Just before the 80th anniversary of VE Day, a car that played a crucial part in bringing about that triumph was auctioned for over £100,000.
The green 1936 Rolls Royce Phantom III used by Field Marshall Montgomery was auctioned by Historics at Farnborough Airshow on May 3.
It went into the sale with an estimate of £115,000 to £130,000 and has been sold to a private collector for a reported price of more than £100,000.
Montgomery was one of the masterminds of D-Day, and undoubtedly would have considered his plans while being chauffeur driven along the lanes of southern England in this beautiful motor.
What stories this interior, where Churchill lit cigars and Monty and Eisenhower plotted Hitler’s downfall, could tell. Image courtesy of Historics.
As one of the leading military leaders of his generation, Monty was used to enjoying considerable luxury away from the front lines.
This car was requisitioned for government use at the outbreak of World War II.
Before that it was the car of Talbot Motor Company CEO, Frederick Willock. He bought it in 1936.
The car’s powerful V12 engine probably wasn’t able to open up fully on 1940s wartime roads, but it was renowned for its smooth comfortable ride.
It was undoubtedly the very acme of high-end motoring when just 710 of this model were produced by Rolls Royce.
Montgomery shared its capacious back cabin with political and military leaders from the UK and its allies. Winston Churchill was on board often enough that a cigar lighter was installed for his use. We know that the king rode in it, and General Eisenhower, the US’s chief for D-Day.
The car was sold with extensive historical documentation that confirmed its story. Image courtesy of Historics.
The car was passed to the American military after VE Day and used by their top brass.
With around 300 Rolls Royce Phantom III’s surviving today the car is a considerable collector’s item in its own right.
With extensive paperwork backing its incredible wartime exploits and a sale timed perfectly to coincide with major commemorations of the end of WWII the sale went ahead last week.
Historics’ head of auctions Mathew Priddy told the Maidenhead Advertiser: “With the people that have sat in this car, I’m thinking this should be one of the most iconic cars offered anywhere this year.”
