Rolls-Royce Phantom

SPECIFICATIONS

1. The Phantom is the best selling Rolls-Royce in history, breaking the magic 1000 cars per year mark for the first time in 2007. 2. The car’s aluminum space frame is constructed from over 200 individual boxed sections, giving it rigidity on par with a modern Formula 1 car. 3. Just 16 standard exterior colors are available, though Bespoke ordered cars are offered with up to 45,000 different color options. 4. A Lexicon audio system that incorporates two subwoofers mounted in the Phantom’s double floor, deliver 420 watts of sound and an audio sweet spot, no matter where you’re sitting in the car. 5. It requires roughly 15 to 18 individual hides of leather and 450 individual pieces to upholster the interior of a single Phantom.

PREVIEW

When I was a young lad, growing up in Hong Kong, on Saturdays I used to go to Kowloon with my folks. On several occasions while making our way to the Star Ferry terminal, we would walk past the Peninsula Hotel on Salisbury Road. The Peninsula is famous for many reasons, but one of them is its fleet of Rolls-Royces, all painted a special shade of green. For many years I thought it would be about as close as I’d ever come to one in person, but here I am, driving one of the largest and most expensive motorcars (can’t call it an automobile, just wouldn’t be right), ever built.

The current Phantom stems from a prestigious line of cars, all of which were large, rare and exclusive. The first was built in 1925 and the last (prior to the release of this model), 1991. Queen Elizabeth II used two of them as official state cars for many years and the Prime Minster of Australia still gets driven about in one. John Lennon even had one custom painted in a psychedelic scheme, but as much as Phantoms appear to be examples of chauffer driven carriages owned by the elite, according to official market research, many Phantom buyers, well in the US at least, prefer to drive the cars themselves. Not only that, but more than 80 percent of them have also built their wealth from scratch, largely on successful businesses, not inheriting it as has been traditionally perceived. They also tend to own five cars or more, with the Phantom being one of them that is driven regularly.

INTERIOR

The interior is a lesson in personal transportation luxury, much as Rolls-Royces always have been. Thick Wilton carpet on the floor, acres of real Mahogany Flare (one of six veneers hand selected by specialists) and James Bond style features such as an analog click on the center part of the dash that reveals a display screen at the touch of a button and a champagne cooler hidden under the rear seats

Considering the back is such an enticing part of this car, we’ll begin there. The individual rear seats (a popular option – lounge type seating is standard) are more like thrones – each sits 0.7-inches higher than the fronts and is fully adjustable. There’s a pull out veneer picnic table and 12-inch liquid crystal display screen (hooked up to a six disc CD/DVD changer) to keep each occupant entertained, plus the previously mentioned drinks cooler (first class on Singapore Airlines isn’t this good). The soft tan leather (16 different options are available, including such colors as Consort, Oatmeal and Moccasin); is perfectly stitched and sumptuously soft. Generous head and rear legroom (38.5 and 37.3 inches respectively) provides more riding comfort than most living rooms we’ve sat in (the Extended Wheelbase Phantom, with 47.1 inches of extra legroom even more so). The rear doors open with a touch of a button and contained within each is a Teflon coated umbrella; to ensure one doesn’t get wet upon exit – trust the British to think of this.

Up front it’s a true case of old-fashioned craftsmanship meets new technology. The wheel despite being thoroughly modern and housing an airbag, has a very old world feel to it, no doubt helped by the rather thin rim. When you saddle up in the driver’s chair (yes chair, not seat), it’s hard not to adopt a posture of a stately landowner. The instrument cluster wouldn’t look out of place hanging on the wall of the British East India club and even the glovebox can be customized into a myriad of different configurations – even a cigar humidor, if so desired.

UNDER THE HOOD

Push the button and the massive 6.75-liter V12 engages. It’s almost whisper quiet at idle. The column shifter that controls the ZF six-speed automatic has an interesting feel (imagine ‘50s Cadillac meets BMW iDrive for this one), but it’s easy to operate.

For such a big car, (229.7 inches long in standard form and 239.5 in Extended Wheelbase guise, plus measuring almost 6,000 lbs at the curb), the Phantom feels surprisingly light to drive. On the back roads around Woodcliff Lake and Montvale, NJ, home to some of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the U.S., as well as some of the twistiest roads, the big sedan equates itself rather well.

With 453 horsepower and 531 ft-lbs of torque, acceleration is totally effortless. In fact, even at freeway speeds of around 70 mph, according to R-R engineers, the car still has more than 70 percent of power in reserve, more than enough to ensure that no Phantom driver ever need to break into a sweat (it wouldn’t be appropriate after all).

The ZF transmission is smooth shifting – cog swapping is barely detectable most of the time and maximum torque comes in low enough (431 ft-lbs is available at just 1000 rpm) that there’s no need for any hunting through the gears. Yet for its size and weight, the car isn’t actually that bad on fuel. Official figures list the standard wheelbase Phantom as getting 18 miles per gallon in the combined cycle, 17.8 for the stretched version.