We recently welcomed over 30 members of the Rolls Royce Enthusiasts club to take a look around our workshops here at The Carrosserie. Why? To find out more about a 1925 Phantom 1 prototype we’re currently rebuilding that briefly appeared in TV show The Saint alongside none other than Roger Moore. It is the last one in existence so we’re extremely excited to be involved!
We’re working on the Phantom on behalf of a European client, someone we have worked with for years rebuilding and restoring beautiful cars for him to add to his collection. This particular Phantom 1 is the oldest known in existence and hasn’t been seen in public since the 1960’s when The Saint was aired. Interestingly, the prototype was built as a Silver Ghost but was re-built and renamed the Phantom 1 at the Amsterdam Show of 1924. Currently it needs a complete rebuild and we’ll be doing it all from scratch including the ash frame and steel panels-we don’t buy anything in as it’s never the same quality. The old body was destoryed so it has come to us to have this re-built. Currently, it is little more than just a chassis.
The Rolls Royce Enthusiasts took a look around our workshops and met some of the team and had the chance to ask lots of questions about the project. Many were surprised to hear the restoration is likely to take over a year but we’re only a team of 8 here and it takes time to achieve the quality of results we are proud of here at The Carrosserie. Due to the rarity of this car the club were intrigued to find out more about the project.
We’ll be sharing lots more snippets of the project as we continue through the process to giving this beautiful car a new lease of life.
