The 1937 Earls Court Motor Show 1937 Rolls Royce Phantom...

1937 Rolls Royce Phantom III Sedanca de Ville
Coachwork by Barker & Co
Registration no. Not registered with the DVLA
Chassis no. 3-CP-186
Engine no. A68C
• Displayed on the Barker & Co stand at the 1937 Earls Court Motor Show
• Known ownership history
• Present ownership since 2009
• Maintained by pre-war Rolls-Royce specialists Silver Chalice, Sheffield
• Recently repainted and re-chromed
• Dry stored between 2018 and 2022

This magnificent Phantom III was built for the Motor Show of 1937, the first to be held at Earls Court, where it was exhibited on the barker & Co stand. First registered as 'CWR 450' on 9th November 1937 to British Ropes Ltd of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, the Phantom passed through the hands of HR Owen, London in 1945 and circa 1946 was registered to one Fredrick Lawrence of St Ives, Cornwall. Mr Lawrence was followed by Captain Wilson Filmer of Little Weighton, Hull in 1947, and from 1959 by Ray Rutherford-Smith. The Rolls-Royce subsequently passed through various hands until it was acquired in 1976 by Stanley Thompson of Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, who owned it until 1993. John Breheney of Beccles Norfolk owned the Phantom from 1993 to (possibly) 2005 when it passed to one J R Moore of St Marks, Isle of Man where it was registered as 'YMN 111'. The current vendor purchased the car in 2009 at an auction in the Isle of Man.

The Phantom is believed to have been used by the Lord Mayor of London from 1965-1967; there is a letter on file from 'The Private Secretary to the Lord Mayor' concerning the car in 1979. Also present are extensive records dating back to the time of manufacture: copies of original build sheets, buff logbooks, letters and notes from past owners, photographs, etc. Among them is a letter and invoices from Rolls Royce Ltd, Willesden relating to service history from the 1940s to the 1960s.

Also on file is a copy of an article in Motor (26th May 1979 edition). The magazine's tester was obviously enamoured of the Phantom: "I have this vision of how I would use CWR 450 were she mine. I would use her every year for a two-week summer jaunt to the French Riviera. We would spend the first week driving down there, and the second week driving back; we would travel entirely by country roads, lunching on French bread and Beaujolais by the roadside; we would amble along in our own good time, with dignity, and in comfort and silence; and we would have absolutely no doubt that the old girl would get us there and back without faltering. She inspires that kind of faith, for the quality really does endure."

During present ownership the car has been maintained by pre-war Rolls-Royce specialists Silver Chalice in Sheffield. Recently the Phantom was resprayed in cream over black and the brightwork re-chromed, the works being completed in 2018. Stored between 2018 and 2022, though regularly run up to temperature,the Phantom is described as in great condition both inside and out.