Rolls-Royce Phantom


Debut: 2017
Maker: Rolls-Royce
Predecessor: Phantom VII (2003)



 Published on 2 Nov 2017 All rights reserved. 


At 92 years old, is Phantom still "the best car in the world" ?


Phantom, what a historic name! Rolls-Royce has been using the nameplate on its range-topping model since 1925, when it replaced the famous Silver Ghost. Naturally, it was dubbed “the best car in the world”, but in fact it suffered from a philosophy emphasizing too much on tradition and conservative taste. Although it evolved through 6 generations from 1925 to 1990, it actually changed little since 1959. The lack of progress in technology and production method left it behind Mercedes 600 Pullman in the 1960s and the nameplate was gradually forgotten by the world.

In 2003, BMW took over Rolls-Royce and resurrected Phantom as its sole model. In response to doubt about the true identity of the car – especially when it was built at the new Goodwood factory instead of Crewe, with most mechanicals shipped directly from Germany – it opted for a very conservative design that drew strongly from the past. We didn’t like its styling, but that matter little to RR because it won the approval of the world’s wealthiest people, many of whom were happy customers of the old Rolls-Royce. Modern mechanicals wrapped in a new aluminum chassis finished with impeccable build quality, craftsmanship and insulation made the reborn Phantom sounded and smelt every bit a traditional Roller. Mission One accomplished.

In the second incarnation, the Phantom VIII continues to act as the company’s flagship luxury saloon, sitting comfortably above the cheaper and higher volume Ghost. It starts from £360,000 for short-wheelbase body or £432,000 for extended wheelbase. Even so, most customers will add tens of thousand pounds of options and customizations such that some may even exceed a million pounds! This car easily trumps Bentley Mulsanne and Mercedes-Maybach S650 to be the world’s most luxurious limousine.



This car easily trumps Bentley Mulsanne and Mercedes-Maybach S650 to be the world’s most luxurious limousine.


Styling of the new Phantom is hardly new. In fact, it looks very much like the old car which had been soldiering for 14 years. The world of automotive design progresses rapidly, but time seems standing still at Rolls-Royce, especially on its flagship model. Understandably, the very rich buyers of this car are mostly old and super-conservative – I suspect very few are younger than 50s. Anyway, the Phantom VIII keeps the old car’s tall and blocky proportion. Its front end is waterfall-straight. Its aerodynamic drag is about as good as a gold brick. This car is so rich of everything that it can ignore the laws of physics or the requirements for efficiency. Only in this way it can show how rich and flamboyance it is!

However, there are still some noticeable changes. Up front, the prominent radiator grille is slightly raked and rounded to flow flush with the bonnet. The headlamps are still recessed slightly from the main surface, but now they employ LED and laser beams and are surrounded with fancy-looking LED rims. At the back, the boot lid and rear window are more steeply raked, not to improve aerodynamics but to resemble the classic Phantom V and VI. Do we like its styling? No, not a bit, but just as before, this car has real presence. Even with the largest 22-inch wheels fitted, it still looks incredibly huge, tall and heavy, a lot more so than a Bentley or Maybach, although its actual weight and dimensions are not so much.



This car is so rich of everything that it can ignore the laws of physics or the requirements for efficiency.


At 5762mm long, 2018mm wide, 1646mm tall and 3552mm in wheelbase, this is a huge car by any standards. Yet this is only the “short-wheelbase” version. Extended Wheelbase model adds another 220mm to both its wheelbase and overall length but only a weight penalty of 50 kg. Like the old car, the chassis is an all-aluminum spaceframe while the body panels are all-aluminum as well. However, this is an all-new architecture that will serve also the next generation Ghost, Wraith, Dawn and Cullinan SUV, or simply the entire Rolls-Royce family. Although it does not employ any carbon-fiber elements, unlike the BMW 7-Series of the same group, its rigidity is still lifted by 30 percent. Rolls-Royce improves NVH suppression further by a lot of measures, such as applying 130 kg of sound insulating materials, using foam-filling double-aluminum skins at the floor and bulkheads, 6mm-thick double glazing windows and even specially developed Continental tires with a foam layer to absorb road noise. The result is 5dB reduction of noise level in the cabin, which is remarkable as the old car was already one of the quietest cars in the world.

