1939/47 Rolls-Royce Phantom III Vutotal Cabriolet by Labourdette
The renowned Fairfield County Concours d’Elegance announced that the legendary 1939/47 Rolls-Royce Phantom III Vutotal Cabriolet by Labourdette, will make a rare appearance at its 7th annual event courtesy of the John W. Rich Automobile Museum. The Rolls-Royce Phantom III Vutotal Cabriolet, now in the John Rich Museum collection, started off as a standard Phantom III designed by Henry Royce. It was re-envisioned by coachbuilder Hooper and Co. in 1938 with a Sedanca de Ville for the chassis, then showed off in Europe before being tweaked for the U.S. market.
The car was rebodied in the 1940s by famed coachbuilder, Henri Labourdette of Paris, who was best known for his extreme designs and obliterated of anything that identified it as a Rolls Royce. Labourdette often experimented with aerodynamics, and decided to develop a swooping open body for the chassis at a cost of $44,000, at a time when the average price of a home was about $4,000.
1939/47 Rolls-Royce Phantom III Vutotal Cabriolet by Labourdette