The Merlin powered Phantom II
One of the most important engines ever, the Merlin was Sir Henry Royce’s final design. An aero engine which arguably changed the outcome of World War II. It was fitted to the legendary Spitfire fighter along with many other British aircraft including the Lancaster bomber as well as tanks. The American P-51 Mustang also later adopted this amazing engine. The massive engine produced over 1400 horsepower helped by it’s two-stage supercharger. Later generations would produce even more power.
The Rolls-Royce Phantom II was unveiled at the 1929 Olympia Motor Show. An evolution of the ‘New Phantom’ it featured an improved six-cylinder engine, transmission, hydraulic shock absorbers and under-slung semi-elliptic springs. Approximately 1767 Phantom II’s were produced. Only one however was fitted with the 27 litre Merlin V12 engine. Producing over 1100 horsepower with out a supercharger. This behemoth Rolls-Royce could out accelerate a 1958 Vanwall Grand Prix car!. The only comparable vehicle is a Merlin powered Phantom III now owned by American comedian Jay Leno.
This amazing Rolls-Royce has just been sold at the Al Wiseman collection auction for $412,500.
January 2nd, 2008 at 11:41 am
[...] stop inappropriate mascots being appended to the front of Rolls-Royces. Some owners have even had Spitfire engines fitted to their “Rollers”. When John Lennon had his Phantom Rolls-Royce painted in [...]
September 19th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
[...] first took off. The legendary World War II fighter plane was also powered by a Rolls-Royce engine, The Merlin. The first examples suffered from poor reliability, but Henry Royce devised a plan to make them [...]