Rolls-Royce has marked the end of an era as the British luxury car maker unveils the last of the current Phantom marque.
The final Phantom VII, an extended wheelbase limousine, has been created to celebrate the golden age of travel that Phantom defined for many.
“From its introduction a little over 90 years ago, every motor car that has borne the title ‘Phantom’ has reset the standard by which all other luxury goods are judged,” said Torsten Müller-Ötvös, the chief executive of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
“As Phantom VII gracefully leaves the stage, having defined the first chapter in the renaissance of Rolls-Royce, we look forward to building on its remarkable success.”
Like its modern successor, the first generation Phantom was developed in secret. The lead engineer Ernest Hives even went as far as to scatter armoured plating around the factory to substantiate the project’s codename Eastern Armoured Car.
The cost of a Rolls-Royce ensured it remained the preserve of the ultra-wealthy. The chassis of the Phantom’s predecessor, the Silver Ghost alone cost £985, close to Dh18,365 at the time, five or 10 times what the average professional could expect to make in a year. Today’s off-the-shelf Phantoms come in at more than $420,000.
More than seven decades after its launch, a small team of engineers and designers were tasked with creating a new Phantom, worthy of the name and of its .
The mission would have been familiar to Hives. Both Phantoms I and VII had to plot the marque’s course amid a backdrop of the shifting tastes and sensibilities of its wealthy patrons.
In designing Phantom VII, Ian Cameron and his team of designers had just five years to successfully design, develop, engineer and test a motor car worthy of re-entering the consciousness of a rapidly emerging yet increasingly global elite. The world was watching.
January 2003 saw Mr Cameron’s vision finally unveiled to the world. Like Hives and his ruse to keep the press off the scent, Phantom VII was designed and developed under a cloak of absolute secrecy. Mr Cameron, Rolls-Royce and its new custodians won praise for building a thoroughly modern interpretation of the classic lines and proportions that had maintained a stately presence at the world’s great occasions for three quarters of a century.
The Phantom VII was much more than a looker, though. Underneath the elegant coachwork lay a totally new aluminium spaceframe, designed and engineered for strength and weight-saving, and a 6.75-litre naturally-aspirated V12 Rolls-Royce engine.
The VII also marked the launch of the marque’s Bespoke programme, with Phantom serving as a blank canvas on which buyers could make their personalised additions.
The final Phantom VII, commissioned by an unnamed but renowned contemporary Rolls-Royce collector, features marquetry that depicts a stylised 1930s ocean liner on the dashboard.
The completion of this final car also heralds the decommissioning of the Phantom production line after 13 years.
But while that era ends, a new horizon is in the offing as the world awaits the introduction of a completely new Phantom VIII, underpinned by an all-new aluminium architecture of luxury.
For the designers, the pressure is on once again...
chnelson@thenational.ae
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