Two-and-a-half years after their wedding, Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, took delivery of the very first Rolls-Royce Phantom IV. Autocar reported details of the car on 7 July 1950, saying that while Rolls-Royce had longstanding relationships with high society, this was “the first time that a completely new model has been evolved specially for members of the British Royal House”. The all-new chassis, codenamed 4AF2, had been delivered to the chosen coachbuilder, HJ Mulliner, the previous July. Rolls-Royce had apparently planned this to be a one-off, it having been ordered at the personal request of the Duke, but a total of eighteen would go on to be built through to 1958, all going to heads of state, including Generalissimo Francisco Franco of Spain and King Faisal II of Iraq, apart from one that underpinned a truck used at the Crewe factory. “The lines and proportions of the car are so well balanced,” we said, “that its great size is not immediately apparent, but with a wheelbase of 12ft 1in, an overall length of almost 19ft and a height of over 6ft, it dwarfs most other cars on the road”. That is indeed huge even by modern standards – even today’s extended-wheelbase Phantom VIII is only around 8in longer, and you must remember that your average Morris Minor in 1950 stretched just 12ft 4in. “The rear compartment provides drawing room comfort for two people and has two comfortable occasional seats which fold away into the division when not required,” we continued. Ease of entry was aided by coach doors opening 3ft 2in wide and a very shallow roof panel. “The interior is rendered very light by the generous glass areas, supplemented by a transparent panel in the roof, which can be obscured by a motor-driven blind. At night, the interior can be brightly illuminated by a concealed strip light, besides which there are foor roof lamps in the normal pattern. “The general style of finish, in keeping with the desires of the owners, is very simple, with grey cloth upholstery, a grey curled mohair rug and figured walnut cappings and panel work on the division with banded edges. “In front, there are two very larger and comfortable armchairs upholstered in green leather. The driving seat is separately adjustable and a sufficient sliding range has been provided to enable the car to be driven comfortably by a tall driver such as the Duke of Edinburgh himself. Each of the front seats is provided with two armrests which fold away into the backrest when not required. “Heating and ventilation arrangements are very thorough. Two air intakes, one on each side of the radiator, supply fresh air to ducts which feed front and rear compartments, and there are three heaters, drawing warm water from the engine cylinder head. The rear quaterlights incorporate swivelling ventilation panes with a large arc of movement.” Of course, the new Phantom also featured all the latest electronic gadgetry of the time: “Control buttons for the heating system, division, electric window winders and ashtrays are located in the outer two armrests in the rear compartment. “The centre armrest has built into it the controls for the radio set and also includes a glovebox. The radio itself is concealed in the luggage compartment and operates two loudspeakers, one in the cabinet work and the division and another in the driving comparment, which is provided with a separate volume control.” God forbid Her Royal Highness miss the BBC Light Programme, after all. Naturally, cigarette lighters and hand mirrors were also provided. On the mechanical side, we described how the underpinnings were the latest in a line “stretching back to the immortal Silver Ghost (of 1906-26) and reaffirming the position of the Rolls-Royce firm as makers of a car which is not only the finest in the world mechanically, but also one which for size, power and performance can justly be regarded as the most magnificient in the world.” Isn’t it wonderful to read prose so unabashedly confident of something British? That sentence written today would generally be considered laughable, to the great detriment of the little that remains of national spirit and pride. Anyhow, I digress; back seven interluding decades now, and the wonderfully analogue mechanical doings. “A range of four, six and eight-cylinder engines with common valve, piston and connecting rod assemblies was designed to the order of the Ministry of Supply some time ago,” we said, “and major components from this range were used in evolving an eight-cylinder car engine which has run for some time in an experimental Bentley chassis. This same engine has provided the basis for the power unit used in the new Rolls-Royce chassis. “Like those of the other Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars now in production, it has overhead inlet valves and side exhaust valves and uses a cylinder head of aluminium alloy RR50 with inserted valve seats. The crankshaft is of chrome molybdenum steel and
Origin: From the archive: A royal Rolls-Royce