Beautiful and unique coachwork on Rolls-Royce’s ultimate pre-war flagship. Beautifully presented and sorted by marque experts.
This 1936 Rolls-Royce Phantom III, chassis 3BU2 was the very first B-series Phantom III delivered and wears distinct and beautiful one-off coachwork by Barker. The Two-Seat Sports Coupe body is a rather unusual style for the Phantom III, as the flagship chassis was generally fitted with large multi-passenger bodies. A stunningly beautiful car, it is one of four fixed-head coupes supplied by Barker on the PIII chassis, and the only one to feature a Dickey seat and rear mounted spare wheel. This example was sold new in March of 1937 to a Mrs. Frances Bell, wife of Dr. Dennistoun Mildeberger Bell of Amangansett, New York. A photo of the car when new can be found in Lawrence Dalton’s book, Rolls Royce: The Derby Phantoms (p. 375). It is not known how long the car was in the possession of the somewhat eccentric Bell family, but it remained on the East Coast of the U.S. for much of its life. In more recent years, it received a cosmetic restoration in England, and then returned to the United States where it received a mechanical restoration by the highly regarded Phantom III experts at Dennison-Jayne Motors of West Chester, Pennsylvania.
Today, this remarkable Rolls-Royce Phantom III presents in handsome condition, its older restoration and paintwork having held up quite well, though showing a few minor flaws upon closer inspection. The two-tone paintwork suits the handsome Barker coachwork very well, with black wings and top surfaces accented with deep burgundy body sides and gold coach stripes to provide a visual break between the two. Paint quality and body fitment are very good. The coachwork is decidedly sporting, particularly for a PIII, with Lucas Tri-Bar headlamps, a single center-mounted spot lamp, kneeling Spirit of Ecstasy mascot, black-wall Michelin tires, and polished wheel discs. A single, rear-mounted spare wheel enclosed in a painted metal cover keeps the body-sides, adding a unique touch to the Barker design……………..
