Phantom | Gettin' A Li'l Psycho On Tyres

Geoffrey Horton kindly sent me the images for the next three posts which were all taken at the Hillsborough Concours d’Elegance, today’s post will feature selected American cars, tomorrow selected Ferrari’s and Saturday’s more selections from Europe.

Phantom, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

When it comes to revolutionary one off designs few can match the 1938 (Nineteen Thirty Eight) Phantom Corsair which was the brain child of ketchup heir Rust Heinz and Maurice Schwartz that had the driver sit next to one passenger on the left and two more to the right with just two more in the back. The gull wing doors were push button operated as was the electrically operated four speed automatic transmission, the whole car being built on a Cord Front Wheel Drive chassis and powered by a 190 hp Lycoming V8.

Devin D, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

The 1959 Devin D was so successful on the race track that Porsche refused to sell Bill Devin motors forcing his customers to acquire their own Porsche motors and install them themselves.

Chrysler 300F, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

After the low sales volumes for the Chrysler 300D in 1958 and 300E in 1959 sales picked up again in 1960 for the Chrysler 300F which was powered by a new 413 cu in (6.8 L) Wedge V8 engine that produced 375 hp.

Pontiac GTO, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

If one wanted to hop up ones 1964 Pontiac Tempest for US$ 295 one could opt for the GTO options as seen on the example above that included a 325 hp 6 litre / 389 cui V8, dual exhausts, chromed valve covers and air cleaner, three speed Hurst floor shift manual transmission a raft of handling improvements, but standard Tempest steering and drum brakes.

Shelby Cobra, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

The #19 competition 427 Shelby Cobra chassis CSX 3010 appears to have been built in 1965, the only in period racing history I have been able to verify for it thus far pertains to the 1968 US Champions race at Riverside which was won by a Peter Consiglio for whom I have also been unable to establish any other results, if you know more about Peter please do not hesitate to chip in below.

Chevrolet Corvette, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

Finally I believe the 1967 Chevrolet Corvette above was judged the best in Corvette through to 1989 class.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing his photographs more of which can be seen on Ferrari Friday and on Saturday.

Thanks for joining me on this Americana edition of “Gettin’ a l’il psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for Ferrari Friday. Don’t forget to come back now !

With styling inherited from the 2006 9 litre / 549 cui V16 100EX concept car the Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé was launched in 2007 at the North American International Auto Show held in Detroit.

Regrettably the V16 was not part of the production spec of the Phantom Drophead Coupé a ‘puny’ 6.75 litre / 412 cui V12 first seen on the 2003 Rolls Royce Phantom saloon / sedan.

With twin turbochargers the V12 produces an effortless 453 hp enough to give the 2,620 kg / 5800 lbs vehicle sports car performance on acceleration and top speed, the sligthly lighter saloon / sedan can be pushed from rest to 186 mph in 60 seconds.

Thanks to electronic sensors the Spirit of Ecstasy ornament retracts in an emergency and can be set to retract whenever the doors are locked or when ever the owner chooses by a control in the glove box.

Naples Children and Education Foundation became the beneficiaries to the tune of US $1.6 million when the first Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé destined for the USA was sold at auction for $ 2m. It is believed this is the highest price ever paid for a new car at the time.

The ‘techno modern’ combination of LED lights and “faux-foglamp” projector-style xenon arc lamps, which in my humble opinion are something of an acquired taste, have been replaced with a less jarring design on the latest 2012 models.

Very much a hand built car, though painted in one of 44,000 colour options by robot, the body of this 2010 Drophead Coupé is crafted from aluminium.

The rear hinged coach doors are designed to “allow elegant entry and exit to and from the rear lounge seat”.

A convivial atmosphere is maintained within the Drophead Coupé by translating an avant garde reinterpretation of an English Gentleman’s clubroom into the cockpit.

Allegedly sitting in a Phantom Drophead Coupé is evocative of sitting aboard a 1930’s J Class, America’s Cup, yacht,

aided in no small measure by the decking which acts as a cover for the Drophead which is made from 5 layers of material including cashmere.

Despite a list price of over US $400,000 253 Drophead Coupés found a new home worldwide in 2007.

Thanks for joining me on this “Convivial Motoring” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Gettin' A Li'l Psycho On Tyres

Art Tidesco blogs on all things motoring

Tag Archives: Phantom

Americana – Hillsborough Concours d’Elegance

Convivial Motoring – Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé