2023-10-31 13:51:18
The image was like a postcard: crowd, horsemen, royal guards, Benemérita agents… Although it may sound cliché, Madrid dressed up this Tuesday. And, in the center of all the spotlights, like the epicenter of the party, two armored vehicles of those that exude elegance, luxury and panache. Two Rolls-Royce Phantom IVs that have carried their majesties, Don Felipe and Doña Letizia, and Princess Leonor, during one of the most important celebrations in Spain: the swearing-in of the Constitution by the royal first-born daughter in Congress.
Like everything in our country, both vehicles have a lot of history. The model in question, the Phantom IV, is considered one of the most exclusive of the British brand. And the truth is that it was going to be even more so… And when it was assembled, at the beginning of 1950, it was planned that the only recipients would be Prince Philip of Edinburgh and Princess Elizabeth of England. By then, Rolls-Royce had established itself as a blue-blooded brand with a maxim: “The price is forgotten, but the quality remains.” The terrible economic situation after the Second World War had made them ignore the popular market and focus on royal families and heads of state.
As confirmed by Pedro de la Torre in ‘That wasn’t in my motorsport history book’, its good finishes and first-class materials helped to place the brand at the pinnacle of luxury: “The quality of the products made the brand British at the pinnacle of elegance and sophistication, a detail contributed to by the top of the radiator, a female figure with a winged appearance that was incorporated into the design. He refers to the so-called ‘Spirit of Ecstasy’, devised to honor the importance of clients. As a curiosity, one of the owners of the firm, Charles Rolls, refused throughout his life to allow his vehicle to have that statuette, as it impeded his vision.
The Phantom IV, ordered between 1948 and 1949, promised to be a sales fiasco. However, when the spotlight shone on it, orders began to pour in from all over the world. And among them was, as it could not be otherwise and has been narrated on a thousand occasions, Francisco Franco. The dictator acquired three, one of them a convertible. There is still some controversy today about what led him to buy them. Love for luxury, desire to be like royalty? One theory states that he simply accepted the advice of Fernando Fuertes of Villavicencio, head of his Civil House. You go to know.
What is clear is that that vehicle was a marvel. The new Phantom, with 160 horsepower, had a 5,665 cubic centimeter inline eight-cylinder engine, offered incredible performance at low speed – not in vain was it intended for parades and formal events – and had a version of the ‘Spirit of Ecstasy‘ in genuflection, as a sign of respect to the buyers. «It was coached by Mulliner Co. Lid as a five-seater Cabriolet and painted black with tinted leather upholstery. Like the rest of the models, they were manufactured armored,” explained ABC in 2004.
The editor was more than modest. The reality is that these models were custom-built by different craftsmen, so that each piece is still a unique example. In the end, a total of 18 were delivered to world leaders, heads of state and royal families of Saudi Arabia, of which 16 remain today. The two sedans and the Spanish convertible, by the way, always belonged to the Army, and not to Franco.
Gallery. Images of a historic day
It must be said that the acquisition was not a random one. After countless differences regarding armor, the Spanish Government delivered a sample of the thickness they wanted to the brand. The obsession was that it would resist shots from an assault rifle. This, for its part, modified it to adapt it to the peninsular requirements. Thus, starting in 1952 they arrived little by little to the heart of the country. As explained by the authors of the essay ‘The secret life of Franco: the hidden face of the dictator’, they did it without wheels and it was necessary to adapt national ones. All three are still active, and are used on state occasions, such as the wedding of the Princes in 2004 or the proclamation of Felipe VI, in 2014.
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