New versions of the Rolls-Royce Phantom don’t appear often, so the company can be forgiven for making what the British would describe as “a bit of a fuss” when they do. The original Phantom was introduced in 1925, and Rolls claims that makes it the longest-lived model name in automotive history. In truth, there have been some lengthy gaps between a few of the generations, but this new eighth generation is directly replacing the current car, which was the first BMW-developed Rolls-Royce. This, we remind you, is a car for people who regard the Bentley Mulsanne as too common.
Despite looking familiar, this Phantom is nearly entirely new. It sits on Rolls-Royce’s new aluminum spaceframe platform, officially dubbed the Architecture of Luxury, which will go on to underpin all of the company’s forthcoming models, including the Project Cullinan SUV. The 140-inch wheelbase is slightly smaller than the previous car’s, and the overall length of 227.2 inches actually has shrunk by 2.8 inches for the standard-wheelbase version, although you wouldn’t accuse it of having less presence. (As before, an extended-wheelbase version for long-legged plutocrats also will be offered.) Suspension elements are mostly aluminum, with electrically controlled air springs, active anti-roll bars, and adaptive dampers delivering what Rolls-Royce modestly describes as its Magic Carpet Ride. It uses a road-scanning camera system to prepare for bumps before they reach the wheels.
Playing the Dozen
Rolls-Royce formerly regarded any performance claims beyond “adequate sufficiency” as being beneath its dignity, but there’s no reticence evident when it comes to boasting of the new Phantom’s statistics. Power comes from a new twin-turbocharged V-12 that has been derived from the 6.6-liter unit fitted to the more proletarian Wraith, Ghost, and Dawn and displaces, according to the scholars of history at Rolls-Royce, 6.75 liters. While the peak output of 563 horsepower is the same as its fractionally smaller siblings, torque output rises substantially—to 664 lb-ft, available from 1700 rpm. That means this Phantom is rated for 110 horsepower and 133 lb-ft more than its predecessor. So, we suspect that Rolls-Royce’s claimed 5.1-second zero-to-60-mph time will prove to be pessimistic; Rolls cited 5.9 seconds for the same benchmark in the outgoing model.
