View allAll Photos Tagged rollsroycephantom
This Phantom is a very special one, a very special edition for Middle East markets with plenty of additional options.
This Phantom mainly features:
-A gold Spirit of Ecstasy
-Dark tungsten silver bonnet
-21 inch forged aluminum rims
-Visible exhaust pipes
-Hundreds of fibre optic lights on the roof (usually optionnal on the Phantom).
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A tuned Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe by Mansory. Tuned Rolls Royces are not seen very often. Personally I think the car doesn't look that bad, however the original looks better.
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Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe at the beginning of the Gumball 3000 on Lombard Street in San Francisco
Well thats it for 2018 in Hot Wheels world. The last case for 2018 is "Q" and it has hit the U.K. in a timely manner. Guess how many Hot Wheels cases have missed the U.K. for the year? ZERO!! Every one has been available in various stores yet its sister brand Matchbox has already missed SIX thanks to ASDA with little hope of collectors finding them unless they eventually turn up at Poundland! Grrrrrrr!
Anyway, the latest Q Case isn't particularly filled with many greats, plenty of carryovers from the previous and plenty of plastic generics! Technically this new Cruella De Vil car is generic but judging by that grille and headlamp arrangement I would say there is more than a dash of vintage Rolls Royce Phantom to it. This is likely the closest we will ever get to a HW Rolls such is their sniffy attitude when giving out its license to a toy firm so best to take advantage of it. The model itself is rather basic and plastic heavy but is also long and lithe and more importantly fun too. Bought recently from ASDA. Mint and boxed.
The first of the original and mighty Phantom's, Rolls Royce's elite and exclusive range of cars that have been the chariots of Royalty and the Upper Crust ever since!
The Phantom was introduced in 1925 to replace the iconic Silver Ghost, and was the second of the company's 40/50hp models. To differentiate between the 40/50 hp models, Rolls-Royce named the new model "New Phantom" and renamed the old model "Silver Ghost", which was the name given to their demonstration example. When the New Phantom was replaced by another 40/50hp model in 1929, the replacement was named Phantom II and the New Phantom was renamed Phantom I.
For the new car, Rolls Royce developed an updated engine from the previous Silver Ghost, this being a 7.7L Straight-6. In 1928, the cylinder heads were upgraded from cast iron to aluminium; this caused corrosion problems. The separate gearbox connected through a rubberised fabric flexible coupling to the clutch and through a torque tube enclosed drive to the differential at rear, as in the Silver Ghost.
Much like the previous Silver Ghost, Rolls Royce constructed the cars at two locations. For the UK and European market, the cars were built at their Derby Works, whilst US cars were built at Springfield in Massachusetts. In relation to US and UK model cars, there were subtle differences between the two. UK Phantom's were fitted with tank mounted fuel gauges whilst US cars had them fitted to the dashboard.
UK Phantoms also retained oil lubrication through Enots nipples, sometimes as many as 50, which attached to a special Enots oil pressure gun and needed to be attended to regularly at 500, 1000 and 2000 mile intervals, involving much time and effort. The US Phantom used a Bijur centralized oiling system which connected all the oiling points and oiled them with a stroke of a single pump.
Other differences between the US and UK models included available wheelbases and transmissions. Both versions were specified with the same 143½ in standard wheelbase, but the UK long-wheelbase model was longer at 150½ than the 146½ in American version. UK models used a 4-speed transmission while US models used a centre change 3-speed transmission, both with a single dry-plate clutch.
In usual Rolls Royce tradition, only the chassis and mechanical parts were provided by the company, whilst owners had to choose body styling from a selection of Coachbuilders including Barker, Park Ward, Thrupp & Maberly, Mulliner and Hooper. American Phantoms could be bought with standardized bodies from Brewster & Co., which was owned by Rolls Royce.
In all, 3,152 of these cars were built between 1926 and 1931, being built alongside the Phantom II from 1929 and later replaced by it, this car continuing until 1936. In all, the Phantom is now in it's 7th generation, with the Phantom III being built from 1936 to 1939, the Phantom VI being built from 1950 to 1956 (of which only 18 were built and it is among the rarest of motorcars), the Phantom V being built from 1959 to 1968, and the Phantom VI being built from 1968 to 1990, being the last of the continually built Phantom's until the construction of the BMW Phantom (Phantom VI) from 2003 onwards.
