Phantom: new before old
Coachbuilt Rolls preludes ‘Great Eight Phantoms’ show
AT CONCORSO D’ELEGANZA Villa d’Este in Italy, on 27 May, Rolls-Royce unveiled the Phantom VII’s swansong: a unique coachbuilt version, called Sweptail, commissioned by collector Sam Li at a cost reputed to be £10m and taking four years to complete. It made its debut ahead of ‘The Great Eight Phantoms’, a RollsRoyce exhibition that will gather together the greatest Phantoms from the last 92 years in Mayfair, London. There’s a clue to the theme in the name, as the seventh-gen Rolls Phantom ceased production at the end of 2016.
Crowds applauded as Rolls-Royce’s design director Giles Taylor and bespoke designer Alex Innes (who ran the project under Taylor) threw off the Sweptail’s covers. It looks more elegant in the metal than in photographs, and is especially impressive in its detailing and materials. The bodywork is unique, as are several interior features, including integrated attaché case carriers that swing out mechanically from the side panels.
As Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös put it: ‘The experience of true luxury is very personal.’
Taylor added: ‘It’s compellingly unique and modern. The customer is a lover of yachts and fine furniture, with a passion for perfection. Key aspects are the yacht hull form and the teardrop taper, not taking too much visual mass rearwards.’
The car is based on the alloy spaceframe and mechanicals of the outgoing Phantom VII, though ‘chopped and changed at the rear’, and the only shared panel is the bonnet, for crash homologation. ‘We had many constraints to overcome,’ said Innes. ‘Every other surface is different, with more vertical emphasis to the front end.’
Taylor added: ‘It’s best from tight rear threequarter. You get the juice of the car there.’
Around 80% of the car was made at Goodwood, with the remainder by specialists, especially the hand-formed body panels. Will more follow? Said Müller-Ötvös: ‘The future for luxury is more custom builds. We have learnt a lot but there are certain limits, such as the failure to comply with legal regulations. This one will not be repeated. The value in the project is that it’s unique.’
Talking of value, Müller-Ötvös wouldn’t be drawn on price, beyond saying: ‘It’s probably the most expensive new car ever built.’
The Phantom nomenclature, which dates back to 1925, is the longest-existing nameplate in motoring, and the forthcoming exhibition pays tribute to the car’s enduring importance to every generation’s leaders, from heads of state and royalty to rock stars and silver-screen legends.
Rolls-Royce will display famous examples of all seven generations of Phantom from 27 July. They will be procured from around the globe for display at Rolls-Royce’s spiritual home in Mayfair, London, to coincide with the arrival of the eighth. Details of the exhibits will be revealed gradually, the first two being the ex-Fred Astaire Phantom I and Field Marshall Montgomery’s Phantom III. Follow further announcements on social media: #GreatPhantoms.