"Powerful, docile, delightfully easy to control and a thoroughbred, [the Phantom II Continental] behaves in a manner which is difficult to convey without seeming to over-praise."— The Motor , March, 1934 France’s enviable network of Routes Nationales was used by both W.

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Bentley and Henry Royce to test the mettle (and metal) of their prototypes.

Indeed, it was a high-speed encounter with a fledgling Rolls-Royce New Phantom that reputedly convinced W.

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to increase the engine capacity of his first six-cylinder offering to 6½ litres.

Conscious that a number of owner-drivers preferred the more sporting mien of a Bentley, Royce and one of his development engineers Ivan Evernden set about developing a higher performance and more responsive version of the recently introduced 7.7-litre Phantom II.

Christened the Continental in recognition of its high-speed touring capabilities, the newcomer débuted during late 1930 (just in time to go head-to-head with the equally impressive Bentley...