1933 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental Drophead Coupé by James Young

Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental chassis number 8MY was ordered by Samuel J Harris, managing editor of To-Day’s Cinema magazine and a theatre owner, as well as a prolific customer of Rolls-Royce and Bentley in this period. Such was his pull within the company that a note on the build sheet records that 15 per cent of the purchase price was apparently to be spent back in advertising in Harris’s publication. He specified the Continental configuration as well as Hartford Telecontrol shock absorbers, built-in jacks, special extended pedals, and “special attention to finish of parts below bonnet”, indicating he was a meticulous client indeed. He was also a sporting one, as in his care 8MY took part in the 1933 RAC Rally, concluding with a concours in Hastings in which it won its class.

The car subsequently passed in 1937 to Richard Fairfax Cartwright, then in 1958 to Dennis James Attenborough. In 1962, it was brought to North America in the care of Canadian enthusiasts Fred Dietrich and Milton Tisdale, then journeyed to the United States in 1967 in the care of Robert W Goodwin, followed in 1974 by Jack A Goffette. In 1982 it was purchased by J M Mooley and returned to the United Kingdom, at which point the present engine, numbered SU55, was fitted.

The Continental was acquired by The British Icons Collection in 1989, and for over 35 years has been driven with enthusiasm. The car gained mechanical support first by P&A Wood, which installed an overdrive unit, and subsequently by fellow specialists A Archer and Jonathan Wood, all documented by an impressive collection of accompanying invoices. Its chapter in André Blaizé’s Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental notes its participation in the London to Istanbul Trial of 2000 (covering 5,435 miles), a 3,000-mile tour of Finland, Sweden, and Norway in 2002, and the 20-Ghost Club’s 4,100-mile Mozart Tour of Austria in 2006. It is said that the owner covered about 35,000 miles in his tenure in total, undoubtedly making this one of the most-driven of all Continentals in present times.

An exceptionally well-proven Continental, with beautiful original drophead coachwork by one of the most respected British shops, chassis number 8MY is among the most-loved examples of its rarefied breed to be offered at auction in recent memory. A rally entrant both when new and in the present, it deserves a new home where it will continue to be well-sorted and properly used.