The age of the elegant, formal carriage-trade limousine has long since passed in the world of modern cars. The art of building such vehicles was only truly practised in Britain, and it faded with the demise of the Rolls-Royce Phantom VI in '92 and, to a lesser degree, the Daimler DS420 at around the same time. The reasons were manifold but hard - and expensive - to ignore: safety legislation, type-approval irritations, and the cost of skilled labour able to form aluminium and hard woods into the graceful forms these traditional bodies required.
Too low-volume to justify production-line tooling, these specialised limousines-vehicles that had more in common with the horsedrawn broughams and landaulettes of 150 years previously than the modern 'stretched' equivalents - took months to build. They were always created to order, never for stock, and by necessity hugely expensive, which further reduced their potential audience.
It was a market that was dwindling anyway.
As ordinary large cars became easier to drive and handle generally, the need for chauffeur transport even among the very wealthy was in decline. Why employ a driver when it was such a pleasure to take the wheel of your Silver Shadow? Who really needed massive amounts of legroom and seven seats in a 20ft-long car to travel a world in which such decadence might, increasingly, be frowned upon? Most Phantom Vs had Park Ward or Mulliner Park Ward bodies. The 1959 Phantom V - the first Rolls-Royce to use the name since the demise of the 'Royalty only' straight-eight Phantom IV had been under development as Project Siam since 1955.
It was a well-judged extrapolation of the new Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II technology, which still meant massive drum brakes (with gearboxdriven servo assistance) and a live rear axle, but now with the new, all-aluminium 6.2-litre V8 of undisclosed, but 'adequate' outputs.
この記事は Classic & Sports Car の August 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
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この記事は Classic & Sports Car の August 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
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Mick WALSH
'Had someone said that this worn-looking titan would win the most famous old-car event, we would have laughed'
ALFA ROMEO STELVIO QF
Rewriting the rulebook on what an SUV can do, and how it can make you feel
FLOATING INTO THE FUTURE
Citroën's DS-replacing CX was at a cutting edge so sharp it still looks fresh today, and it had the drive to match - as five superb survivors reveal
"It's a car for posing in really"
Broadcaster Michael Buerk reflects on more than three decades with his beloved Jaguar E-type S1 3.8 fixed-head coupé
HONDAS DECK THE HALL
The Japanese firm's Los Angeles collection is now on public display for the first time in two decades
ABSOLUTELY buzzing
Honda's Si Civics brought agile, cheap fun to motorists long before the Type R name got anywhere near a hatchback
THE FEMININE TOUCH
In 1955, General Motors styling guru Harley Earl brought 11 talented women into the male-dominated world of automotive design. What was their lasting impact?
Out on a limb
Panther's innovative Solo 2 was something completely different, both for its maker and the sports car market
Restyles with substance
Panther Westwinds blended a passion for pre-war designs with modern-era mechanical usability and remarkably fine coachbuilding
Dead ringers
The Maserati Kyalami and De Tomaso Longchamp share much, having emerged from the same stable, but are poles apart at heart