Saw this amazing ride while at Cranbrook House & Gardens on Sunday. This 1965 Rolls-Royce Phantom V was quite a fabulous limousine. Used both as transportation of a wedding couple and photo prop.
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
1973 Rolls Royce Phantom VI
Sherriff of London's Official Civic Limo. with City of London Red Cross and Sword Insignia.
Trafalgar Square London. UK
Shot for RM Sotheby's 2017 Monterey Auction and sold for $825,000 USD.
- “The Gilded Riviera,” an extraordinarily unique and special Phantom I
- Two-time Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance 1st in Class winner
Shot for RM Sotheby's 2017 Monterey Auction and sold for $825,000 USD.
- “The Gilded Riviera,” an extraordinarily unique and special Phantom I
- Two-time Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance 1st in Class winner
Shot for RM Sotheby's 2017 Monterey Auction and sold for $825,000 USD.
- “The Gilded Riviera,” an extraordinarily unique and special Phantom I
- Two-time Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance 1st in Class winner
Shot for RM Sotheby's 2017 Monterey Auction and sold for $825,000 USD.
- “The Gilded Riviera,” an extraordinarily unique and special Phantom I
- Two-time Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance 1st in Class winner
Rolls Royce Phantom on the left, Bentley Continental in the middle trying to get around the Rolls on the right rather than waiting. And a Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé on the right who cut across from the left lane, yes across the double white lines.
Veel luxer en lomper wordt het niet als je open wilt rijden en geen genoegen neemt met een Golf cabrio. Beste alternatief is waarschijnlijk een Maybach 62S Landaulet, maar die worden ook met uitsterven bedreigd. Dit blauwe jacht op wielen stond op een paar meter van vier (!) andere Rolls-Royces, maar de combo bestaat uit twee Maserati's.
Londen, Verenigd Koninkrijk
It's hard to find something that is more luxurious and clumsier than a Drophead Coupé, if you still want to drive a convertible. This huge thing is like a yacht on wheels. Best alternative? Maybe the Maybach 62S Landaulet, but that one is already threatened with extinction. Just a few meters further there were four (!) more Rolls-Royces, but the combo is with two Maserati's.
London, United Kingdom
BRM 548
One of the exhibits at the Caister Castle Car Collection, Norfolk.
This car started out as a regular Rolls-Royce Phantom I but was later used as a film prop.
Retaining the Rolls-Royce chassis the car was re-bodied to look like a vintage racing car and appeared in the opening race sequence of the 1968 film 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'.
With explicit BMW Motorsports identity and a wider track, the 2nd Gen BMW M2 was recently unveiled to automotive media during the 2022 BMW Group Test Fest in Palm Springs, CA. The German coupe is small, but its physicality is immense. The high-performance sports car kicks out 453-horsepower and 406 lb-ft of torque from its M TwinPower Turbo inline 6-cylinder engine and pairs with a standard 6-speed manual gearbox. The featured wheels are 19" front and 20" rear M light alloy Jet Black double-spoke 930Ms with mixed Michelin Pilot Sport 4S performance rubber.
Full details = AutomotiveRhythms.com
Blauw is niet de meest voor de hand liggende keuze op een Drophead Coupé, maar het staat wat mij betreft erg goed. Staat op Zwitsers kenteken (VD is het Zwitserse kanton Vaud), maar het Arabische stickertje ernaast doet vermoeden dat de eigenaar daar niet vandaan komt.
Londen, Verenigd Koninkrijk
Blue is not the most obvious choice on a Drophead Coupé, but it's definitely a great colour on this car in my opinion. The car is registered in the Swiss canton of Vaud. However, the Arab sticker next to the license plate suggest that the owner does not come from Switzerland.
London, United Kingdom
Saw this amazing ride while at Cranbrook House & Gardens on Sunday. This 1965 Rolls-Royce Phantom V was quite a fabulous limousine. Used both as transportation of a wedding couple and photo prop.
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
The Rolls Royce Phantom VI, what can you really say about it?
