PRIMARY SOURCE: ROLLS ROYCE MEMORIES

We’re very grateful to Bernard Preston, Product Planning

Director at Crewe for many years, for contacting Nick McGrath, an engineer directly involved in the Stretched Car Project with Jankel. Their memories confirm some of what’s described in our main article and add new details. Bernard writes:

‘I became Product Planning Director in early 1987. By then the project was under way and we were concentrating on the Corniche replacement, early planning on

Spirit replacement, progressing new V8 and early work to replace the Jankel stretch with a Mulliner Park Ward stretch. We of course were worried about the engineering integrity because when you cut a car in half, you cut all the systems as well, hydraulic, electrical and so forth and it was essential to maintain our reputation whilst allowing Jankel to do the work.’

Nick picks up the story with his own recollections.

‘When I joined Product Planning in 1984 working with John Stephenson, we researched several different limousine options. Several companies were already making unauthorized stretched Silver

Spurs including Robert Jankel in the UK and some others in the

USA. In addition, we also looked at building a more Phantom-like limousine based on a Silver Spur.

We actually built a prototype at

Ogle Design in Letchworth. I believe it was an 18-inch stretch with a much-raised roof. Ultimately it was rejected on cost grounds but was very similar in appearance to The Touring Limousine we built several years later.

‘The cars Jankel had built were 36-inch stretches. Our research indicated that for the US market we needed to go longer. 42 inches was where we ended up, though I can’t remember exactly why. The problem was that the car looked like a squashed sausage. I remember working with Graham Hull (RollsRoyce designer and later Chief Stylist) to get a raised roof line and I think it ended up being about two inches higher on the production cars. We looked briefly at production at MPW but it was more cost effective to make Jankel our authorized coachbuilder. I think we were planning on 30 to 40 cars a year. Jankel built the first 42-inch stretch cars in 1985. As I recall, Jankel made 36-inch and 42-inch stretches for different markets. Unfortunately, the car never sold as anticipated and when production ended, I believe less than 100 were produced.’

Nonetheless, the perceived need to offer stretched limousines remained and as mentioned by Bernard, it moved ‘in house’ with Mulliner Park Ward.