Rolls-Royce Phantom

Inspired by the 'SuperSports' bodies built on experimental Phantom Is in the 1920s, this car carries a very rakish, sporting body, built by Bamptons of Swindon in the 1970s, to an original Barker design, which incorporates, amongst other things, ‘cutaway’ front doors, dual windscreens (with wings, to minimise wind effect), full hood, stylish wings, P100 headlamps, etc. The car is in good running order, sound, smartly presented, is complete with a full hood, front side screens and dual tonneau covers. To top it all, has an ‘RR’ registration number! MoT tested until December 2016.

Chassis No. 25CL Reg No. RR 9956 Price £95,000

Snippets: Which Barnes?

After being used as a display car by Barker in the 1928 Olympia Show 25CL first owner was F.J. Barnes of Woodthorpe, Nottingham. Little can be found of F.J. Barnes of that address but there is an Albert Henry Barnes of Woodthorpe - gentleman’s outfitter & Freemason; there is also a F.W. Barnes of Woodthorpe who was noted as being a keen gardener, specialising in Chrysanthemums & the donor of the F W Barnes Trophy to the Nottingham Horticultural Society (formed in 1889 and closed in 2010). The next we hear of 25Cl is in 1952 when the Phantom I is G.J. Webb of Long Eaton who kept 25CL until 1970 when it was sold to M.H. Gamble & registered at his company of Electromag-Neil Ltd. The firm can be traced back to the 1800s with H. W. Gamble (1841/85) a metal engraver, who worked as a metal engraver, his son H.E. Gamble (1878/1953) started the family firm of GPA (Gamble Piano Actions) in the manufacture of wooden piano actions. The 3rd generation M H Gamble (1907/76) served his apprenticeship with a German Piano Company & joined the family firm at the start of WWII when they were diverted by the Government to produce numerous Aircraft parts at their 3 factories. After WWII M.H. Gamble went into partnership with R. L. Neil of The Neil Tool Company & formed Electromag-Neil Ltd still supplying the Aero Industry - aircraft that Electomag-Neil produced parts for include the Spitfire, De Havilland, Nimrod & of course Concorde. Today the company is called ENL Ltd & today Richard Gamble (great-great-grandson of H.W. Gamble) is at the helm. Richard Gamble can remember his grandfather’s collection of cars including 25CL and when 25CL was first owned by M.H. Gamble it was as a chassis only! M.H. Gamble had the car re-bodied as a Boat-tailed Tourer by Bampton’s of Swindon, a small family run firm of specialist coach-builders from 1933/1979. M.H. Gamble only kept 25CL for a short period and by 1975 the car was with David A. Willis, a RREC Section Head who was the recipient of many awards & accolades for 25CL including 1st prize (Etat Prewar) at the 1979 RREC Annual Rally held at Packington Hall.