When the Springfield, Massachusetts, Rolls-Royce operation closed in 1931, the Derby factory addressed export demand with a limited production run of purpose-built cars targeted primarily for the US market. In his book Rolls-Royce in America, John de Campi noted that the factory built 125 chassis in left-handdrive configuration, identified by the AJS and AMS designation. Offered here is 301 AJS, further distinguished by Special Permanent Sedan coachwork by Brewster & Co. Three examples were built to this close-coupled design, incorporating a tapered roofline that flows gracefully into the rear deck, and were decidedly more svelte than Brewster’s typical staid sedan offerings.

Accompanying factory build records for chassis 301 AJS show a delivery date of November 3, 1933, to Mrs. Gladys Letts Janss of Beverly Hills, California, whose family developed a large portion of the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. By 1946, the car had been acquired by Lieutenant Vasmer L. Flint of San Diego, based on his correspondence with J.S. Inskip requesting an instruction book. The car made its way to the East Coast by 1952, where it was owned by Theodore Kain of Waltham, Massachusetts.

By 1986, 301 AJS had returned to the West Coast where it joined a number of companion Rolls-Royce motorcars in the collection of Robert F. Goodwin of Hayward, California. Entered at the 1991 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®, the car was awarded the Gwenn Graham Memorial Award for the Most Elegant Closed Car. It then passed to two notable collectors, John Mozart and Mark Smith, before acquisition by Dennis Gibbs in 2006. The following year, it joined the collection of attorney John O’Quinn of Houston, and in 2011, it was acquired by The Munday Auto Collection in Austin.

The car’s well-preserved older restoration portrays quiet elegance, and is finished in black paintwork with a gray contrast applied to the beltline and rear deck. Exquisite details accentuating the overall design include the split windshield surrounded by delicate chrome moldings, the beltline molding that narrows at the center-hinged doors before flaring to match the taper of the deck lid, and door handles that echo the beltline shape of Brewster’s immortal Henley Roadster. The inviting interior compartment is finished in dark red leather in a tufted sew pattern for the seats and tailored pleats applied to the door panels and chauffeur’s division. Instruments monitoring all engine functions are housed in the wood-veneer dashboard, which is also used extensively in the rear compartment. Stored in the built-in trunk are a partial set of body-colored wheel discs. One of the most noteworthy Phantom IIs extant, 301 AJS pairs a desirable left-hand-drive chassis with rare Brewster sport sedan coachwork. The result lends an air of sportiness to the updated Rolls-Royce mechanicals, a combination that can be appreciated by marque experts or any knowledgeable automotive enthusiast.