1926 Rolls Royce Experimental Phantom 1 Continental, ‘10 EX’
RM Auctions will hold its Quintessentially English auction at the Salon Prive Concours d’Elegance on Thursday, 23rd June, 2011. Held at the Syon Park estate in West London, the Inaugural Salon Prive auction will see a host of great British marques cross the sale block, including Aston Martin, Jaguar and Rolls-Royce among others.
We have pulled together a collection of very interesting and significant collector cars and motorcycles which represent some of the finest vehicles produced in England during the pre- and post-war periods, said RM Europe MD Max Girardo. This new annual sale is wonderful ‘boutique’ style auction, which both complements the nature of Salon Privé and sits very comfortably alongside our broader Automobiles of London event at Battersea in October. It is not to be missed by anyone wanting to secure a genuine piece of English automotive history.
One of the star consignments for the RM Auctions Salon Prive 2011 is the unique and historic 1926 Rolls Royce Experimental Phantom 1 Continental ‘10 EX’.
10EX was one of three experimental Phantom 1 Continentals commissioned by D. Claude Johnson, who was then serving as managing director of the luxury automaker. These cars, unofficially dubbed the CJ sports cars, were designed to compete against Bentley’s Continental models. Along with the torpedo bodywork from Barker, 10EX received a lowered steering column, and was markedly lighter than a stock Phantom.
Three subsequent cars were produced on this design, consecutively known as 15 EX, 16 EX and 17 EX, however, chassis 10 EX was the only experimental Phantom 1 Continental to be kept by Rolls-Royce Motors for six years and the only test car of the factory. During this time, this rakish sporting Rolls was reportedly loaned by the factory to Laurence of Arabia for continental touring.
RM predicts that 10EX Rolls-Royce Phantom I Experimental will fetch between $660,000 and $1.33 million when it rolls across the auction block .
