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Car of the Month - August 2022
Rolls-Royce Phantom I, 1925, #84MC
Cabriolet by Alexis Kellner

The Rolls-Royce Phantom I, #84MC, was the first automobile from the "Rolls-Royce New Phantom" model series - that was later generally referred to as the Phantom I - to be supplied to a customer in Germany. The delivery of #84MC dates back to June 1925. One month later the Phantom I, #64MC, that as per succession of chassis-numbers had been an earlier car was registered for Heinz Saltenburg in Germany after having received  limousine coachwork by Erdmann & Rossi, Berlin. e.

Information from the literature for the Rolls-Royce Phantom I, #84MC, reads that it had been coachbuilt by a 'German Coachbuilder'; however any further details are missing. This was due to the fact that such details were not available from the Chassis Cards either, i.e. had not been entered in the manufacturer's factory records. There can be found though information that allows more than mere speculation; offered is substance for a conclusively founded assumption.

The Rolls-Royce was imported into Germany by the Berlin car dealership Karl A. Klein & Geo Seb. Roche GmbH, Hauptstr. 81-82, Berlin Friedenau (agent for Fiat, Steyr and AGA cars). According to Rolls-Royce factory documents, Karl A. Klein was their authorized dealer for Germany at that time.

The "Chassis Cards" of Rolls-Royce state "For Personal use of Director Klein". Karl A. Klein in turn held (as did his partner Geo Seb. Roche) a block of shares in the coachbuilding company Alexis Kellner AG, Berlin, and was listed as one of the members of the supervisory board there, too. This gives good reasons to assume that a Rolls-Royce Phantom I delivered to Karl A. Klein received its bodywork from the company with which close commercial relations existed.

As a significant reference to the Berlin-based coachbuilder Alexis Kellner can also be seen an accessory that has not been standard on Rolls-Royce. Mounted on the steering wheel is what was called 'Kellnerscher Signalring' later common for many decades as 'horn ring' on automobile from a wide range of manufacturers in various countries.

In any case, an entry in several books published to date on Rolls-Royce (e.g. "Rolls-Royce, The Derby Phantoms" by Lawrence Dalton, Paulerspury, UK, 1991) has to be corrected. Because "Elschner" is noted there as name of the first owner, meaning Privy Councillor Curt Elschner, owner of the Hotel Excelsior in Berlin (listed also as owner of the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, #61RM, Single Convertible by Windovers; imported in February 1926 via K.A. Klein & G.S. Roche, Berlin). It is correct that Geheimrat Curt Elschner acquired from Karl A. Klein at a later date  that gentleman's Rolls-Royce Phantom I, #84MC; consequently he was not the first owner but the 2nd owner of this Phantom I.