Unique Rolls Royce fetches half million CHF at auction

A rare 1973 Rolls Royce convertible, originally constructed in a Swiss garage, sold for CHF541,000 ($552,000) today at an auction in Denmark. The pale green Rolls Royce Phantom VI Cabriolet was described by Bonhams auction house as “one of the most extravagant Convertibles ever built”, and, “an automobile that will stop passers-by in their tracks wherever it is shown”. The car itself is one-of-a-kind, and one of only 374 Rolls Royce Phantoms in the world. It was commissioned by H.E. Consul Simon van Kempen of Switzerland and Monaco. The designer was Italian Pietro Frua, who also designed Maseratis. Bonhams notes that Frua may have been chosen for the task because he had previously worked for Swiss coachbuilding company Ghia-Aigle. The chassis, valued at the time at £6,265 (CHF9,316) was delivered in 1971 by Rolls Royce to the Garage de l‘Athenée in Geneva, where the vehicle’s body was constructed over a period of two years.