Aenean tincidunt. Nulla rutrum mollis enim

Phantom has a rare sense of scale and occasion that makes it a truly modern interpretation of a Rolls-Royce. The grille and Spirit of Ecstasy immediately mark out Phantom.

The 2:1 wheel-to-height ratio is fundamental to this as are the coach doors. The gentle downward curve of the roofline and upward sweep of the lower body line suggest movement even when the car is stationary.

Just as Phantom’s presence is quietly authoritative, the delivery of power from the direct-injection v12 engine is equally impressive.

From the moment work started on the formative concept sketches of the Phantom, it was crucial that the design team, led by Ian Cameron, had an instinctive feel for what makes a the unmistakable Rolls-Royce ‘look’.

A bold and distinctive feature of the Phantom are the rear-hinged coach doors. While they undoubtedly offer an added sense of occasion when entering and exiting the car, the coach doors also perform an important safety function. Side-impact protection is much-improved, both as a result of rear passengers sitting inside the fixed body structure of the car, and thanks to a significant intrusion reduction over a standard rear door configuration.

The door aperture is tall, which when combined with the Phantom’s flat floor and lack of door sills means it is easier to enter and exit the car.

Traditionally painted in a colour to match the interior trim, many customers now elect to have coachlines - both single and twin - in contrasting colours, and sometimes request additional hand-painted monograms or emblems, to further personalise their cars.

Even more impressive from the outside and more spacious inside, the Phantom Extended Wheelbase offers a further 250mm of legroom for rear passengers. With a choice of the best in contemporary communications technology, it’s an indulgent space - perfect to work in, to sit and think or just watch the world pass smoothly by. Thanks to the adaptability of the spaceframe, there is no compromise in the performance or aesthetics of the car. The rear seats are set back in the car, ensuring passengers’ privacy without restricting their view of the world as it passes.

Technology has been at the core of Rolls-Royce’s engineering philosophy for more than a century. It’s appropriate, therefore, that the Phantom is built around a highly advanced aluminium spaceframe - the largest of its kind ever made in the automotive sector.

Though hidden from view, it is one of the undoubted engineering highlights of the car, comprising some 200 extruded aluminium sections and more than 300 parts made of sheet alloy. Highly-skilled craftsmen weld the structure together by hand, completing some 150-metres of weld in 2,000 separate locations.

Designed to be immensely strong, for safety, and rigid, to provide a solid platform around which the rest of the car can be built, the spaceframe weighs just 550kgs - considerably less than if it were made from steel.

Clever design means the spaceframe is adaptable, making it possible to build new Rolls-Royce models without the need for a radical re-design. It’s an extremely advanced and efficient piece of engineering. A good example of this is the Phantom Extended Wheelbase, which gains an extra 250mm of rear legroom without compromising the styling or engineering integrity of the standard car.

Phantom’s unique, advanced aluminium spaceframe is hand-welded from over 500 separate parts, with over 100 metres of weld. Incredibly light but strong, it is both stiff and dynamic. When combined with the state-of-the art suspension technologies, it creates the air-cushioned ‘magic carpet ride’ that is unique to Rolls-Royce. The double-skinned flat floor of the spaceframe conceals much of the technology, making it conspicuous by its apparent absence. This adds to the calm, quiet ambience inside by isolating passengers from road noise and the flat floor leaves plenty of space to stretch out.

Click here to view the catalogue.