Rolls-Royce
Phantom IV

Why it matters

The first Phantom IV was laid down after the Duke of Edinburgh asked for a more formally bodied car for Princess Elizabeth and himself; it still serves in the Royal Mews. The 18 cars went to only 11 customers – five to members of the British Royal Family, three to the Government of Spain, three to the ruler of Kuwait, two to the Royal Family of Iraq and two to the Shah of Iran, according to RM Sotheby’s. There was no written rule, but sales to heads of state and royalty became the de facto policy.

How rare is it?

Six separate kinds of rarity – never combined into one number.

Each kind of rarity is rated separately and never combined.

Photos

Exterior, interior and detail photos with their licences.

• Rolls-Royce Phantom IV (Wikimedia Commons search)
  Photo: Usien · CC BY-SA 3.0
• Rolls-Royce Phantom IV (Wikimedia Commons search)
  Photo: JoachimKohler-HB · CC BY-SA 4.0
• Rolls-Royce Phantom IV (Wikimedia Commons search)
  Photo: Arnaud 25 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Production

Every figure says what it counts.

Independent counts (e.g. engine and colour) are never combined into a calculated figure. Surviving examples are never presented as original production.

History

The Phantom IV is the only Rolls-Royce car with an inline eight-cylinder engine, a refined version of the B80/B81 engine used in military and commercial vehicles. Its chassis was derived from the Silver Wraith but strengthened. The Queen preferred a Phantom IV as her primary state car; it was painted in the royal colours and carried no number plates (Countryfile). The three Spanish cars are registered to the Spanish Army and maintained by Patrimonio Nacional; El Debate calls the story that Hitler gave them to Franco “absolutely false”.

Technical specifications

Engine

Transmission & drivetrain

Chassis, body & dimensions

Performance

“Not yet verified” means no source has been checked for that value yet. Nothing is estimated to fill a gap.

Chassis register

Every documented car, with its colours, history and where it is now. Open a row for the full record. Known chassis are not automatically authenticated originals.

Auction & sale history

Documented public sales of the individual cars. Click a chassis number to open its full record in the register.

See one in person

Museums where an example of this car can be seen.

• Royal Mews · London, United Kingdom – 4AF2Google Maps
• Nethercutt Museum · Sylmar, California, United States – 4CS2 · Photographed there in 2015 – check with the museum before visitingMuseum websiteGoogle Maps

Identification guide

How to tell an original from a replica or later conversion.

Of the 18 chassis, 4AF4 was a Park Ward pick-up used by Rolls-Royce and 4AF12 went to Rolls-Royce’s Ernest Hives, so not every Phantom IV went to a head of state. The experimental straight-eight car lent to the Duke of Edinburgh before the Phantom IV (nicknamed “the Scalded Cat”) is not one of the 18.

Sources

Each number links to the exact facts it supports.

1. 1
   1954 Rolls-Royce Phantom IV Limousine “Princess Margaret” by H.J. Mulliner Level C RM Sotheby’s

   • “Just 18 cars were produced”
   • Inline eight-cylinder, refined B80/81 engine; the only Rolls-Royce car with an inline eight
   • Wheelbase 3,683 mm
   • CHF 2,255,000 – Sold
   • “Chassis number 4BP7 was the 15th Phantom IV produced”

   Accessed 2026-11-11
2. 2
   1952 Rolls-Royce Phantom IV Sedanca de Ville, lot 132, Pebble Beach 2011 Level C Gooding & Company

   • “One of Only 18 Phantom IV Chassis Built”
   • “5,675 CC … Inline 8-Cylinder Engine”
   • “4-Speed Manual Gearbox”
   • 4-Speed
   • “4-Wheel Servo-Assisted Drum Brakes – Hydraulic Front, Mechanical Rear”
   • Engine no. P10A
   • Body no. 9750
   • Lot 132, estimate
   • “Custom-Built to the Strict Specifications of the Aga Khan III”

   Accessed 2026-11-11
3. 3
   1954 Rolls-Royce Phantom IV Limousine ‘Princess Margaret’ by H.J. Mulliner (chassis 4BP7) Level C RM Sotheby's

   • “Of the 16 surviving cars” – five with original owners or successors
   • “a refined version of the B80/81 military and commercial powerplant”
   • chassis enlarged to a 3,683 mm wheelbase

   Accessed 2026-11-11
4. 4
   1952 Rolls-Royce Phantom IV Sedanca de Ville (chassis 4AF20) Level C Gooding & Company

   • “Single Stromberg AAV-26 Carburetor” (4AF20)
   • “Independent Coil-Spring Front Suspension”
   • “Live Rear Axle with Semi-Elliptical Springs”

   Accessed 2026-11-11
5. 5
   From the archive: A royal Rolls-Royce Level C Kris Culmer · Autocar · 2019-10-16

   • chassis “generally followed the 1946-58 Silver Rolls-Royce Wraith”
   • “coil springs and wishbones, plus an anti-roll bar, at the front”
   • “a rigid axle with half-eliptic springs at the rear”
   • “cam and roller, with a fore-and-aft drag link leading to a bell crank”

   Accessed 2026-11-11
6. 6
   1955 Rolls-Royce Phantom IV State Landaulette, chassis no. 4BP5 (lot 300, Goodwood Revival) Level C Bonhams · 2018-09-08

