Rolls-Royce Phantom IV

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Rolls-Royce Phantom IV
Overview
Production 1950–1956
18 produced
Powertrain
Engine 5.7 L I8
Transmission 4-speed gearbox (from 1954, 4-speed automatic gearbox standard)
Dimensions
Wheelbase 3.683 m (145 in)
Length 5.77 m (227 in)
Width 1.95 m (77 in)
Chronology
Predecessor Phantom III
Successor Phantom V

The Phantom IV was the most exclusive Rolls-Royce model ever built.[1] Only 18 were made between 1950 and 1956, exclusively for royalty and heads of state. Of these, 16 have survived.

Characteristics

By creating the Phantom IV the manufacturer broke with their earlier decision to cease production of the series of "big" Rolls-Royce Phantoms after the end of the Second World War.[2] The chassis was developed from that of the Silver Wraith, strengthened and lengthened considerably to a wheelbase of 145 inches and an overall length of 229 inches.

It 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 cars.

All examples of this unique model were bodied by independent coachbuilders and their bonnets surmounted by the kneeling version of the Spirit of Ecstasy.

History

In 1949, Rolls-Royce received an order from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh for a Rolls-Royce limousine.[3] His Royal Highness took this decision when he was lent an experimental Bentley with an eight-cylinder engine; the young Duke was so impressed he asked Rolls-Royce to build such a chassis to his order.[citation needed]

The commission was accepted and Rolls-Royce, aware that Daimler had held the Royal warrant to provide motor cars since 1900, intended to ensure that they made the best car they could. The directors 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 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.[3][2]

Under the code name "Nabha", the royal Rolls-Royce was hand-built on a stretched Silver Wraith chassis. When 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, and was not an official state car, it was painted Valentine green (deep green with a slight blue secondary hue) with red beltline striping. The limousine became an official state car upon Princess Elizabeth's accession to the British throne in 1952; as such, it was repainted in claret and black.[3] It remains in the Royal Mews and is occasionally used to transport Royal aides and friends to Royal Ascot. The car 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.

This first Phantom IV was the first of two that Princess Elizabeth ordered; in 1954 a similar model with a landaulet body entered the royal fleet. The landaulet has since been retired.

Rolls-Royces remained preferred by the British Royal Family until the delivery of two customised Bentleys donated by that firm in 2002. However, the Phantom IV is sometimes used for special occasions of the royal family, such as by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall at the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in 2011.

Other owners included the Queen's sister, HRH The Princess Margaret, The Countess of Snowdon and the Spanish Head of State, General Francisco Franco, whose three customised Phantom IVs (two limousines and a cabriolet) are still in ceremonial service with HM King Juan Carlos I of Spain.

List of the 18 units

Chassis First owner Coachbuilder Type of coachworkCoachwork number/design Original colour Upholstery Delivery date Curiosities
4AF2 HRH The Princess Elizabeth, The Duchess of Edinburgh H. J. Mulliner Limousine 7-seater 5034 / 7162 First Valentine green with a red stripe down either side; repainted claret and black in 1952 Front: blue leather, rear: grey cloth 6 July 1950 Mascot of Saint George and dragon, designed by artist Edward Seago, it is made of silver and can be transferred from car to car—whichever the Queen is riding in. Fitted with a specially modified driver's seat in case the Duke of Edinburgh wished to drive himself. Is fitted with a Lion as the mascot when used in Scotland

On April 10, 1952 the Queen was driven in this car to her first Royal Engagement, the presentation of Maundy Money at the Westminster Abbey. It carried the Queen to the opening of the Parliament in 1954.[4]

