Rolls-Royce Phantom

The Rolls-Royce Phantom is a full-size luxury automobile produced by British automaker Rolls-Royce since 1925.

Rolls-Royce introduced the model as the New Phantom to succeed the 40/50 hp Silver Ghost, before renaming it Phantom I in 1929. Across eight distinct generations, six were manufactured in England between 1925 and 1990 by Rolls-Royce Limited, while BMW revived the model line under Rolls-Royce Motor Cars in 2003 with the seventh generation and in 2017 with the eighth generation. Early generations were sold as bare drivable rolling chassis, which independent coachbuilders like Mulliner, Park Ward, Hooper, and Brewster finished with bespoke bodies including limousines, landaulets, and sedancas de ville.

Powertrains evolved from a 7.7-liter pushrod overhead-valve inline-six in 1925 to a 7.3-liter V12 in the Phantom III in 1936. The seventh generation debuted in 2003 with an aluminum spaceframe and a 6.75-liter naturally aspirated V12 engine that delivered 338 kW (454 hp), reaching a governed top speed of 240 km/h (149 mph). Rear passenger doors were rear-hinged coach doors with integrated umbrellas stored in the door frames. The eighth generation introduced a twin-turbocharged 6.75-liter V12 engine that generated 420 kW (563 hp) paired with an active four-wheel steering system.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip received the first Phantom IV in 1950, which served as an official state vehicle for royal engagements. John Lennon commissioned artist Steve Weaver in 1967 to paint his 1965 fifth-generation limousine with yellow floral Romany scroll patterns. In cinema, Auric Goldfinger drove a 1937 third-generation model to smuggle gold in the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger. The British publication Top Gear presented the luxury car of the year award to the eighth-generation model in 2017. Assembly of modern units occurs at the Goodwood plant in West Sussex.