   • Wheelbase 12' 1" (3.683 metres) (Lot description)
   • 4AF2 ordered by Princess Elizabeth, H J Mulliner body, completed July 1950 (Lot description)
   • First Phantom IV 4AF2, ordered by Princess Elizabeth, completed July 1950 (Lot description)
   • Prince Talal's car bodied in France by Franay (4AF22) (Lot description)
   • car delivered 6 Oct 1955; HM The Queen’s Hooper landaulette (Lot description)
   • Chassis delivered 9 Nov 1953; car delivered 6 Oct 1955 (Chassis card copies in lot description)
   • Final car, 4CS6, ordered by the Shah of Iran, completed November 1956 (Lot description)

   Accessed 2026-11-11
7. 7
   From the archive: A royal Rolls-Royce Level C Kris Culmer · Autocar · 2019-10-16

   • overall length of almost 19ft (Article text)

   Accessed 2026-11-11
8. 8
   Rolls Royce Phantom IV, H. J. Mulliner (1955) Level C Juan Iñigo Ros · Clásicos al Volante · 2014-09-20

   • Duke of Gloucester used a Hooper limousine, chassis 4AF10 (Article text)
   • Duque de Gloucester: limousina de Hooper (chasis 4AF10) (Article text)
   • Duquesa de Kent: otra limousina de Hooper (chasis 4AF12) (Article text)
   • Franco ordered three H.J. Mulliner cars; limousines 4AF14 and 4AF16 (Article text)
   • Franco: dos limousine (chasis 4AF14 y 4AF16) (Article text)
   • Franco's third H.J. Mulliner car: four-door cabriolet 4AF18 (Article text)
   • una cabriolet (chasis 4AF18) de cuatro puertas (Article text)
   • Prince Talal of Saudi Arabia: Franay convertible limousine, chassis 4AF22 (Article text)
   • 4AF4 never sold; factory cargo van bodied by Park Ward (Article text)
   • una unidad, chasis 4AF4, no llegó a venderse nunca (Article text)
   • Shah of Persia: two-door H.J. Mulliner cabriolet, chassis 4AF6 (Article text)
   • cabriolet de dos puertas carrozada por H. J. Mulliner (chasis 4AF6) (Article text)
   • Emir of Kuwait: H.J. Mulliner limousines incl. chassis 4AF8 (Article text)
   • Emir de Kuwait... limousine de H. J. Mulliner (chasis 4AF8...) (Article text)
   • King Faisal of Iraq used Hooper limousines, chassis 4BP1 (Article text)
   • Rey Faisal de Iraq: dos limousinas Hooper (4BP1 y BP3) (Article text)
   • Hooper limousines 4BP1 and BP3 for King Faisal of Iraq (Article text)
   • números de bastidor 4BP1 y BP3 (Article text)
   • Emir of Kuwait: H.J. Mulliner limousines incl. 4CS2 (Article text)
   • Emir de Kuwait... (chasis 4AF8, 4BP7, 4CS2 y 4CS4) (Article text)
   • 4CS4: H.J. Mulliner limousine for Emir Abdullah III Al-Salim Al-Sabah (Article text)
   • Chassis 4CS4, H.J. Mulliner design 7376, Torre Loizaga collection (Article text (main subject))
   • Shah of Persia: limousine by Hooper (chasis 4CS6) (Article text)

   Accessed 2026-11-11
9. 9
   Por qué la DGT no puede multar a los coches de la Familia Real Level C El Debate · 2023-11-01

   • Three Phantom IVs registered to the Ejército de Tierra, maintained by Patrimonio Nacional
   • Registered to the Ejército de Tierra

   Accessed 2026-11-11
10. 10
    File:Rolls-Royce Phantom IV 4AF18.jpg (description by the Guardia Real) Level C Wikimedia Commons / Guardia Real

    • “Rolls-Royce Phantom IV del Ejército de Tierra de España, número de chasis 4AF18”

    Limitations: Image description supplied by Spain’s Guardia Real (permission ticket on file). Accessed 2026-11-11
11. 11
    A century of power and influence: the Rolls-Royce Phantom at 100 Level A Rolls-Royce Motor Cars (newsroom) · 2026-07-27

    • First Phantom IV chassis laid down; still serves at the Royal Mews as “Maharajah”

    Accessed 2026-11-11
12. 12
    1952 Rolls-Royce Phantom IV Sedanca de Ville, chassis no. 4AF20 (lot 104, Important Collectors' Motor Cars and Related Automobilia) Level C Christie's

    • Originally supplied to HH The Aga Khan; Hooper Sedanca De Ville (Lot description)

    Accessed 2026-11-11
13. 13
    1952 Rolls-Royce Phantom IV Sedanca de Ville (lot 132, Pebble Beach 2011) Level C Gooding & Company · 2011-08

    • Chassis 4AF20, Hooper Design 8293, Sedanca de Ville (Lot description)

    Accessed 2026-11-11
14. 14
    Bonhams Goodwood Revival 2018 auction results Level C Sports Car Digest · 2018-09

    • “made £800,000”
    • State Landaulette previously used by HM The Queen

    Accessed 2026-11-11
15. 15
    1954 Rolls-Royce Phantom IV Limousine 'Princess Margaret' by H.J. Mulliner (A Passion for Elegance, 2021) Level C RM Sotheby's · 2021

    • Delivered to Clarence House in July 1954 for Princess Margaret (Lot description)

    Accessed 2026-11-11
16. 16
    File:Phantom IV 4CS2.jpg Level D Wikimedia Commons

    • Phantom IV in the Nethercutt Museum, 2015

    Accessed 2026-11-11