Phantom injects high-tech into its super-luxury mix
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halves were perfect mirror images of each other, the new Phantom dashboard is a sheet of toughened glass.
Under it, on the driver’s side, is a chrome-framed 31cm colour TFT display with LED backlighting, showing three big round dials with chrome surrounds, beautiful virtual needles, jewel-like RollsRoyce chaplets and clear lettering for speed, power reserve, fuel and temperature levels.
It’s also possible to spec custom artworks behind the glass panel, allowing owners to take a piece of their private gallery with them. Rolls-Royce has already worked with a number of artists, designers and design collectives to show just what is possible behind the glass, ranging from an oil painting of the South Downs of England in Autumn by Chinese artist Liang Yuanwei, to a gold-plated 3D-printed map of the owner’s DNA by German designer Thorsten Franck.
You can choose a favoured artist or designer to work with RollsRoyce to create a truly individual work of art that spans the width of ‘The Gallery’ in your Phantom, or you can choose from a vast collection of silk, wood, metal or leather finishes, which are available off the shelf.
For the first time, the pantheon grille (about 12mm taller than that of the Phantom VII) is part of the body rather than a separate design element, and made of hand-polished stainless steel rather than nickel silver, while the door handles, usually cast in aluminium and satin-finished on premium cars, are instead carved from solid stainless steel and hand-polished to a warm glow.
The four rectangular headlights frame the daylight running lights and laser projectors, capable of illuminating objects 600 metres ahead. And finally, the Phantom rides on the biggest wheels yet specified by Rolls-Royce, 22” alloy rims with self-righting centre logos. Along with the lighter, stiffer chassis comes four-wheel steering and self-leveling air suspension which makes millions of calculations every second, reacting to body and wheel acceleration, steering movements and the input of a forward stereo camera that reads the road ahead and adjusts the suspension for every bump before the car even gets there.
The naturally-aspirated 6.75-litre V12 that powers every Rolls-Royce has been re-engineered for the Phantom with two turbochargers making total outputs of 420kW and 900Nm.
It drives the rear wheels through new eight-speed automatic ZF satellite-aided transmission that uses GPS location to ensure that it is always in the right gear for what’s coming up around the bend, depending on how hard you’ve been leaning on the accelerator today.
The most immediate consequence of all this bespoke luxury is that it is no longer possible to quote a price for a Rolls-Royce until you have finished specifying your unique car - but in any case, if you need to ask the price, you can’t afford it.