It's a gigantic piece of British luxury car building that takes all the features of the production Rolls Royces such as the Silver Cloud and the Shadow, and ups them ten-fold so that you too can have your very own Palace on wheels that cuts a great swathe through the hustling, bustling traffic! Of course servants, chefs and handmaidens are optional extras!
The Rolls Royce Phantom VI is basically just a retread of the Phantom V, but incorporating a more modern design with the quad headlight clusters, the Rolls Royce V8 from the Silver Shadow, and a modified dashboard. The first Phantom VI's were launched in 1968, and became the top-class car of the illustrious company, being built on request rather than at a steady production rate like the lower level Shadow and Corniche models. Coachwork was mostly built by Mulliner Park Ward of London, usually in the form of limousines like the one seen here, and was the last Rolls Royce to continue to be produced with a separate chassis, leaving it up to the customer to decide on a specific design of body. There were also several curious Landaulette versions built, which were basically convertible versions of the standard limousines, as well as two cars designed by Frua of Italy, their design looking more like the angular Camargue.
In 1977, a car was presented to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for her Silver Jubilee, this car featuring a higher roofline for the Queen to wave from at passing crowds. This car was the Royal Household's State Car from 1977 until the introduction of the Bentley State Limousine in 2002 at the Golden Jubilee. When used by the Queen, the conventional Spirit of Ecstasy is replaced by a silver model of St George slaying the Dragon. This car also had the distinction of carrying Prince William and Kate Middleton to Westminster Abbey during the Royal Wedding of 2011. In 1986 the Royal Household took possession of a 2nd Phantom VI, but this car was just the standard limousine. This car gained notoriety in 2010 when Student Protesters attacked the car with the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall inside, the car being spattered with paint and one of the windows being smashed, but resulted in no injury to either Royal.
Most of these cars however were owned by either state officials such as ambassadors, governors, ministers and prime ministers (usually in the Commonwealth but also in many other nations such as Switzerland), or they were owned by incredibly, incredibly rich people who had a desire for something absolutely massive and disproportionate in terms of what it would be used for!
Eventually the Phantom VI came to the end of its official production life in 1990, with 374 examples built, an average of 17 cars per year over 22 years. However, individual models continued to be built, including the illusive and very, very strange Rolls Royce Cloudesque, one of four Phantom VI's that were built Post-Production for the Sultan of Brunei, a man who has gained a reputation for having owned a fleet of 1,000 Rolls Royce Silver Spirits in his Royal Household! He must really burn through those cars!
Today, unless the Royal Family is out on a day trip, you'd be very, very lucky to find these in everyday use. I was once again incredibly lucky to catch this one on the forecourt of the Dorchester Hotel, where many exotic luxury cars usually find themselves while their insanely rich owners spend a few days in London. :)
Traditional Moroccan wedding in my old street with enormous Rolls-Royce.
Amsterdam-Noord, Oct. 22, 2016.
© 2016 Sander Toonen, Halfweg | All Rights Reserved
With explicit BMW Motorsports identity and a wider track, the 2nd Gen BMW M2 was recently unveiled to automotive media during the 2022 BMW Group Test Fest in Palm Springs, CA. The German coupe is small, but its physicality is immense. The high-performance sports car kicks out 453-horsepower and 406 lb-ft of torque from its M TwinPower Turbo inline 6-cylinder engine and pairs with a standard 6-speed manual gearbox. The featured wheels are 19" front and 20" rear M light alloy Jet Black double-spoke 930Ms with mixed Michelin Pilot Sport 4S performance rubber.
Full details = AutomotiveRhythms.com
Shot for RM Sotheby's 2017 Monterey Auction and sold for $825,000 USD.
- “The Gilded Riviera,” an extraordinarily unique and special Phantom I
- Two-time Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance 1st in Class winner
Auf meinem YouTube-Kanal GK Modelcar Universe stelle ich euch dieses und noch viele andere Modellautos vor.
Schaut gern über den hier stehenden Link herein. Viel Spaß bein Anschauen!
youtu.be/LAKayQUSxLE?list=PL_uu4PyIKDJ05KcNWnPEpBBHuJQmpfTey
English:
On my YouTube channel GK Modelcar Universe I introduce you to this and many other model cars.
