Having now been around for 14 years - indeed the first car was shown to the world's media on January 3 2003 at Goodwood - the Rolls-Royce Phantom as we know it is no more; this is the very last seventh generation car produced. The Phantom name will live on in an all-new Phantom VIII in due course, but for now it's time to bid farewell to the car which has defined 21st century Rolls-Royce.
Well now this does look rather nice
It's easy to forget just how significant the Phantom was given its familiarity and status in the current Rolls-Royce range; not only was it the first car built on BMW's watch, it replaced the Silver Seraph. Think what a quantum leap forward the Phantom was from that. Rolls-Royce suggests the car "once again represented the start of a bold new era - a period many close to the marque acknowledge as the most significant in its history." While Rolls-Royce's PR has on occasion been a little, er, florid - see the
Dawn
press release - there will be few who argue with that statement. Dare it be said, the Phantom has actually made Rolls-Royce cool. Quite a feat. Not only is it now producing cars like the Black Badge (barely imaginable 20 years ago), but even contemporary musicians like - it says here, anyway - T-Pain own Phantoms. And you can't imagine him in a Silver Seraph or a Corniche, can you?
An important car requires a fitting tribute then. The model in question is an extended wheelbase saloon, "commissioned by a renowned contemporary Rolls-Royce collector", painted in Blue Velvet with "pinstripe" tyres and a Spirit of Ecstasy made from solid silver.
The inside is perhaps even more spectacular though, with a strong maritime theme. Note the marquetry on the dash depicting an ocean liner (because the buyer loves that era of sea travel) and the tone-on-tone embroidery "evoking the movement of the sea". The main dash clock features a bezel with 24 times zones and a design "to echo the style of the radio clocks that adorned grand ocean liners." Blimey. Even the lambswool carpets continue the theme, with a hand-cut wake crafted in. So yes, keep your feet off.
Otherwise this is a standard EWB Phantom, with the 6.75-litre V12 that must surely be close to retirement now. As for the future we know little about the replacement yet, Rolls-Royce only saying that the Phantom VIII will "advance the standards set by its illustrious forbears." Don't forget about the SUV too...