The hands
The people behind the car
The people whose work shaped the Rolls-Royce Phantom III.
Henry Royce
Founding engineer and project contributor
Worked on the Phantom III programme during its early development before his death in 1933.
Phantom III
Twelve cylinders before war
The Phantom III replaced the straight-six with a 7.3-litre V12 and independent front suspension. This ambitious pre-war Phantom is scarce and expensive to put right; coachwork and engine history carry equal weight.
Market value · road
$42K–$207K
Typical $86K · 12 sales · +36% vs ’19–’21
$31K$363K
’03’26
Market history · in the terminal
- Engine
- 7'338 cc (60-degree overhead-valve V12)
- Power
- 165 hp (factory early figure · 180 later)
- Gearbox
- 4-speed (manual · synchromesh on upper ratios)
- Front suspension
- Independent (coil springs · unequal wishbones)
- Wheelbase
- 142 in (3'607 mm)
- Ignition
- Twin (24 spark plugs)
Market & Price
The price and the proof
A terminal for one car: the model curve over the documented record, the benchmarks it is measured against, and the instruments that read it.
Records: 45 documented road sales on file · 2003–2026; estimate band $42K–$207K · good road cars. recorded sale prices · mixed hammer and premium-inclusive basis.
HCN:PHANTOMILive model
$86'103-57.6% · 12M
Model curve · anchored to 45 documented sales · benchmarks rebased at window startmodel v1 · seed rollsroyce-phantom-iii · not investment advice
The readouts · model figures against the benchmarks45 documented anchors · last sale 1 mo ago
Compound annual growth
| Window | This car* | S&P 500 | Gold |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | -57.6% | +18.8% | +21.9% |
| 5Y | -8.5% | +11.4% | +17.6% |
| 10Y | +4.1% | +13.3% | +11.8% |
*Modeled price CAGR · S&P is a price index, no dividends
Deepest drawdown · model window
This car*-99.6%Jul 2003 → Aug 2004 · recovered Jun 2014
S&P 500-50.8%Oct 2007 → Mar 2009 · recovered Mar 2013
Gold-39.3%Sep 2011 → Dec 2015 · recovered Jul 2020
Forecast ladder · model quantiles
| Horizon | P10 | P50 | P90 |
|---|---|---|---|
| +6M | $70K | $85K | $104K |
| +12M | $65K | $85K | $111K |
| +24M | $57K | $83K | $121K |
Median path with the 10th and 90th percentile · not investment advice
Transaction ledger · documented salesMixed price basis · not estimates
45 of 45 recorded sales · shown in USD · recorded currency in each record
Body rarity creates the headline; engine condition decides whether the price survives inspection.
Price range · road · openConfidence · lowThe band is an editorial range for complete cars with period coachwork, documented engine work and no immediate major mechanical need. Public results span ordinary formal bodies, rare coupes and concours cars; deferred V12 work can move a car below the range despite good cosmetics.
Floor
$42K
Typical
$86K
Ceiling
$207K
Estimate band for good road cars. 12 documented sales since 2019 plotted below.
$30K$42K$86K$207K$366K
Hover the spectrum to read a value, or a dot for the sale behind it.
Band and axis shown in USD. Sale positions use indicative fixed-rate conversion to USD; sale readouts retain recorded currencies. USD. The rarest original sporting bodies can exceed the band. Formal limousines and cars requiring engine work can fall below it.
The wider market · Rolls-Royce at auction · median per year · modeled between anchors1,385 lots · 2003–2026 · exact yearly anchors · modeled line
Instrument calibration for this file is in progress — the terminal above reads the documented record directly.
The ledger contains two documented auction sales selected to show coachwork dispersion, not to imply a computed model average.
Overview
The six-cylinder line ended with a V12
By the early 1930s, American luxury makers were offering straight-eights, V12s and V16s. Rolls-Royce answered with a shorter aluminium V12 that delivered more power while preserving the low-speed silence expected of a Phantom.
Henry Royce worked on the project before his death in 1933. The production car arrived in 1936 with independent front suspension, twin ignition and a larger passenger package on a shorter wheelbase than the Phantom II.
War stopped civilian chassis production in 1939, although coachbuilders finished and delivered cars later. Rolls-Royce gives 710 production examples; registry totals often state 727 chassis when experimental cars are included. Each surviving chassis therefore needs separate study: some retain their first body and drivetrain, while others have been rebodied or mechanically altered during long post-war lives.
- Built
- 710 · factory figure
- Cylinders
- 12
- Spark plugs
- 24
- Factory
- Derby
- Body
- Coachbuilt
Reference
Technical specifications
Powertrain
- Engine
- 7'338 cc 60-degree V12aluminium alloy, pushrod overhead valves
- Power
- 165 hp, rising to 180 hpfactory heritage figures for early and later cars
- Ignition
- Twin distributors and coilstwo spark plugs per cylinder
- Fuel supply
- Twin SU electric pumps
- Gearbox
- 4-speed manualsynchromesh on second, third and fourth; an overdrive ratio arrived in 1938
Chassis
- Wheelbase
- 142 inshorter than the standard Phantom II chassis
- Front suspension
- Independent unequal wishbonescoil springs and hydraulic damping
- Rear suspension
- Live axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs
- Brakes
- Four-wheel mechanical drumsservo-operated
- Service equipment
- On-board jacking and one-shot lubrication
Production record
- Production cars
- 710current Rolls-Royce factory history; registry totals often state 727 chassis including experimental cars
- Body delivery
- Into the 1940scoachbuilding continued after chassis production stopped; the last completed car was delivered in 1947
- Survivors
- Approximately 650published registry estimate, not a factory audit
The records
0
production cars
Rolls-Royce factory figure; 727 including experimental cars is also cited
0
spark plugs
two per cylinder
0hp
later factory output
165 hp on early cars
HICON BID
Buying interest, silently.
A HICON Bid is a confidential expression of buying interest on the Rolls-Royce Phantom III file — never public, never shown to other members. It is not a binding purchase, and HICONIUM holds no funds.
Sign in
HICON Bids are a member instrument. Sign in to place one.
The vault
Open a file on yours.
You keep one? The record starts in your garage — identity, papers, photography, and the market evidence this file already carries, bound to your chassis.
The cars
The Phantom III register
Documented individual cars — chassis, colour, ownership and sale history. Open one for its full provenance. Public records only; members see the complete registry.
03 documented · public records