1947 Rolls-Royce Phantom III
Labourdette Vutotal Cabriolet
Rebodied in 1947 by Labourdette
of Paris, this Phantom III was the designer’s last and arguably most daring
work.
Before its transformation, the
chassis had already garnished much attention with its original Hooper Sedanca
de Ville body. It was shown at the Brussels, Geneva and London motor shows
before being shipped overseas for the Rolls-Royce stand at the 1939 New York
Fair. It was then sold to Louis Ritter who was daring enough to let Labourdette
rebody the car unlike anything else.
With the almost unlimited funds
available Labourdette spent considerable time on features like the brass
inserts leaded into the body to accentuate the fenders, windscreen supports and
extremity of the interior. Another notable feature was the vacuum-powered
windows which moved up and down at a high speed.
For added flair, Labourdette took
advantage of a new Vutotal patent that held the rather thick windshield to the
firewall using very large bolts that offered a complete view of the surrounding
landscape.
While originally painted a
metallic red-orange which did little for the design, the car was purchased from
the Blackhawk Collection and then restored in a magnificent dark two-tone for
the John W. Rich Auto Museum. It made a brief appearance at the 2006 Pebble
Beach Tour d’Elegance but due to technical difficulties, was
unable to be displayed at the show. Fortunately, Pebble has invited the car to
return in 2007.