Feel free to visit the link here. Have fun looking!
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The Rolls Royce Phantom, a car that divides pretty much everyone. The first product of the new Rolls Royce company following the brand's acquisition by BMW in 2003, the Phantom was the company's flagship from its launch the same year to 2016, but its reputation among fans and customers have kept it somewhat in limbo, be it the styling, the size, the features of its internal design, or even its background origin.
The Rolls Royce Phantom, unofficially known as the Phantom VII, was first considered in around 2000 by BMW prior to the handover of the Rolls Royce brand to them in 2003. At the time, BMW and Volkswagen jointly owned Rolls Royce and Bentley, under the agreement that while BMW provided engines, such as the BMW V12 found in the Rolls Royce Silver Seraph, Volkswagen would build the cars. In 2003, the contract came to an end, and Rolls Royce was split from Bentley for the first time since 1931, Bentley to Volkswagen, Rolls Royce to BMW. As part of the contract split, Bentley would retain the Rolls Royce factory in Crewe, whilst Rolls Royce itself would move to a new factory in Goodwood on the south coast of England. The last Rolls Royce's to leave their home factory in Crewe, the Silver Seraph and the Corniche V, departed in 2002.
As mentioned, BMW had prepared, and were planning to make their company flagship based largely of the BMW 7-Series, though not exactly. The car is built on its own unique platform, with the body constructed predominantly from aluminium. The dimensions of the Phantom are 5.35ft tall, 19ft long and 6.5ft wide, and weighs 2.4 Tons. The car is fitted with a 6.75L BMW V12 producing 453hp, accelerating this behemoth of a car to 60mph in 5.9 seconds, which is pretty impressive.
The acquisition of Rolls Royce by BMW also meant the company could be flung into the 21st Century in terms of luxury amenities, the kind of which the later years of the previous Rolls Royce Company had been lacking. While the Silver Seraph was a beautiful car and a capable machine, the car was very much traditional old England, and in the 1990's this was no longer impressive to the potential market. As such, it lost out heavily to contemporary Mercedes S-Class and BMW 7-Series that cost less and gave more than the Seraph.
The Phantom on the other hand would give you more for your money so that its contemporaries could never compete. The car was available in 44,000 colours, came with rear-hinged 'coach doors' for easier access to the back, inside of which were located umbrellas, navigation system with voice recognition, power sunroof, upgraded leather upholstery, rear-view camera, rear-seat DVD entertainment system, 26-speaker premium sound system, 8-disc CD changer, 18-way power front seats, 16-way power rear seats, heated and cooled cup holders, rear-seat tables, outside-temperature indicator, universal garage door opener, power tilt/telescopic heated wood and leather-wrapped steering wheel with radio, climate, and navigation controls, power open/close boot lid, power closing doors, wireless headphones, iPod adapter, refrigerator, and air conditioning with 5-zone climate controls.
After a year of no sales, Rolls Royce burst back onto the motoring scene upon the car's launch in 2003, with a price tag of £250,000. Immediately, the car was lauded by the motoring press for being the best Rolls Royce ever built, and a clear sign that BMW's influence had brought the company into the 21st Century whilst still retaining some of its old world charm. It would later win Top Gear's Car of the Year Award for 2003, and would be featured consistently on the show over the following years.
However, while the Phantom was lauded by critics, the traditional customer base were overwhelmed with disbelief, and it, and its derivatives, have almost been unanimously shunned. The first point of contention was the external styling, being seen as bland, boxy and boring. The next was its size, being far bigger than any previous Rolls Royce, even the bombastic designs of the 1940's and 50's.
The third was its image. While in the 1970's, 80's and 90's, Rolls Royce attempted to make themselves more subtle by toning down their designs to look more mundane and therefore less conceited, the Phantom screamed that it was a Rolls Royce, being as subtle as a brick through a stained glass window! The Phantom gave an aura of deluded wealth and snobbery that was being enjoyed by the new money, something in the vibe of "Hello world! Look at me!"
