This is the 1925 Rolls-Royce Phantom Phantom I Jonckheere “Round Door” aerodynamic coupe, chassis number 94MC. This car started out it’s life as a 1925 Rolls Royce Phantom I, which came as the replacement to the Rolls Royce 40/50 model at the time. This specific Phantom I was originally a ‘Hooper Cabriolet’ bodied car, and was never delivered to its original purchaser in Detroit. It traded multiple owners before eventually finding itself in the hands of Henri Jonckheere, a Belgian motor coach and bus builder who founded his company in 1881 and focused mostly on horse-drawn carriages for the first 20 years. Together Henri and his son Josh worked to re-body and re-imagine the donor Phantom to create a spectacular one-off composition. The Jonckheeres created an extraordinarily beautiful new body featuring Bullet-shaped headlights, flowing fenders, and a long vertical tailfin down the boot lid to complete the sleek contours. The Jonckheeres developed and designed a unique set of ‘Round Doors’ for this custom build, which went on to become the cars eventual nickname. A total of 9 years after the cars original conception as a Phantom I, it wouldn’t be until 1935 that this new re-bodied coach built machine would be competed and ready in time for the 1936 Cannes Concours d’Elegance where it received the ‘Prix d’Honneur’. Subsequently the car again traded multiple owners, and even was neglected for a short time leaving the car in eventual disrepair. It wasn’t until the early 1950s that this car would again be found and brought back to life by an East Coast entrepreneur named Max Obie. From here, the car would then see multiple owners and color changes (including a gold finish using real gold) before it would eventually wind up in the hands of the Petersen museum in the year 2001, where it would eventually be painted black.
How many made? A total of 3512 Phantom’s were produced from 1925-1931. However, this car is a 1 of 1.
Engine: 8.0L straight-six producing 108hp
Debut: 1936 Cannes Concours d’Elegance
Top Speed: N/A
0-60: N/A
Photo Credit: @thee_coil_cutta
Research: @rarecarsonly