A DALE company is rebuilding a vintage Rolls Royce that has not been seen in public since the 1960s when it appeared in TV show The Saint starring Roger Moore.
More than 30 Rolls Royce Enthusiasts Club members from across the country arrived at Carrosserie, in Barnard Castle, last week to catch a glimpse of 1935 Phantom 1 prototype being rebuilt.
Carrosserie owner Dick Francis said the rebuilding work was being done on behalf of a European customer.
It was little more than a chassis when it arrived at the workshop.
Mr Francis said the prototype was built as a Silver Ghost but was renamed the Phantom 1 at the Amsterdam Show of 1936.
He said: “It is the only existing one left. The last time it was seen in public was on television, on The Saint with Roger Moore, in the 1960s.”
Like the Silver Ghost, the Phantom models were constructed at Rolls-Royces’ Derby factory and in the United States.
The entire car, apart from the chassis, is being built from scratch, including the ash frame and steel panels.
Mr Francis said: “The old body was just destroyed so it has come to us to have a new body built.
“We make all our own panels, we don’t buy them in. It doesn’t look like much at the moment but it is something special, believe me.”
Asked by Rolls Royce enthusiasts how long the project would take, he said: “The downside of what we do is only time. There are only eight of us here. You can’t do it overnight.
“You can’t do it in a couple of weeks. If you want a car restored, you have to prepared to wait a couple of years.”
In 18 years, Carrosserie has rebuilt about 350 cars.
Five of those were owned by the same European customer, Mr Francis said.
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