are finished in bright nickel. Lucas P100 ‘bullseye’ headlamps are fitted, operated by a Barker dipping mechanism. Adjustment of a readily accessible cam behind the lights provides for either straight dip, or lateral dip to the left or right for motoring abroad. CAV sidelights are fitted, which have double contact bulb holders, so that flashing indicators could be fitted without problems. The Hobson Telegage is the superior type fitted to Rolls Royce cars, and is provided with a small hand pump on the dashboard, designed to give an accurate reading of the fuel level in either gallons or litres.

A ‘Boa Constrictor’ bulb horn is fitted, in addition to the standard Klaxon. The hood protects the occupants of the front seats; it is of black double duck, and when folded sits just behind the front seats, without obstructing access to the dickey seats. The car is in excellent running order, with a current MOT and Road Fund licence. The radiator has recently been re-cored, and at the same time the cylinder head was de-carbonised and skimmed.

This is an extraordinarily rakish car & a refreshing change to the standard 4 door tourers one so often sees. The green fabric gives is a slightly WO Bentley feel, whilst remaining pure Rolls Royce in driving character.

The car may be viewed by prior appointment at our Medmenham Premises.