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1928 Rolls Royce Phantom I EX 15
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Registration No. CH 7189
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Motor Cars
1928 Rolls Royce Phantom I EX 15
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Registration No. CH 7189
Chassis No. 29 CL (15 EX)
Engine No. 21 EX
Estimate £35,000 - £40,000
What appears to be a fairly standard Hooper bodied New Phantom limousine is in fact an amalgam of three important Rolls Royce cars with a truly amazing story and an exceptional provenance having played a big part in the history of the Rolls Royce between the wars.
Sir Henry Royce instituted the production of several experimental chassis by Ivan Evernden during the
development of the new Phantom model to replace the Silver Ghost. These cars were given EX chassis
numbers and one was extensively used for high speed testing mainly on the long straight roads of France. This car was 15 EX, engine No. 21 EX registered CH 7189, and fitted in the late 1927 with a superb
lightweight Hooper streamlined sports body. This engine incorporated many special modifications.
During testing in early 1928 in France, however having achieved speeds of well over 90mph the car was involved in a skidding accident on a wet road and seriously damaged after hitting a tree. The remains were returned to Derby and the chassis was rebuilt with a long frame, new type radiator, dash and bonnet, and renumbered 29 CL, still registered CH 7189 and still using engine 21EX. A very glamorous Barker
Continental Torpedo Tourer body was now fitted, and the car was used as an official demonstrator until the arrival of the new Phantom II model rendered it obsolete. During this period the car lived a busy social life, being used at the wedding of Prince Christopher of Greece in Palermo, and became the German
demonstration model known as the ‘Baden and Prague’ propaganda car.
29CL then passed through several hands, before returning to Rolls Royce ownership and being rebodied with its present splendid Hooper limousine coackwork in 1931, and still with the original engine No. 21EX and still registered CH 7189. In this form the car survives to this day, having spent the intervening 80 years in a variety of ownerships before being acquired and recommissioned by the present owner in 1974. The car has worked hard over the years, providing enjoyable luxury motoring in a huge variety of roles, and is well known in RREC and VSCC circles. In 1977 29CL attended the Queen’s Silver Jubilee celebration at
Windsor.
So here is a most important page in the history of Rolls Royce, having lived three separate identities, whilst remaining one car, and described by the owner as being ‘mellow, serviceable, reliable and road ready’.
29CL is currently taxed and with a recent MoT certificate is very much ‘road ready’ and will be driven to the Auction from its home in Cheshire. A raft of interesting documents accompany the lot, covering many facets of the cars life, and frequent references to the various incarnations of 29CL crop up in reference books on the marque.
(Body