1925 Rolls Royce Phantom Jonckheere Aerodynamic Coupe

[fgpsi]

Have never seen this before and was quite amazed. What a work of art! Definitely ahead of it's time

The story of the original car is fascinating. The 1924 Rolls Royce Phantom l with a convertible body by Hooper was commissioned by an American lady from Detroit. The car never got to the States however, and was subsequently purchased by the Raja of Nanpara, an Indian regional potentate under British rule. It’s at this point that the vehicle was sent to the Jonckheere brothers in Belgium for its new hand-crafted body. Some reports suggest it was intended as a present for Prince Edward, but all records from the factory were lost in the war and it is not even known who originally penned the fantastic Art Deco body shape.

The car was fitted with a 6-cylinder, 7.66L OHV inline six engine and a 4-speed manual transmission. The body was completely hand fabricated to include round doors, split-opening half-moon windows, twin sunroofs, bespoke luggage and a stabilizing fin at the rear. All told, the luxurious automobile was quiet enough to hold a conversation at speed and would easily travel at 100 mph (161 km/h).

The vehicle changed hands many times in the 40s and 50s until it ended up with American Max Opie, who restored it and painted it with six pounds of gold dust and lacquer. After life as a traveling sideshow, it disappeared until 1991 when it was purchased by a Japanese gentleman for US$1.5 million. In 2004 it was purchased by the Petersen Museum and restored to its first incarnation of black gloss exterior and red leather interior. The vehicle is a popular attraction at Palm Beach and other classic car concours events, but in a cruel twist is unfortunately not eligible for the top prizes at these gatherings as the original records are lost.

[stevefreestyle]

Awesome !!!!!

[castellan]

Got to love that their round door and steep driveways could be a problem.

[Bossxr8]

The first owner must have been a Pimp.

I could see him cruising the red light areas with one arm hanging out the window.

[csv8]

That would have been a custom build and to sell now would be worth millions...very cool!!

[Wretched]

Timeless automotive beauty that exudes style, luxury and quality.

[2011G6E]

Rolls Royce could roll that out of the factory today and people would still love it.

I'm imagining a copy of it in a fiberglass body on a chassis with some modern running gear under it...without the grill of course because Rolls Royce is a little touchy about that ...and it would sell like hot cakes.

Love the sliding sunroofs in their own little depression in the roofline.

[Franco Cozzo]

I'd have one

[malazn mafia]

8 Litre Straight Six!! Wonder how a Ford i6 would go if it displaced 8 Litres

[Elks]

I saw that in real life at the Peterson Museum a few years back.

It is without doubt the most impressive and elegant car I've ever seen. Those pics, as good as they are, barely do it justice.

[pbk1776]

Great engineering back then with limited technology

[ford71V8]

My first thought after seeing these photos was Metallica's frontman James Hetfield's latest custom (he has a bunch of great cars)





http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2...he-year-award/

[Ford17]

A few more pictures & info at Performance Forums:

Here: http://www.performanceforums.com/for...o-share/page98

& Here: http://www.performanceforums.com/for...o-share/page99

[Pedro]

Magnificent vehicle ... a true piece of coach building art.
Imagine hand making those round doors and making them fit properly, and the two windows meeting in the centre are fascinating.

[MethodX]

Looks like a Voisin.
Classic French car
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=v...w=1093&bih=539

[msman]

looks good and true craftsmanship.
when i first saw a photo of the back i did automatically have the batman theme song start playing in my head.

[Polyal]

Yeah thats nice, im not a fan of boxy Rolls but thats pretty.

[cheap]

Seems it would be more aerodynamic going in reverse than forward.