For the crime of being considered bland, oversized and dripping with vanity and narcissism, the Phantom was punished by disassociating itself with regular Rolls Royce customers, who preferred Bentley's more subtle designs such as the Continental and the Arnage. However, it was still very popular with the aforementioned new money, who created a maddening variety of unique designs to fit their somewhat tacky needs. You could get a Phantom gold-plated, in chrome, in velvet, in ultra-reflective red or matte black! The choices were almost limitless, and the new customer base were more than happy to exploit it.
The Phantom gave rise to a huge number of derivatives throughout its construction life, including; the Phantom Drophead Coupe, the Phantom Coupe, the Phantom Extended Wheelbase, the Armoured Rolls Royce Phantom, the Centenary Edition, the Naples Winter Wine Festival car, the 80th Anniversary Edition, the Rolls Royce Phantom Black, the Rolls Royce Phantom Silver, Rolls Royce Phantom Tungsten, the Grey Goose Extended Wheelbase Phantom, the Pininfarina Hyperion, the 100EX Concept, the 101EX Concept, the 102EX Concept, the Peony edition, the Phantom Sapphire, the Middle East Phantom Bespoke Collection, the Yas Eagle edition, the 60th Anniversary Special Edition Phantom Drophead Coupé, the 2010 Paris Motor Show Phantom, the Spirit of Ecstasy Centenary Collection, the Masterpiece London 2011 Drophead Coupé, the Year of the Dragon Collection, the Phantom Coupé Aviator Collection, Phantom Series II Coupé, 2012 London Olympic Games Phantom Drophead Coupé, Phantom Art Deco cars, Home of Rolls Royce Collection Phantom, Celestial Phantom, Chicane Phantom Coupé, Pinnacle Travel Phantom, Phantom Drophead Coupé Waterspeed Collection, Phantom Limelight and the Phantom Metropolitan Collection.
Construction of the Phantom ended after 13 years on February 24th, 2016, with 4,915 examples produced. The Phantom Coupe and Drophead Coupe are to remain in production until a successor car is launched in 2018.
The Rolls Royce Phantom, a car that divides pretty much everyone. The first product of the new Rolls Royce company following the brand's acquisition by BMW in 2003, the Phantom was the company's flagship from its launch the same year to 2016, but its reputation among fans and customers have kept it somewhat in limbo, be it the styling, the size, the features of its internal design, or even its background origin.
The Rolls Royce Phantom, unofficially known as the Phantom VII, was first considered in around 2000 by BMW prior to the handover of the Rolls Royce brand to them in 2003. At the time, BMW and Volkswagen jointly owned Rolls Royce and Bentley, under the agreement that while BMW provided engines, such as the BMW V12 found in the Rolls Royce Silver Seraph, whilst Volkswagen would build the cars. In 2003, the contract came to an end, and Rolls Royce was split from Bentley for the first time since 1931, Bentley to Volkswagen, Rolls Royce to BMW. As part of the contract split, Bentley would retain the Rolls Royce factory in Crewe, whilst Rolls Royce itself would move to a new factory in Goodwood on the south coast of England. The last Rolls Royce's to leave their home factory in Crewe, the Silver Seraph and the Corniche V, departed in 2002.
As mentioned, BMW had prepared, and were planning to make their company flagship based largely of the BMW 7-Series, though not exactly. The car is built on its own unique platform, with the body constructed predominantly from aluminium. The dimensions of the Phantom are 5.35ft tall, 19ft long and 6.5ft wide, and weighs 2.4 Tons. The car is fitted with a 6.75L BMW V12 producing 453hp, accelerating this behemoth of a car to 60mph in 5.9 seconds, which is pretty impressive.
The acquisition of Rolls Royce by BMW also meant the company could be flung into the 21st Century in terms of luxury amenities, the kind of which the later years of the previous Rolls Royce Company had been lacking. While the Silver Seraph was a beautiful car and a capable machine, the car was very much traditional old England, and in the 1990's this was no longer impressive to the potential market. As such, it lost out heavily to contemporary Mercedes S-Class and BMW 7-Series that cost less and gave more than the Seraph.
