With the enormous wheelbase of 3,683 mm (145 in) and a particularly rigid and strong chassis the Phantom was perfectly suited to the coachbuilders' art. Rolls-Royce had purchased Park Ward during pre-war time and bought H.J. Mulliner too in 1959, amalgamating them into H.J. Mulliner, Park Ward in 1962 (later simply Mulliner Park Ward). It isn't difficult to explain why most R-R Phantom did receive bodies by either of this companys. The independent company James Young maintained themselves with 195 bodies; a fine success based on incredibly elegant designs by A.F. McNeill. The Phantom V continued in production from 1959 until 1968, based on the Silver Cloud II sharing its V8 engine and the automatic gearbox to General Motors Hydramatic design. From 1963 onward the 7 percent more powerful Silver Cloud III engine was fitted and new front wings incorporating twin headlamps were feature of later models too.