| Stock: | 1017 |
| VIN: | 195GY |
| Color: | Velvet Green / Tan leather |
1931 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Park Ward Close Coupled Coupe
Chassis # 195GY
Body # 3501
Engine # QT55
158 bhp, 7,668 cc overhead valve inline six-cylinder engine with twin ignition (coil and magneto), four-speed transmission, semi-elliptic leaf spring and solid axle front suspension, semi-elliptic leaf spring and live axle rear suspension, and four-wheel self-equalizing servo assisted brakes. Wheelbase: 144"
- Delivered new to T.A. Roberts, Chairman of Park Ward
- One of the most handsome PIIs built
- Long chassis with stunning and very sporting close-coupled coachwork
- Excellent provenance and detailed documentation
Rolls-Royce made the announcement in September 1929 that the Phantom I chassis would be discontinued. Following Sir Henry Royce’s staunch belief in evolution not revolution, the company decided it was time to replace the PI with a more refined, updated chassis and an improved engine with cross-flow cylinder head for better breathing. Rolls-Royce debuted this new chassis, known today as the Phantom II, the following month at the London Olympia Motor Show. Of particular note were the PII’s rear springs, which were underslung. A considerable reduction in ride height was the result of the new rear spring layout, especially when combined with the PII’s new lower frame; the total reduction was on the order of nine inches, lending itself to more modern and sleek body designs.
While most coachbuilders evolved from the carriage-making trade, Park Ward was formed by W.H. Park and C.W. Ward just after the war with the clear intention of manufacturing coachwork for motor cars. The result was a product more suited to automobile bodies. Less than a year later, the new firm received their first commission for a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost. Quality alone, however, doesn't guarantee economic success, and by 1924, the partners faced financial difficulties which they resolved by taking outside capital and changing the name to Park Ward & Co.
One day by sheer coincidence, Frederick Henry Royce spotted a motor car with a Park Ward body parked by the side of the street. The perfect work and well-designed details impressed him. He immediately ordered H.I.F. Evernden to contact the coachbuilder Park Ward. The timing could not have been better as Park Ward again was nearing bankruptcy. In the same year, Captain Cuthbert W. Foster, heir to the Bird's Custard fortune, commissioned Park Ward to build a body for his newly acquired Bugatti Royale.
Rolls-Royce's appreciation led to a number of orders which helped Park Ward bridge their difficult financial situation. The co-operation between the coachbuilder and the motor car manufacturer worked very well. Numerous bodies for prototypes, so-called experimental cars, were made. In 1930, Rolls-Royce motor cars were counting for more than 90% of Park Ward's production. Two years later a contract was signed to build several bodies in series, as a sort of standard body, for Rolls-Royce. This enabled customers to take complete Rolls-Royce motor cars with coachwork by Park Ward directly from the showroom if they found design and interior to their liking. The arrangement became mutually beneficial but evolved into complete dependence, and in 1939 Rolls-Royce took over Park Ward.
According to Rolls-Royce factory records, chassis number 195GY was delivered to none other than Mr. T.A. Roberts, the Chairman of Park Ward Coachbuilders, for his own use as well as demonstration purposes. If it were possible for the master craftsmen of these famous works to lavish any more attention to detail on their charges, this is a car over which they would have taken extra care. The chassis card notes that the long chassis was specified for close coupled coupe coachwork, an unusual yet very attractive combination. It was also noted as having been set up for continental use and fitted with extra Hartford shocks, with special attention “to be given to performance,” with accessories including a full set of polished wheel discs, including four road wheels, twin rear-mounted spares and a sporting rear-mounted trunk.
The Close Coupled Coupe coachwork (body number 5301) is amongst the most stylish fitted to the Phantom chassis. The view down the long bonnet from the drivers seat in conjunction with the car's clean profile, the short cabin area, rows of louvers and the twin spares on the trunk all combine to give an impression of speed and lightness to the chassis. The impression the car made driving through the streets of London in the early ’30s, pulling up outside the most exclusive addresses in Mayfair and Belgravia, can only be imagined. Indeed, Mr. Roberts lived in Devonshire House in the heart of Mayfair, and the car no doubt attracted admiration whenever it was parked outside.
Successive keepers included its purchase in 1935 by a Mr. R.F. Cartwright of Banbury, who retained the car before selling it in 1946 to Mr. Geoffrey Frank of Shropshire. It then went to a Mr. W.D.L. Raw in 1954 before making its way to the United States, after having been purchased by Mr. Randy Stetson.
In the 1980s, 195GY was treated to a comprehensive restoration. The work focused mainly on cosmetics as the car was at that time in good mechanical order. Two subsequent owners used the car quite extensively, with the result that in 2003 an extensive professional mechanical restoration was commissioned by Bryan Richmond-Dodd with Hofman’s of Henley, a noted Rolls-Royce restorer. Detailed documentation attests to the extensive nature of the work undertaken, copies of which accompany the sale. The total cost of the work was in excess of €100,000, which was well over $200,000 US at the time.
Having returned to the UK in the late 1990s, this elegant and desirable car has been much admired, and the restored coachwork is resplendent in dark green and black, with polished wheel discs adding further to the impact of its imposing profile.
A very sporty coupe with step-plate running boards, dual-mounted rear spares and polished discs make this one of the most handsome Phantom IIs built. With its continuous and complete roster of keepers and documentation including factory and maintenance records, the car has excellent provenance. Equally suited to use on touring events or concours competitions, this Phantom II will still stop traffic and draw admiration wherever it goes, just as it has throughout the last seven decades.
Charles Crail Automobiles (805) 568-1934 Santa Barbara CA