1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III Convertible wins ‘Best In Show’ at Concours of Elegance 2024

A 1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III Convertible, one of just a few constructed in the U.S., was chosen Best in Show at the 13th annual Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court Palace in London. The winning 1937 Rolls-Royce was designed by JS Inskip.

Why the 1937 Phantom III Convertible is significant

Any Rolls-Royce convertible is significant, but the Phantom III, which was the final large Rolls-Royce produced before World War II, was also the last model to which Henry Royce contributed considerable input. Royce, the co-founder of Rolls-Royce, was an engineer who contributed to the design of the company’s large cars in the last part of his career. Royce died in 1933.

The Concours of Elegance is an annual event that displays outstanding examples of rare, privately owned road cars and competition vehicles. Of more than 500 cars in total, 60 cars, the rarest of the rare, were parked in the Hampton Court Palace gardens. During the three-day event, more than 14,000 guests viewed the vehicles. Owners of the cars chose the winners in categories for each decade from the 1930s to 1970s, Future Classics, and Best in Show, which this year was the 1936 Phantom III.

The 1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III and other winners

Only 737 Phantom III cars were produced. The car is powered by a 7.3-liter V12 engine, a large engine for a car that weighs three and a half tons.

Other winning cars at the Concours of Elegance 2024 included:

• 1920s: 1927 Bentley 3-liter Boat Tail Speed Model
• 1930s: 1937 Talbot-Lago T150 C SS New York Teardrop
• 1940s: 1940 Aston Martin Speed Model Type C
• 1950s: 1956 Maserati A6G/54 Zagato
• 1960s: 1960 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato Coupe
• 1970s: 1970 BMW 3.0 CSL ‘Batmobile’
• Future Classics: 2023 Aston Martin DBR-22