2025 marks 100 years since the debut of the Rolls-Royce Phantom. Now in its eighth iteration the car is a far cry from that which the company announced in The Times newspaper of Saturday May 2 1925.
“Rolls-Royce Ltd beg to announce that, after prolonged tests, they can now demonstrate and accept orders for a new 40/50 H.P. chassis. The 40/50 H.P. chassis hitherto manufactured by them will be sold as before… The original chassis of this type was the famous Silver Ghost, and to prevent confusion such chassis will be known as the Silver Ghost model, whereas the new chassis will be known as the New Phantom,” read the advertisement.
At the time Rolls-Royce only supplied the chassis, on which coachbuilders would construct a body to their customer’s choosing, be it a formal saloon or limousine, or, on the shorter wheelbase, a closed coupe or open tourer. The world was your oyster when it came to personalising these early Rolls-Royces and buyers were known to specify anything from writing desks and swivel seats to built-in safes for carrying diamonds. No wonder 007-nemesis Auric Goldfinger chose a Phantom to smuggle bullion.
Indeed, in its review of May 8, 1925 The Autocar may have even partially written the script. “Few are the firms engaged in the manufacture of motor cars who enjoy quite such a reputation as Rolls-Royce Ltd,” said the esteemed motoring title. “Almost the conjoined names have become the household word for luxury, and every novelist worthy of the name imparts a distinguished air to any character by crediting him or her with the possession of one of the firm’s cars.”
In 1929 the improved Phantom II arrived, but Henry Royce believed it was too big and unwieldy so commissioned a sportier, experimental model dubbed 26EX, which would go on to become the popular Phantom II Continental.
1933’s Phantom III was a landmark, introducing Rolls-Royce’s first V-12 engine, “giving greater engine smoothness, flexibility, silence and acceleration,” according to announcement in The Times. With up to 180 H.P. in later models, and independent front suspension it was “further enhanced by remarkable road holding qualities and stability on corners even at high speeds.”
After hostilities ended in 1945 Rolls-Royce faced a new world and its answer was to axe the Phantom in favor of a “Rationalised Range” of less expensive models, led by the Silver Wraith.
A royal intervention in 1950 revived the Phantom when Rolls-Royce was commissioned to create a limousine for King George VI’s household. That first Phantom IV was a one-off straight-eight chassis with coachwork by H.J. Mulliner, and is still in service in the Royal Mews. Just 17 further examples followed over the next seven years.
1959 saw the arrival of the Phantom V, with several cars once more provided for royal duties, but now also also available to a wider, wealthy clientele. Some 832 Phantom Vs were sold before the introduction of the Phantom VI 13 years on. The last of these was delivered to the Sultan of Brunei in 1993.
After a 10 year gap, and with Rolls-Royce now under the ownership of BMW, came the Phantom VII. It was the first Phantom to feature a spaceframe chassis and the first to be entirely built by Rolls-Royce (at its brand-new Goodwood facility). Silky V-12 power, ultra luxury and near limitless levels of customisation marked the reintroduction of the legendary name.
In 2017, built on a new Architecture of Luxury, came the current Phantom VIII, extending Rolls-Royce’s bespoke capabilities with features including a dashboard gallery to house unique artworks.
Now, 100 years from its first appearance, the Phantom name continues to represent the pinnacle of automotive luxury, yet it could all have been so different. Apparently Claude Johnson, Rolls-Royce’s Commercial Managing Director, who is credited with coming up with the Phantom name also considered The Dreadnought, The Cookie, Yellow Bird, and even The Elusive Pimpernel!
