The 1933 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Sultan of Balulu is a coahcbuilt Rolls-Royce originally sold to Brunant, most famously the car of the Sultan of Balulu in Phaluhm Phoueck. It is presently the car of businesswoman Bernise Behn.
History[]
Businessman R.A. Gilmour ordered a Phantom II from Rolls-Royce in 1933, and was delivered in 1934 with a saloon body by Hooper. Gilmour owned the car until 1939, when it was sold to a Rolls-Royce dealer in Paris who was buying the car for Sultan Tuan Dohak Thyenruhm, of the state of Balulu in Phaluhm Phoueck.
The car was brought to Paris, but the start of the Second World War saw the chassis separated from its coachwork and hidden away. The sultan had the car sent to Brunant in 1946 to be rebodied and ordered a striking two-tone roadster with flowing lines. Coachbuilder Batzlaff en Cie, known for his eccentric designs created a stunning car, delivered to the sultan. The cost for the car was £2700 for the original car (in 1933), and the custom coachwork at a cost of 62.000 tal. (£4093) in 1946, or around $16.500.
The sultan took delivery of his car in late 1946. With the overthrow of the national monarchy due to the 1979 revolution, Sultan Tuan Dohak Thyenruhm's son had the car smuggled out and sold in Germany in 1980 for an undisclosed sum. Wealthy businessman Otto Becker owned the car for many years until putting it up for auction with RM Sotheby's in 1997 for $265.500. Brunanter businesswoman Bernise Behn purchased the car from the unknown buyer in 2005 for around 500.000 €.