Rolls-Royce Phantom III

Start with what the Rolls-Royce Phantom III is: a car with 7338 cc (447 cubic inches) V12, built from 1936 to 1939, when streamlining and independent suspension were arriving together. What it meant takes a little longer.

Where it came from

The Rolls-Royce Phantom III was the final large pre-war Rolls-Royce. Introduced in 1936, it replaced the Phantom II, and it was the only V12 Rolls-Royce until the 1998 introduction of the Silver Seraph. It is the first of the three V12-powered Rolls-Royce Phantoms, with the 2003-2017 Rolls-Royce Phantom VII and 2018- Rolls-Royce Phantom VIII being the other two.

727 V12 Phantom III chassis were constructed from 1936 to 1939, and approximately 650 have survived. Although chassis production ceased in 1939 (with one final chassis being built in 1940), cars were still being bodied and delivered in 1940 and 1941. Though the rolling chassis was completed in 1941, the last car was not delivered with a body to its owner until 1947. The Phantom III was the last car that Henry Royce worked on – he died, aged 70, a year into the Phantom III's development.

Under the skin

The engine is 7338 cc (447 cubic inches) V12. On the scales it comes to 1837 kg. Drive goes through a 4-speed manual. The wheelbase is 142 in (3607 mm). These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.

In context

In the Rolls-Royce line-up the Rolls-Royce Phantom III has a clear place: it replaced the Phantom II; it handed the line to the Silver Wraith / Phantom IV. The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Bugatti Type 57, the Chevrolet Suburban, the Volkswagen Beetle. Nearby in the Rolls-Royce catalogue sit the Rolls-Royce 100EX and the Rolls-Royce 102EX.

Owning one today

MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Rolls-Royce Phantom III has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.