Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental
Review by Ray Gentile
Dalton Watson has done another splendid job with their
latest publication, Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental. The issue comes in two separate volumes
with a total of 1,168 pages which,
in addition to extensive details of every Continental chassis, has a plethora
of 2,114 photos of the cars. One
might wonder how much more can be written about only 279 derivatives of a single
chassis type, but André Blaize, the author, has given the reader
every possible vestige of information that anyone, anywhere might want.
The two
volumes have matching dust covers displaying the ultimate Continental; The Gurney-Nutting
-Owen DHC resting on the driveway at the stately home of a British Lord. Included is a slip-case holding both
volumes with a cover identical to the books.
Volume I opens
with a page index of each chassis, a reference key for all illustrations,
changes and modifications incorporated in the Phantom II over its life and a
history of the Continental and how it came into being, much of which has already been written by numerous writers
in the past, however this portion blends in well with the book.
Starting with
chassis 26EX and ending with 62UK, a total of 279 Continental chassis were
erected at Derby, just 16.6% out
of a total production of 1,681 Phantom IIs. Getting into the meat of the treatise, each Continental chassis
shows the original owner (some titled), their address, subsequent owners with
their home country including their period of ownership, details of the
individual chassis, license registration numbers and a reference to all
previous pictures of the cars from all known publications. Then comes the 2,000+
pictures which Blaize has
collected, many of them in color, making this the ideal “coffee table - picture book” for classic car aficionados. Pictures cover 257 or 91.7 % of all
Continentals, an amazing collection when one considers that the newest
Continental is now 80 years old.
At the end of Volume II is a compendium of various charts and documents
pertinent to the Continental
Blaize must be
the quintessential detail man and his database of Rolls-Royce motor cars (not
only Phantom IIs) is arguably the most extensive in the world.
The book is a
must for anyone interested in Rolls-Royce Motor Cars,
especially those who own or contemplate owning a Continental and it must be the
piece de resistance of all previously published books on British Motoring.
|