Legacy Metrics

1928 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Ascot Tourer (Springfield, Brewster body)

S337FMroadUnited States
Colour
Pale yellow with buff wings

A 1928 Springfield Rolls-Royce Phantom I chassis (S337FM) fitted with what is believed to be the last new Brewster Ascot Tourer body mounted to a Rolls-Royce chassis. Originally delivered with a different coachwork style to a West Virginia coal family, it received the distinctive five-passenger open Ascot body in the mid-1930s for a Massachusetts thoroughbred-horse breeder. After several decades of ownership in California and Ohio — including lengthy stewardship by an early Rolls-Royce enthusiast — it was comprehensively restored by marque specialists and entered a prominent California collection.

Ownership

  1. Auction sale
  2. Auction sale
    Estimate US$375,000 – US$425,000

    RM Sotheby's catalogue lot →

  3. 1928-04-12 → 1930Factory delivery
    Doran Hinchman
    full documentation

    Prominent Logan, West Virginia family figure in coal and timber industries. Original delivery included a Stratford convertible coupe body, not the current Ascot Tourer. Traded in the Rolls-Royce toward a Model J Duesenberg.

  4. 1930 → 1934Private sale
    H.F. Deane
    partial documentation

    Acquired from Duesenberg Motors following Hinchman's trade-in. No further biographical detail provided.

  5. 1934-05-01 →Private sale
    Clare S. Quinn
    full documentation

    Mrs. Edward V. Quinn of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, associated with Claredda Farms thoroughbred horse breeding. Had Rolls-Royce of America fit the current Ascot Tourer body, believed to be the last new Brewster Ascot body installed on any Rolls-Royce chassis.

  6. 1952-05-19 → 1956Acquisition unknown
    James Ten Broeck Baker
    full documentation

    Based in Whittier, California. Acquired the car as it moved westward across the United States.

  7. 1956 → 1956Private sale
    William Bagshaw
    partial documentation

    Beverly Hills, California resident. Held the car briefly before selling it later the same year.

  8. 1956 →Private sale
    Dr. C.L. Pressler
    partial documentation

    Long-standing marque enthusiast based in Avondale, Ohio. Kept the car for several decades and regularly displayed it at shows and concours events in the Akron and Canton region.

  9. → 1983Acquisition unknown
    Rick Carroll
    partial documentation

    Part of a notable private collection based in Jensen Beach, Florida. Precise dates of acquisition and sale within this custodianship are not stated.

  10. 1983 →Private sale
    Bruce Campbell
    partial documentation

    Alamo, California collector. Held the car for roughly two decades before it passed to the next owner.

  11. Date unknownPrivate sale
    Orin Smith
    partial documentation

    Acquired approximately a quarter-century after Campbell, so roughly mid-2000s. Commissioned a comprehensive restoration by Vantage Motorworks of Miami and chose a pale yellow and buff color scheme to coordinate with another car in the collection.

Competition

  1. 2017-03-12
    2017 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance

    Car to be exhibited by Mrs. Stephanie Smith at the concours immediately following the auction; delivery to the buyer was restricted until the day after the event.

Maintenance & restoration

  1. Modification
    Rolls-Royce of America

    The original Stratford convertible coupe body was replaced with a new Brewster Ascot Tourer five-passenger open body, fitted by Rolls-Royce of America for Mrs. Quinn.

    The replacement body was described as new rather than reused from another chassis, and is believed to be the last new Brewster Ascot body installed on a Rolls-Royce.

  2. Restoration
    Vantage Motorworks

    A full restoration was carried out, including stripping and refinishing the bodywork in pale yellow with buff wings and a tan interior; original inner woodwork and outer sheet metal were retained where possible.

    Commissioned by Mr. and Mrs. Smith; the car was reportedly in sound original condition beforehand with only cosmetic attention over the years and no prior full restoration. A restoration book with historical photographs was compiled.

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Each chassis record is compiled from public auction archives and links to its source material. Ownership, competition and maintenance entries are extracted from those catalogue listings by an LLM, which can make mistakes — please contact us with any corrections. The summary is Legacy Metrics’ own writing; we do not reproduce catalogue text.

“Full” and “partial” documentation labels indicate how well each entry is corroborated in the underlying sources, not an audit of the car’s physical paperwork. Names of recent or living owners are withheld for privacy.