1925 Round Door Rolls-Royce at the Petersen Museum
We have wanted to visit the Petersen Automotive Museum for many years. It is internationally recognized for its innovative design, and is dedicated to the interpretive study of the automobile and its influence on our culture and lives. What finally got us out there - an invitation to see the 1925 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Aerodynamic Coupe, aka, the Round Door Rolls.
The Rolls-Royce Aerodynamic Coupe is the centerpiece of the museum newest “Treasures of the Vault” exhibition, which will highlight a selection of important, but seldom seen Petersen Automotive Museum acquisitions. This car has been described as an unlikely combination of extravagant European coachwork on a conservative British chassis - we call it amazing.
Originally the car was a 1925 Rolls-Royce Phantom I with a body built in 1934 by Jonckheere of Belgium. Like all other prewar Rolls-Royce motorcars, this Phantom I was delivered new in chassis-only form to a coachbuilder. Hooper & Co. was the chosen body maker and in 1925, the completed vehicle was delivered with cabriolet coachwork to its first owner, a Mrs. Hugh Dillman of Detroit. Mrs. Dillman reportedly did not like the car and it appears never to have left England.
The Rolls-Royce was purchased by the Raja of Nanpara before being passed on to an unknown number of other owners and by 1932 was seen in Belgium. Two years later its then owner sent the car to Jonckheere of Belgium to be stripped of its cabriolet body and fitted with fashionably aerodynamic coachwork complete with twin sunroofs, a large fin, a sloping radiator shell, and round doors.
Although the design was controversial and not highly regarded by most Rolls-Royce aficionados, the car was well received by Concours d’Elegance judges of the day and was reported to have taken a Prix d’Honneur at the August, 1936 Cannes Concours d’Elegance.
The prize winning car then passed through the hands of several other owners, and was observed in Bar Harbor, Maine before World War II being driven by a chauffeur who was supposedly so obese, that he could not get out of the car to assist his employer to disembark. The Round Door Rolls was next discovered in the 1950’s, in New Jersey, in a junk yard.
It is not known who rescued the car from being scrapped, but East Coast entrepreneur Max Obie eventually acquired the unusual Rolls-Royce and had it refurbished. Obie would take it to shopping malls, making claims that the car had been owned by royalty and charged admission for people to look at it.
In the Spring of 2001, the Peterson Automotive Museum took possession, and Mr. and Mrs. Petersen decided to bring the car back to its concours winning glory. Every component was removed, checked for wear and authenticity, then reconditioned or replaced as needed. The car was painted black which highlights its subtle contours and striking profile.
All the cars at the Petersen Museum can be driven, but the Round Door Rolls-Royce requires a great deal of driver involvement when underway. It is difficult to steer at slow speeds, requires double-clutching when changing gears, and cannot be stopped easily in an emergency. While fashionably low, the lack of ground clearance virtually assures that the extended rear deck will scrape the ground if a driver does not approach curbs and speed bumps slowly enough and at the proper angle.
For more pictures of the Rolls-Royce Aerodynamic Coupe, and other fabulous cars at the Museum, go to our Petersen Museum Photo Gallery.
Photo © Petersen Automotive Museum
Information regarding the Rolls-Royce History, courtesy of the Petersen Automotive Museum
Comments
What an amazing car. It’s almost as if they took the Spirit of Ecstasy off the radiator and sent it to the design room with orders to make the flying lady into a car. I love the story behind it. How could a car as rare as this languish in a bone yard? Who decided somewhere along the line to toss it aside? Thank goodness somebody decided to rescue her. She’s a true piece of history, and not so hard to look at, either.
What a gorgeous car! I can’t imagine how much it’s worth now…
i have found a postcard that had been given out by max & cecile obie in the early 50’s which states this car was built for king edward viii the duke of windsor. the cars color on this large postcard gold, and the car has a front bumper alone weighed 200 lbs. total weight of car 7200 lbs. seats red and white leather, fold back to a bed, with a white fur rug. 468 cu. in. engine. 2 spark plugs for each cylinder. top speed over 120 mph. the obies were from paramus new jersey
I have been looking for this car for over 20 years. My father,George A. Brummer, was the person who restored this car in the early 50’s. His body shop was located at 541 Jackson Ave ,bronx,new york. I have pictures of this car at my father’s shop as they were getting it ready for the 1954 World motor show.It took the GRAND PRIZE.This was no small accomplishment considering the extremely rotted condition it was in.
my father tom jacobson from edgewater nj was a owner of the Rolls-Royce Phantom round door he founr it in a place in edgewater before my time he told me he paid 2400 and a trade for a nother car from stictel pence was the owner after a few years he sold it to Max Obie back in the 1950,s my father is 83 and still alive his number is 570 2563211 he now is in pa love to here from any one that wants to know about the car robert jacobson thank you