Rolls Royce Phantom IV

Characteristics

By creating the Phantom IV, Rolls Royce broke with their earlier decision to cease production of the series of "big" Rolls-Royce Phantoms after the end of World War II. The chassis differed from those of the shorter, production post-War models, the Silver Wraith and the Bentley Mark VI, apart from a larger size and an engine with increased capacity and power, in having an additional cross-member at the centre of the cruciform bracing and 10-stud road wheel mounting.

The engine was a derivative of the 8-cylinder rationalized B range of petrol engines (formed by four, six and straight eight). Specifically it was a refined version of a B80, the last three of a B81, both used in military and commercial vehicles. The IV is the only Rolls-Royce motorcar to be fitted with a straight-8 engine, which was powerful but could also run long distances at a very low speed, an important feature for ceremonial and parade cars.

All examples of this exclusive series were bodied by independent coachbuilders, and most of their bonnets surmounted by the kneeling version of the Spirit of Ecstasy, which had been unveiled in 1934 and used in various other models.

History

In July 1938 Rolls Royce had to publish in the motoring press an announcement denying that the Phantom III fabrication would be interrupted. The following was published on 19 July 1938 in the British magazine The Motor:

THE COMPANY WISH TO DENY the rumour that the Phantom III is to be discontinued and replaced with another model having an 8-cylinder or other engine.

However, in 1937 a project was initiated to rein in the manufacturing costs of the Rolls-Royce and Bentley (acquired by RR in 1931) motor car chassis. This involved the development of a Rationalized Range of cars sharing as many common components of the chassis as possible. As implementation of this rationalization plan, several prototypes were made. One of these, chassis 30-G-VII, was fitted with a large Park Ward seven-seater limousine body and was called Silver Wraith 80, then Silver Phantom, though it soon became known as Big Bertha. This was the genesis of the Phantom IV.

Likewise, in 1939 and before the starting of hostilities, another straight-eight powered experimental automobile tested during and after World War II was a special Bentley Mark V, chassis 11-B-V fitted with a bored-out 6.3 litre eight-cylinder engine.

Although the official Experimental Department name for this car was Comet, its scorching performance earned it the fond epithet Scalded Cat. This unit in particular would later play a key role in the decision of creating the Phantom IV.

Indeed, in 1948 the Duke of Edinburgh heard about the Bentley nicknamed Scalded Cat and asked if he might test it out. He enjoyed this experimental car immensely and drove it for considerable distances. When he returned it, he apparently murmured about how nice it would be to have a car with performance in the Royal Mews. On 15 November 1948, not long after Prince Philip had driven the aforementioned automobile, an order came through for a Rolls-Royce motor car for Their Royal Highnesses Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip. They placed the order through The Car Mart, Ltd., RR official retailers. Such a vehicle would have to meet their official needs which meant it must be a limousine, it would also have to have good performance since the Prince wished to drive it himself. The car would be the first RR in the stables. It was originally planned to be the only Phantom IV, a strictly one-off piece.

Rolls-Royce, aware that Daimler had held the Royal warrant to provide motor cars since 1900, was very keen to ensure that the car was the best there had ever been, and a great deal of hand work was lavished on the construction of the chassis. The board had earlier considered making a replacement for the pre-war Phantom III, but were wary that such a large and expensive motor car might not have a market in the weak post-war economy. Production of the first two units of the new model was not at Crewe, but at the experimental Clan Foundry at Belper, which had been the home of the motor car branch during the Second World War. The experimental department still continued there until the closure of Clan Foundry in 1950, when it was finally transferred to Crewe.

The chassis 4AF2 was built under the code-name Nabha and Mulliner was selected as the coachbuilder, so they prepared drawings for approval. The chassis, was delivered to them on 20 July 1949 for erection of the body. Prince Philip visited the workshops more than once while it was being built. When the automobile was completed in July 1950 its delivery was accompanied by a public announcement stating the Phantom IV had been "designed to the special order of Their Royal Highnesses, the Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh".

As the car was privately owned when delivered to the couple it was painted Valentine green (deep green with a slight blue secondary hue) with red belt-line striping. The limousine became an official state car of the United Kingdom upon Princess Elizabeth's accession to that country's throne in 1952; as such, it was repainted in the sovereign's colour scheme of royal claret and black. It remains in the Royal Mews and is still occasionally used for royal and state occasions. For example, it was used at the wedding of Prince William of Wales and Kate Middleton to carry Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, from Clarence House to Westminster Abbey.

On 18 October 1948, Crewe received an order from the Government of Spain for three armoured cars for the use of Generalissimo Francisco Franco: two limousines and a convertible sedan. While the Phantom IV was not specified in the order, or even known outside the company at that time, it was decided that the best way to cope with the huge additional weight would be to build the three cars as Phantom IVs, rather than over-burden the Silver Wraith chassis. Especially since the Foreign Office suggested that Crewe could not turn down the order.

Without intending it, the Government of Spain triple order (along with the later Duke's commission) probably helped to give a decisive impulse to the existence of this model, as suggested by Martin Bennett in his book Rolls-Royce & Bentley: The Crewe Years and the number 9 September 1990 of the British magazine Classic Cars. All these three historical vehicles are property of the Spanish Army and are still in ceremonial use for the Spanish head of state.

It is not known exactly when the "Royalty and Heads of State only" policy was decided, nor indeed whether in fact there was such an explicit company policy. It is known though, that a boardroom decision was reached that it would be impractical and disruptive to production of standard models to attempt to build more than three Phantom IVs per year. It is also clear that no private customer other than Royalty and Heads of State ever took delivery of a Phantom IV. Nevertheless, a considerable number of coachbuilder's drawings exist of proposed Phantom IVs that never were built.

A number of these are proposals by coachbuilders for chassis which in the event were bodied by other coachbuilders. Others were proposed but not built at all. Most are linked to a specific customer's name, such as the King Farouk, the Maharajas of Baroda and Mysore, as well as the Americans Briggs Cunningham and James Melton. It is evident that certain customers outside of the Royalty and Heads of State category believed that a Phantom IV would be available for purchase. Just how, or if, the news was broken to those customers that the firm would not supply a chassis for their proposed cars, or how they were talked around to other models, is open to conjecture.

The Phantom IV ceased production in 1956, by this time the model was not considered necessary for state use: Appropriate bodies had been built on Silver Wraiths. So, it was possible to buy a Silver Wraith for state occasions, which worked well for the factory. On the contrary, the hand-built P. IV with each chassis crafted for weeks and coachwork customized for demanding customers, was not very profitable. Although contributed to reinforce the image of prestige the British firm was looking for.