4AF4 Rolls-Royce Park Ward Pick-up truck ~ Grey ~ 1 October 1950 Experimental truck used for the factory. Dismantled in 1963.
4AF6 HM Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran H. J. Mulliner Cabriolet 5077 / 7205 Blue silver White 3 December 1951 According to Martin Bennett's book "Rolls-Royce & Bentley: The Crewe Years" (3rd edition, 2011), chassis 4AF6, a 2-door convertible, was returned to Rolls-Royce: The third PIV built, and the second delivered to a customer, was 4AF6 for the Shah of Iran. The coachwork was again by H.J. Mulliner, but the huge drophead coupe body, which was finished in a light metallic blue with white leather upholstery, was by no means characteristic of this coachbuilder. It was the only Phantom IV to have built-in Silver Dawn type headlamps. The car was returned to Rolls-Royce Ltd in 1959, it is believed because it had proved insufficiently stiff, flexing severely on Iranian roads. The outcome was that the company scrapped it, though the body survives on a Phantom III chassis, which perhaps suggests that the fault lay with the chassis. The car made its way to the United States in 1982, apparently from Switzerland,[5] still with its metallic blue paint. Recent photos of it (2000s)[6] exist online, but its current whereabouts are unknown.
4AF8 HH Abdullah III Al-Salim Al-Sabah, Hakim of Kuwait H. J. Mulliner Limousine 6 light saloon 5153 / 7206 Beige and royal midnight blue Biscuit July 1951 At the Nethercutt Museum, 15151 Bledsoe Street, Sylmar, CA 91342. Abdullah III's two-tone green example is also in the museum (see below).
4AF10 HRH The Prince Henry, The Duke of Gloucester Hooper Limousine 9663 / 8292 Black Fawn 1 September 1951 Featured in the 1966 films Arabesque[7] and Fumo di Londra (Smoke over London).
4AF12 Ernest Hives, director of RR, then HRH The Princess Marina, The Duchess of Kent Hooper Limousine 7-seater 9719 / 8307 Blue, later repainted black Beige 1 July 1951 According to Martin Bennett's book "Rolls-Royce & Bentley: The Crewe Years" (3rd edition, 2011), Ernest Hives is said to have used the car only infrequently, preferring his Bentley R-Type B226WH. The car was built with a manual transmission but was converted to automatic before being sold to Princess Marina.
4AF14 General Francisco Franco of Spain H. J. Mulliner Limousine 5-seater 5035 / 7181 Black West of England beige 13 June 1952 Armoured rear.
4AF16 General Francisco Franco of Spain H.J. Mulliner Limousine 7-seater 5036 / 7181 Black West of England beige 4 July 1952 Armoured rear.
4AF18 General Francisco Franco of Spain H. J. Mulliner Cabriolet 4945 / 7183 Black Green leather 28 March 1952 It was officially used for the first time on the 18 July 1952 victory parade. Armoured rear.
4AF20 HH Aga Khan III Hooper Limousine sedanca de ville 9750 / 8293 Dark green with a sideline in light green; later repainted entirely red Red leather May 1952 When R. R. sold the car to the Aga Khan they included a clause which said he could not sell the car. However after his death his widow sold it to the Mayfair-Lennox hotel (Missouri, USA), where it was used to pick up guests at the airport but due to the boot short capacity it was resold in 1962. The car was later repainted red. In August 2011, the car was offered for sale at the Gooding & Company auction held in Pebble Beach, California. It was estimated to sell for $850,000-1,100,000. Bidding failed to satisfy the vehicle's reserve and it left the auction unsold. Its now available on show at the Rolls-Royce gallery in the BMW museum in Munich[8]
4AF22 HH The Prince Talal of Saudi Arabia Franay Cabriolet - / 7183 Cream and green Green leather June 1952 The only Phantom IV with a French-made coachwork. This one was listed in their works description as a sedanca de ville, but a four-door cabriolet was erected on the chassis instead.
4BP1 HM King Faisal II of Iraq Hooper Limousine 9890 / 8361 Black Red leather 26 March 1953 Made for his coronation.
4BP3 HRH 'Abd al-Ilah, Prince Regent of Iraq Hooper Touring limousine 7-seater 9891 / 8370 Delivered all-black; later black over white, with black fenders[9] Light blue leather 26 March 1953 Built for the coronation of his nephew, King Faisal II. Years later all the royal family members were assassinated in the 1958 coup d'état. At the time of the uprising, the car was at Hooper's in London for servicing and was saved as a result.
4BP5 HM Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom Hooper Landaulet 9941 / 8399 Claret and black Front: blue leather, rear: grey cloth 1 May 1954 Rolls-Royce kept this car for the exclusive use of the British Sovereign. Finally in 1959 it was purchased by the Queen and used by the royal family until the late 1980s.