The Phantom on the other hand would give you more for your money so that its contemporaries could never compete. The car was available in 44,000 colours, came with rear-hinged 'coach doors' for easier access to the back, inside of which were located umbrellas, navigation system with voice recognition, power sunroof, upgraded leather upholstery, rear-view camera, rear-seat DVD entertainment system, 26-speaker premium sound system, 8-disc CD changer, 18-way power front seats, 16-way power rear seats, heated and cooled cup holders, rear-seat tables, outside-temperature indicator, universal garage door opener, power tilt/telescopic heated wood and leather-wrapped steering wheel with radio, climate, and navigation controls, power open/close boot lid, power closing doors, wireless headphones, iPod adapter, refrigerator, and air conditioning with 5-zone climate controls.
After a year of no sales, Rolls Royce burst back onto the motoring scene upon the car's launch in 2003, with a price tag of £250,000. Immediately, the car was lauded by the motoring press for being the best Rolls Royce ever built, and a clear sign that BMW's influence had brought the company into the 21st Century whilst still retaining some of its old world charm. It would later win Top Gear's Car of the Year Award for 2003, and would be featured consistently on the show over the following years.
However, while the Phantom was lauded by critics, the traditional customer base were overwhelmed with disbelief, and it, and its derivatives, have almost been unanimously shunned. The first point of contention was the external styling, being seen as bland, boxy and boring. The next was its size, being far bigger than any previous Rolls Royce, even the bombastic designs of the 1940's and 50's.
The third was its image. While in the 1970's, 80's and 90's, Rolls Royce attempted to make themselves more subtle by toning down their designs to look more mundane and therefore less conceited, the Phantom screamed that it was a Rolls Royce, being as subtle as a brick through a stained glass window! The Phantom gave an aura of deluded wealth and snobbery that was being enjoyed by the new money, something in the vibe of "Hello world! Look at me!"
For the crime of being considered bland, oversized and dripping with vanity and narcissism, the Phantom was punished by disassociating itself with regular Rolls Royce customers, who preferred Bentley's more subtle designs such as the Continental and the Arnage. However, it was still very popular with the aforementioned new money, who created a maddening variety of unique designs to fit their somewhat tacky needs. You could get a Phantom gold-plated, in chrome, in velvet, in ultra-reflective red or matte black! The choices were almost limitless, and the new customer base were more than happy to exploit it.
The Phantom gave rise to a huge number of derivatives throughout its construction life, including; the Phantom Drophead Coupe, the Phantom Coupe, the Phantom Extended Wheelbase, the Armoured Rolls Royce Phantom, the Centenary Edition, the Naples Winter Wine Festival car, the 80th Anniversary Edition, the Rolls Royce Phantom Black, the Rolls Royce Phantom Silver, Rolls Royce Phantom Tungsten, the Grey Goose Extended Wheelbase Phantom, the Pininfarina Hyperion, the 100EX Concept, the 101EX Concept, the 102EX Concept, the Peony edition, the Phantom Sapphire, the Middle East Phantom Bespoke Collection, the Yas Eagle edition, the 60th Anniversary Special Edition Phantom Drophead Coupé, the 2010 Paris Motor Show Phantom, the Spirit of Ecstasy Centenary Collection, the Masterpiece London 2011 Drophead Coupé, the Year of the Dragon Collection, the Phantom Coupé Aviator Collection, Phantom Series II Coupé, 2012 London Olympic Games Phantom Drophead Coupé, Phantom Art Deco cars, Home of Rolls Royce Collection Phantom, Celestial Phantom, Chicane Phantom Coupé, Pinnacle Travel Phantom, Phantom Drophead Coupé Waterspeed Collection, Phantom Limelight and the Phantom Metropolitan Collection.
Construction of the Phantom ended after 13 years on February 24th, 2016, with 4,915 examples produced. The Phantom Coupe and Drophead Coupe are to remain in production until a successor car is launched in 2018.
The Rolls Royce Phantom, a car that divides pretty much everyone. The first product of the new Rolls Royce company following the brand's acquisition by BMW in 2003, the Phantom was the company's flagship from its launch the same year to 2016, but its reputation among fans and customers have kept it somewhat in limbo, be it the styling, the size, the features of its internal design, or even its background origin.