The chassis rides on a new double-wishbone front axle and 5-link rear axle. Adaptive dampers and self-levelling air suspensions are standard again, but the air chambers are doubled in size for better cushioning. Moreover, it is linked to the new Magic Carpet Ride technology, which is BMW’s version of Mercedes Magic Body Control. It uses a 3D camera mounted at the windscreen to scan the road ahead and adjust the suspension stiffness accordingly. Besides, the suspension is added with active anti-roll bars, not to make the Phantom a sports saloon in any sense but to enable a softer suspension setting without risking cornering control. Also taken from the parts pool of BMW 7-Series is the active rear-wheel steering. Its chief purpose is to shorten the turning circle at low-speed maneuver or parking, which is very useful for a car so huge.



You rarely need to engage more than a quarter of throttle travel or spin the V12 higher than 2500 rpm, even on highway.


The V12 engine keeps its displacement at 6.75 liters as in the long tradition of Rolls-Royce, but it is now added with twin-turbochargers like Ghost (which displaces 6.6 liters). In fact, it is the long-stroke version of the Ghost and M760Li engine. It produces 571 hp at 5000 rpm and 664 lbft of torque from 1700 rpm, the latter is considerably stronger than its siblings, which is exactly what its extra weight needs. Pushing the 2.6 tons of mass, 0-60 mph can be accomplished in a decent 5.1 seconds, nearly a second inside the time of the old car, although hopeless to match the sportier Bentley Mulsanne or Maybach S650. No, the Rolls-Royce Phantom has never meant to be sporty. Instead, its huge reserve of power is just made to allow the engine working unstressed in any normal driving conditions. You rarely need to engage more than a quarter of throttle travel or spin the V12 beyond 2500 rpm, even on highway. In this way, you can enjoy impeccable refinement. The engine is barely audible in startup. The suspension, road and wind noises are only noticeable for their absence. Yes, this is easily the quietest car in the world!

The ZF 8-speed automatic transmission is again linked to GPS to predict the road ahead. Like the V12 engine, its gearshifts are creamy smooth and imperceptible. Plant the throttle, the engine and tr
ansmission takes a moment to gather rev as there is no such thing called “Sport” mode in this car, neither does it have paddle shift. However, once it responds, the progress feels brisk and the V12 emits a satisfying, albeit muted, roar. Although it does not encourage, passing is effortless at any speed.


"The Gallery" is a clever idea, lifting customization to a new height.


Inevitably, driving excitement is limited in such a big, fully insulated car. The oversized steering wheel is not what you would call sporty or handy, but the boss at the rear bench must be quite amused to watch his chauffeur working hard to guide the car. The steering is actually light and muted but surprisingly precise. The brake pedal is well weighted, if the inital response is too soft. You sit very high as in a lorry, have a good view on the road over the long and square bonnet (the flying lady aids judging the front end, by the way). The suspension setting is very soft and the car’s center of gravity is high, leading to more body roll in corners than the usual norm of German luxury limousines. However, ultimately the active anti-roll bars will limit the roll should you drive the car outside its comfort zone, although you will keep sliding across the flat chair. For such a huge car, its body control is respectable, and you can guide it on winding roads with remarkable precision, thanks to 4-wheel steering. There is a sense of precision unfound on the old Phantom, and an agility matching the smaller Ghost. Having said that, without much feel from the steering, much noise from the engine and no road feedback from your seat of the pants, the Phantom never encourages you to drive it in a spirited mood.

Meanwhile, ride comfort is simply peerless. The comfort-oriented suspension setting results in a supple ride over a variety of surfaces, including some very bad mountain roads. The predictive Magic Carpet Ride certainly helps, as does the car’s rigid chassis.