It is currently on display at the Sir Henry Royce Foundation.

4BP7 HRH The Princess Margaret, The Countess of Snowdon H. J. Mulliner Limousine 7-seater 5686 / 7368 Black Beige cloth 16 July 1954 Purchased by Princess Margaret, she chose Pegasus designed by Edward Seago and made (by Louis Lejeune Ltd., London) as her mascot. Fitted with an adjustable seat in case the Princess wished to drive herself. The car, still in its original black color and featuring its Pegasus hood ornament, was offered for sale by The Real Car Company of Bethesda, Gwynedd, North Wales[10] in 2008. No selling price was published but the company states that it sold for "somewhere around $750,000."
4CS2 HH Abdullah III Al-Salim Al-Sabah, Hakim of Kuwait H. J. Mulliner Limousine 6 light saloon 5724 / 7376 Two-tone green Olive green leather 1 February 1955 On display at the Nethercutt Museum, USA. Previously at the now-defunct Ellenville Motor Museum of Ellenville, New York. According to a plaque at the Nethercutt Museum, the car cost $25,000 when purchased new.
4CS4 HH Abdullah III Al-Salim Al-Sabah, Hakim of Kuwait H. J. Mulliner Limousine 5725 / 7376 Golden copper and silver Beige August 1955 On display at Castillo Concejuelo in Torre Loizaga, Biscay, Spain
4CS6 HM Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran Hooper Limousine 10177 / 8425 Black then repainted in bordeaux Grey leather October 1956 In 1977 the car was in London for "major repairs and refurbishing". After three years and a reported $25,000 worth of repairs, the car was still in the UK. There was a dispute over who owned the car; the ousted Shah or representatives of the Iranian Embassy who said it belonged to their country.[11] Finally the exiled Pahlavi family lost their claim to ownership in the British courts. This unit is currently displayed at the National Car Museum of Iran.

References

  1. ↑ (c) 1997-99 K.-J. Rossfeldt, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. "Rolls-Royce Phantom IV, Rolls-Royce and Bentley, Photos, Reports and Books from the archives of K. J. Roßfeldt". Rrab.com. Retrieved 2012-10-05. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 James Carrington. "Rolls-Royce Phantom IV". Darkforce. Retrieved 2012-10-05. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Pigott, Peter (2005). Royal Transport: An Inside Look at the History of Royal Travel. Dundum Press. pp. 125–126. ISBN 978-1-55002-572-9. Retrieved 2013-06-25. 
  4. ↑ Buckley, Martin (2004). "1 Pomp & circumstance". Cars of the Super Rich: The Opulent, the Original and the Outrageous. St. Paul, MN USA: Motorbooks International. p. 24. ISBN 0-7603-1953-7. Retrieved 2012-10-05. "The Phantom IV was the royal family's official state limousine and carried the Queen to the opening of Parliament in 1954." 
  5. ↑ Trenk, Dick (2010-04-06). "Comes with an armed guard". In Bergsma, Joris; Booy, Rutger. http://www.prewarcar.com/postwarclassic/. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Pre-War Post-War Publishing. Archived from the original on 2010-06-21. Retrieved 2013-08-25. "One chassis was rebodied with a six seat convertible body for the Shah and because it had been at the Mulliner Park Ward body works during the overthrow, it survived. It was smuggled into Switzerland and kept hidden." 
  6. ↑ http://www.flickr.com/photos/11040070@N07/4241174749/in/set-72157622995782389|title=Rolls Royce Phantom IV 4AF6 at auto show
  7. ↑ "Internet Movie Cars Database: 1951 Rolls-Royce Phantom IV Limousine Hooper [4AF10]". Imcdb.org. Retrieved 2012-10-05. 
  8. ↑ http://www.conceptcarz.com/z20782/Rolls-Royce-Phantom-IV.aspx
  9. ↑ http://www.rrab.com/nov03.htm
  10. ↑ http://www.realcar.co.uk/cars_sold_2009.htm
  11. ↑ New York Magazine: 17 March 1980. Books.google.es. 1980-03-17. Retrieved 2012-10-05. 

External links

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars timeline
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