The Rolls Royce Phantom, unofficially known as the Phantom VII, was first considered in around 2000 by BMW prior to the handover of the Rolls Royce brand to them in 2003. At the time, BMW and Volkswagen jointly owned Rolls Royce and Bentley, under the agreement that while BMW provided engines, such as the BMW V12 found in the Rolls Royce Silver Seraph, whilst Volkswagen would build the cars. In 2003, the contract came to an end, and Rolls Royce was split from Bentley for the first time since 1931, Bentley to Volkswagen, Rolls Royce to BMW. As part of the contract split, Bentley would retain the Rolls Royce factory in Crewe, whilst Rolls Royce itself would move to a new factory in Goodwood on the south coast of England. The last Rolls Royce's to leave their home factory in Crewe, the Silver Seraph and the Corniche V, departed in 2002.
As mentioned, BMW had prepared, and were planning to make their company flagship based largely of the BMW 7-Series, though not exactly. The car is built on its own unique platform, with the body constructed predominantly from aluminium. The dimensions of the Phantom are 5.35ft tall, 19ft long and 6.5ft wide, and weighs 2.4 Tons. The car is fitted with a 6.75L BMW V12 producing 453hp, accelerating this behemoth of a car to 60mph in 5.9 seconds, which is pretty impressive.
The acquisition of Rolls Royce by BMW also meant the company could be flung into the 21st Century in terms of luxury amenities, the kind of which the later years of the previous Rolls Royce Company had been lacking. While the Silver Seraph was a beautiful car and a capable machine, the car was very much traditional old England, and in the 1990's this was no longer impressive to the potential market. As such, it lost out heavily to contemporary Mercedes S-Class and BMW 7-Series that cost less and gave more than the Seraph.
The Phantom on the other hand would give you more for your money so that its contemporaries could never compete. The car was available in 44,000 colours, came with rear-hinged 'coach doors' for easier access to the back, inside of which were located umbrellas, navigation system with voice recognition, power sunroof, upgraded leather upholstery, rear-view camera, rear-seat DVD entertainment system, 26-speaker premium sound system, 8-disc CD changer, 18-way power front seats, 16-way power rear seats, heated and cooled cup holders, rear-seat tables, outside-temperature indicator, universal garage door opener, power tilt/telescopic heated wood and leather-wrapped steering wheel with radio, climate, and navigation controls, power open/close boot lid, power closing doors, wireless headphones, iPod adapter, refrigerator, and air conditioning with 5-zone climate controls.
After a year of no sales, Rolls Royce burst back onto the motoring scene upon the car's launch in 2003, with a price tag of £250,000. Immediately, the car was lauded by the motoring press for being the best Rolls Royce ever built, and a clear sign that BMW's influence had brought the company into the 21st Century whilst still retaining some of its old world charm. It would later win Top Gear's Car of the Year Award for 2003, and would be featured consistently on the show over the following years.
However, while the Phantom was lauded by critics, the traditional customer base were overwhelmed with disbelief, and it, and its derivatives, have almost been unanimously shunned. The first point of contention was the external styling, being seen as bland, boxy and boring. The next was its size, being far bigger than any previous Rolls Royce, even the bombastic designs of the 1940's and 50's.
The third was its image. While in the 1970's, 80's and 90's, Rolls Royce attempted to make themselves more subtle by toning down their designs to look more mundane and therefore less conceited, the Phantom screamed that it was a Rolls Royce, being as subtle as a brick through a stained glass window! The Phantom gave an aura of deluded wealth and snobbery that was being enjoyed by the new money, something in the vibe of "Hello world! Look at me!"
For the crime of being considered bland, oversized and dripping with vanity and narcissism, the Phantom was punished by disassociating itself with regular Rolls Royce customers, who preferred Bentley's more subtle designs such as the Continental and the Arnage. However, it was still very popular with the aforementioned new money, who created a maddening variety of unique designs to fit their somewhat tacky needs. You could get a Phantom gold-plated, in chrome, in velvet, in ultra-reflective red or matte black! The choices were almost limitless, and the new customer base were more than happy to exploit it.