Those heavy lacquer, flashy interior details and contrasting colors remind us the lifestyle of parvenus...


However, in the eyes of its maker and buyers, the best thing about the Phantom has to be its cabin. Bentley and Maybach praised their cars for bespoke design, impeccable craftsmanship and endless customization, but they are nowhere close to the territory of Phantom. First of all, you enter the rear seat gracefully through a huge rear-hinged door, which is electrically triggered by a soft button. You sit way back on the high-mounted rear seat, which is soft, cosset, heated and massaged. The leather is soft and the carpet is thick. Privacy is guaranteed by the thick C-pillars, while view over the front cabin and windscreen is commanding. Needless to say, head and legroom are vast. Unless you need the reclining lounge chairs or to show your wealth, there is really no need to opt for the EWB model. Each rear passenger gets a fold table and individual infotainment system with dedicated controls. They are also served with a cooled wine cabinet with whisky glasses. The leather, wood and metal employed are all expensive stuffs. Fit and finish are faultless. The roof liner is decorated with a thousand LED starlights. All in all, it smells luxury and flamboyant.

As for customization, apart from various two-tone paint schemes to choose from, Rolls-Royce added a clever feature called “The Gallery” to the dashboard. A big piece of glass runs the full width of the dashboard, covering the TFT instruments, infotainment screen as well as a dedicated area on the passenger side for installing your selected artworks during the assembly. These can be your own collection of oil painting, sculptures, ceramics, silk… or one of the options offered by Rolls-Royce. Hopefully this will allow many Chinese customers to put the portraits of Chairman Xi into the dash as an evidence of their loyalty, and by the way remind the chauffeurs that they are being watched by the
Big Brother. It would have been even better if the "The Gallery" could extend to the rear – how about displaying a tiger skin on the roof or an ivory on each rear door?

Objectively speaking, the new Phantom is clearly "the best car in the world" when it comes to luxury and comfort, but then at more than twice the price of a Maybach and 60 percent more than a Mulsanne, it should be the best. My only criticism about the Phantom is its attitude. Isn’t it too flamboyant, too show-off? That imposing front end is exaggerating to the extent of disgusting. Those heavy lacquer, flashy interior details and contrasting colors remind us the lifestyle of parvenus. Rich people lived in that way at the eve of the 1929 Wall Street crash. The revival of Phantom reminds us how wrong the world is heading to.
Verdict: 
Specifications





Year
Layout
Chassis
Body
Length / width / height
Wheelbase
Engine
Capacity
Valve gears
Induction
Other engine features
Max power
Max torque
Transmission
Suspension layout

Suspension features

Tires

Kerb weight
Top speed
0-60 mph (sec)
0-100 mph (sec)
Phantom
2017
Front-engined, RWD, 4WS
Aluminum spaceframe
Aluminum
5762 / 2018 / 1646 mm
3552 mm
V12, 60-degree
6749 cc
DOHC 48 valves, DVVT
Twin-turbo
DI
571 hp / 5000 rpm
664 lbft / 1700 rpm
8-speed automatic
F: double-wishbone
R: multi-link
Adaptive damping + air springs, active anti-roll bars
F: 255/45ZR22
R: 285/40ZR22
2560 kg
155 mph (limited)
5.1 (c)
-
Phantom EWB
2017
Front-engined, RWD, 4WS
Aluminum spaceframe
Aluminum
5982 / 2018 / 1656 mm
3772 mm
V12, 60-degree
6749 cc
DOHC 48 valves, DVVT
Twin-turbo
DI
571 hp / 5000 rpm
664 lbft / 1700 rpm
8-speed automatic
F: double-wishbone
R: multi-link
Adaptive damping + air springs, active anti-roll bars
F: 255/45ZR22
R: 285/40ZR22
2610 kg
155 mph (limited)
5.2 (c)
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