A unique and incredibly stylish Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental Ownership known from new to present day Formerly part of the world renowned Bamford collection In excellent condition both cosmetically and mechanically Featured in numerous books on the subject of Phantom II Continentals Ideal for touring and or future high level concours events A superb motor car in every respect Chassis No 47RY was originally completed in June of 1934 and supplied by London dealer S.E. Longman to Sir John Leigh. It was fitted with a one off drophead coupe body of exceptional style by Freestone & Webb of Willesden, complete with dickey seat. We believe it was finished originally in grey with a red leather interior looking at early period photographs of the car. The original Rolls-Royce build records state that 47RY was intended “for use in the UK and Continent………. mainly fast touring” and was specified with separate speedometer and rev counter, rather than the standard grouped instrument dashboard arrangement. Sir John Leigh was a highly successful Lancashire mill owner who built his fortune in the cotton industry. He was made a baronet in 1918 and later purchased the Pall Mall Gazette, a London evening newspaper which amalgamated with The Evening Standard in 1923. In 1922 he was elected to Parliament as the Conservative MP for the Clapham district of Wandsworth, a position he retained until 1945. He was also a very good customer of Rolls-Royce, ordering several new Phantom IIs and Phantom IIIs, many of which were bodied by Freestone & Webb. Aside from Chassis No 47RY, Sir John also commissioned and purchased Chassis No 42PY by Freestone & Webb, perhaps one of the finest looking Rolls-Royces ever made with closed coachwork, a car we owned in the 1950s. Following Leigh’s ownership, Chassis No 47RY passed through a succession of owners in England including Nora Moore, Lord Patrick Stuart, F.G. Greenaway, and Roland Smith. In 1939, King’s Court Garage of Hammersmith in London advertised the car for sale in The Motor magazine, describing it as “the only body of its type in existence and was built to the special order, regardless of cost, of a multi-millionaire.” Images of this advertisement are displayed in the superb two volume book “Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental” by Andre Blaize. The car remained in the UK until 1959 when exported to the US when it was acquired by Dr. Francis A. Sooy of San Francisco, California, an internationally renowned surgeon and professor. During his ownership, the car was restored by Dennis Balchin, finished in black over red leather. It was then sold towards the end of the 1960s to Robert C. Hill. In the 1970s Chassis No 47RY passed through the ownership of two noted Rolls-Royce collectors, those being Mr Ray Lutgert and Dr. James Stickley before being sold to Jeffrey Pattinson and returning to England in the early 1980s. After taking part in a 1984 RREC Rally at Charterhouse School, the car returned to California, where it was owned by Markley Brown and Don Williams. In 1990, the famed collector Sir Anthony Bamford acquired 47RY and instructed a complete restoration, with mechanical work being carried out by Coldwell Engineering of Sheffield and the cosmetic work overseen by David Hemmings and Brian Frost. It was finished in two-tone grey with a red leather upholstery, the way it remains today. It then went on to win several concours. It was then sold to sportsman and philanthropist Trevor Hemmings in August 1996. Its most recent concours outing took place at the Concours of Elegance in 2013 when held at St. James’s Palace in London. Surely among one of the most attractive Rolls-Royce of the period, Chassis No 47RY has unsurprisingly been featured in numerous books on the subject and was selected as a fine example of Freestone and Webb coachwork in Lawrence Dalton’s famous book Those Elegant Rolls-Royce. It was described by the author as an “extremely attractive and sporting car” in his definitive book on the model, The Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental. Chassis No 47RY is in our opinion, one of the most stylish Phantom II Continentals built, and one of the most attractive pre-war Rolls-Royce motor cars in existence. It remains in beautiful condition, having been carefully maintained by knowledgeable caretakers and is currently offered directly from one of the UK’s finest collections. We have long admired this beautiful motor car and are delighted to be offering it for sale. We believe Chassis No 47RY is ideal for touring and or future high level concours participation. In 1929 the arrival of the Rolls-Royce Phantom II set new standards for others to follow. It was a vehicle specifically designed with the chauffeur driven passenger in mind. At the time the only home-produced rival to compare with the Phantom II was the Bentley 8 Litre, which was a faster vehicle but was thought to be far less chauffeur friendly, with considerably heavier steering and a gearbox which was more difficult to operate. During the development of the Phantom II, the majority of the long-distance testing was carried out on the long straight roads surrounding Chateauroux in France. This fact and Mr Henry Royce’s many journeys between the South of England and the South of France no doubt opened his eyes to the type of motoring not available upon England’s narrow and windy roads. With long-distance high-speed motoring in mind, the Phantom II Continental chassis was created, the project being personally overseen by Henry Royce with assistance from Ivan Evernden. The whole car, including originally its style of coachwork was conceived by Royce, to be a more sporting and compact four-seater owner/driver motor car when compared to the long wheelbase standard Phantom II. Just 281 such chassis were produced, and they differentiated themselves from their standard cousins with thicker springs and a 6-inch shorter chassis, measuring 144 inches. The steering column was optionally lowered to what was known as the “F” rake position, and the floor was also lowered to allow more rakish coachwork to be fitted. Mechanically speaking the Continental was fitted with a higher ratio back axle (12/41) which provided brisk acceleration and higher top speeds at lower revolutions. Royce decided that the use of 5 thicker leaf springs as opposed to the standard 9 or 10 would save weight and allow for a smoother ride if the road surface was less than perfect. To assist control of the ride additional shock absorbers were also added to the standard hydraulic units, which were controllable from the driver’s seat in the later examples. With lightweight coachwork being fitted the result was a motor car capable of carrying four people in comfort, at high speeds, for many hours at a time over great distances. It is rightly considered by many to be one of the finest pre-war Rolls-Royces ever built.