Custom coachbuilding of the 1920s and 1930s was the ultimate form of self-expression for the rich and famous. Whether it was a Waterhouse-bodied Packard, a Figoni & Falaschi-bodied Delahaye or a Murphy-bodied Duesenberg, the affluent could essentially own a one-of-a-kind vehicle. Each of these famous coachbuilders was known for their specialized workmanship and was commissioned to build custom bodies over the years. Conversely, a company more accustomed to clothing buses and trucks with their commercial styling wouldn’t be the typical choice to build the coachwork for a Rolls-Royce, yet Jonckheere Carrossiers of Belgium did just that when they re-bodied a 1925 Phantom I with what could arguably be considered the most ominous Rolls-Royce coachwork ever created.
In May of 1925, Rolls-Royce launched the New Phantom (today noted as the Phantom I) to replace the 40/50 model, which was from then on referred to as the Silver Ghost. With increasing competition from the likes of Hispano-Suiza and Isotta Fraschini, a power boost was the logical upgrade. The New Phantom was, in fact, only the 40/50 chassis with a slightly larger engine. An increase in displacement from 7428cc to 7668cc and the change from side valves to overhead valves were the only major powertrain improvements! The braking system on the other hand was dramatically improved when front wheel brakes were installed. The conversion from side valves to overhead valves also meant a slightly higher bonnet and that would come to influence styling as PI chassis began the trek to various coachbuilders.
Beginning its life with a stately Hooper Cabriolet body, this particular Phantom I was never delivered to its original purchaser in Detroit, after a last minute change of opinion. Instead it was re-sold as new to the Raja of Nanpara. It left northern India and passed through several more owners before making its way to Belgium in 1932. Two years later the Hooper Cabriolet found itself in the Jonckheere shops undergoing an extensive makeover.
Established in 1881 as a carriage-builder, Henri Jonckheere built his first luxury automobile in 1902. Henri’s son and successor Joseph, built his first bus body (and the company’s fortunes) in 1922 although car bodies were still a large part of production into the early 1930s. The fashionably aerodynamic fastback body fitted to the PI today was undoubtedly inspired by the French luxury chassis of the day sporting coachwork from designers like Jacques Saoutchik, Joseph Figoni, and the house of Letourneur et Marchand.
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