The Phantom gave rise to a huge number of derivatives throughout its construction life, including; the Phantom Drophead Coupe, the Phantom Coupe, the Phantom Extended Wheelbase, the Armoured Rolls Royce Phantom, the Centenary Edition, the Naples Winter Wine Festival car, the 80th Anniversary Edition, the Rolls Royce Phantom Black, the Rolls Royce Phantom Silver, Rolls Royce Phantom Tungsten, the Grey Goose Extended Wheelbase Phantom, the Pininfarina Hyperion, the 100EX Concept, the 101EX Concept, the 102EX Concept, the Peony edition, the Phantom Sapphire, the Middle East Phantom Bespoke Collection, the Yas Eagle edition, the 60th Anniversary Special Edition Phantom Drophead Coupé, the 2010 Paris Motor Show Phantom, the Spirit of Ecstasy Centenary Collection, the Masterpiece London 2011 Drophead Coupé, the Year of the Dragon Collection, the Phantom Coupé Aviator Collection, Phantom Series II Coupé, 2012 London Olympic Games Phantom Drophead Coupé, Phantom Art Deco cars, Home of Rolls Royce Collection Phantom, Celestial Phantom, Chicane Phantom Coupé, Pinnacle Travel Phantom, Phantom Drophead Coupé Waterspeed Collection, Phantom Limelight and the Phantom Metropolitan Collection.
Construction of the Phantom ended after 13 years on February 24th, 2016, with 4,915 examples produced. The Phantom Coupe and Drophead Coupe are to remain in production until a successor car is launched in 2018.
The Rolls Royce Phantom VI, what can you really say about it?
It's a gigantic piece of British luxury car building that takes all the features of the production Rolls Royces such as the Silver Cloud and the Shadow, and ups them ten-fold so that you too can have your very own Palace on wheels that cuts a great swathe through the hustling, bustling traffic! Of course servants, chefs and handmaidens are optional extras!
The Rolls Royce Phantom VI is basically just a retread of the Phantom V, but incorporating a more modern design with the quad headlight clusters, the Rolls Royce V8 from the Silver Shadow, and a modified dashboard. The first Phantom VI's were launched in 1968, and became the top-class car of the illustrious company, being built on request rather than at a steady production rate like the lower level Shadow and Corniche models. Coachwork was mostly built by Mulliner Park Ward of London, usually in the form of limousines like the one seen here, and was the last Rolls Royce to continue to be produced with a separate chassis, leaving it up to the customer to decide on a specific design of body. There were also several curious Landaulette versions built, which were basically convertible versions of the standard limousines, as well as two cars designed by Frua of Italy, their design looking more like the angular Camargue.
In 1977, a car was presented to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for her Silver Jubilee, this car featuring a higher roofline for the Queen to wave from at passing crowds. This car was the Royal Household's State Car from 1977 until the introduction of the Bentley State Limousine in 2002 at the Golden Jubilee. When used by the Queen, the conventional Spirit of Ecstasy is replaced by a silver model of St George slaying the Dragon. This car also had the distinction of carrying Prince William and Kate Middleton to Westminster Abbey during the Royal Wedding of 2011. In 1986 the Royal Household took possession of a 2nd Phantom VI, but this car was just the standard limousine. This car gained notoriety in 2010 when Student Protesters attacked the car with the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall inside, the car being spattered with paint and one of the windows being smashed, but resulted in no injury to either Royal.
Most of these cars however were owned by either state officials such as ambassadors, governors, ministers and prime ministers (usually in the Commonwealth but also in many other nations such as Switzerland), or they were owned by incredibly, incredibly rich people who had a desire for something absolutely massive and disproportionate in terms of what it would be used for!
Eventually the Phantom VI came to the end of its official production life in 1990, with 374 examples built, an average of 17 cars per year over 22 years. However, individual models continued to be built, including the illusive and very, very strange Rolls Royce Cloudesque, one of four Phantom VI's that were built Post-Production for the Sultan of Brunei, a man who has gained a reputation for having owned a fleet of 1,000 Rolls Royce Silver Spirits in his Royal Household! He must really burn through those cars!
Today, unless the Royal Family is out on a day trip, you'd be very, very lucky to find these in everyday use. I was once again incredibly lucky to catch this one on the forecourt of the Dorchester Hotel, where many exotic luxury cars usually find themselves while their insanely rich owners spend a few days in London. :)