Rolls-Royce Phantom III cars have been converted to hearses and shooting brakes. In 1964, more than 20 years after the end of production, the villainous Auric Goldfinger (played by Gert Fröbe) drove an excellently preserved black and yellow Phantom III (Chassis Number #3BU168 Sedanca de Ville by Coachbuilder Barker), knowing that its great strength would be able to hold the weight of the vast amounts of gold that he smuggled around Europe. Rolls-Royce Phantom III The Rolls-Royce Phantom III was the final large pre-war Rolls-Royce. Introduced in 1936, it replaced the Phantom II and it was the only V12 Rolls-Royce until the 1998
Rolls-Royce Limited mismanagement of development of its advanced RB211 jet engine and the consequent cost over-runs, though it ultimately proved a great success. In 1971 the owners were obliged to liquidate their business. The useful portions were bought by a new government-owned company named Rolls-Royce (1971) Limited which continued the core business but sold the holdings in British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) almost immediately and transferred ownership of the profitable but now financially insignificant car division to Rolls-Royce Motors Holdings Limited. This it sold to Vickers in 1980. Rolls-Royce obtained consent to drop 1971 from its name in 1977. The Rolls-Royce business remained