Beschreibung:

1938 ROLLS-ROYCE PHANTOM III LIMOUSINE COACHWORK BY HOOPER & CO. Registration No. Not UK registered - (Originally EXE 248 - see text) Chassis No. 3 DL 2 Engine No. E 78 Y Black with black leather driver's compartment, fawn Bedford cloth to rear. Engine: V12, pushrod overhead valves, 7338cc, single downdraught double choke carburettor; Gearbox: manual four-speed, synchromesh on top three ratios; Suspension: independent front by wishbones with coil springs in oil filled casing, rear live axle with half elliptic leaf springs; Brakes: servo assisted four-wheel drum. Right hand drive. "Rolls-Royce have probably had more experience in the design and construction of twelve cylinder engines than any other firm in the world, for their first motor of this type was produced over 20 years ago." That was the company's proud and justified claim on the introduction of the Phantom III and its V12 engine in 1936. The new automobile's engine certainly looked like a scaled down version of the racing R-type aero engine that powered the Supermarine seaplane to victory in the Schneider Trophy in 1929; later generations would be struck by the family resemblance to the great Merlin aero engine. The Phantom III represented the company's determined effort to reinforce its claim to manufacture the best car in the world, a position challenged in the later days of the Silver Ghost and when the Phantom II was in production by very capable V12s - even a V16 - from Europe and the United States of America. Rolls-Royce went to great lengths to create an engine of unsurpassable refinement and power. The complex cylinder block was of aluminium with shrunk-in cylinder liners, oil supply was metered according to the needs of different components, silent hydraulic tappets were provided, there were 24 sparking plugs. The chassis was in keeping, with deep box section main members and central cruciform structure. In the interests of weight distribution, the gearbox was installed separately from the engine. There was a one-shot chassis lubrication system delivering oil to almost every moving part and the rear road springs were drilled and grooved to aid lubrication. The PIII was never intended to be an outright sporting car and relatively few were built with open or owner-driver bodies. Rather it was meant to provide the most modern handling and ride qualities, while carrying dignified formal coachwork. Even so, burdened-weight could be around 2.5 tons - the great car's performance was praiseworthy. Testing a PIII limousine, The Autocar's road-testers saw almost 92mph and quoted a 0-60mph time of 16.8 secs. Coachwork varied in style, from modern-looking "razor-edge" outlines, to frankly conservative shapes, more 1928 than 1938. But even those had a certain presence and with independent front wheel suspension permitting the engine to be further forward than on previous Phantoms, legroom and space for occasionals in the rear compartment was greater than ever. This Phantom III carries the number of the first car in the final series. According to the chassis build cards for this car the chassis was despatched from Derby in March 1938 to Hooper and Co. in London by LMS train for the limousine body to be mounted. The completed car went to stock until it was supplied to its first owner, Mr. W. Shakespeare of Surrey, in May of that year. In September 1944 it passed to Lt. Gen. Sir Willoughby Norrie, KCMG, CB, DSO, of Gloucestershire. It was purchased from the General by the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia, for the use of Sir William Slim, Governor General. Sir William was the commander of the 14th Army in Burma, ' the forgotten army ' of World War Two, which he led to victory in 1945. Two further owners in Australia are recorded, the second in 1964. It should be possible with existing documentation to reclaim the original registration number of a car with such a distinguished history. Offered as being in good general order and believed to run well. At the tim