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Rolls-Royce Phantom (BMW)

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See also Rolls-Royce Phantom for other models sharing this name

Rolls-Royce Phantom

Manufacturer	Rolls-Royce
Parent company	BMW Group
Production	2003-present
Predecessor	Silver Seraph
Class	Full-size luxury car
Body style(s)	4-door saloon
Engine(s)	6.75 L V12
Transmission(s)	6-speed automatic
Length	5.83 m (228 in)
Width	1.99 m (74.8 in)
Height	1.63 m (63 in)
Curb weight	2485 kg (5478 lb)
Related	Drophead Coupe
Designer	Marek Djordjevic Ian Cameron

The Rolls-Royce Phantom is an ultra-luxury saloon automobile made by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, a BMW subsidiary, in the United Kingdom. It was launched in 2003 and is the first Rolls-Royce branded car made under the ownership of BMW.

1 Specifications
2 Design
3 Novel features
4 Drophead Coupé
5 Sales
6 References
7 External links

It has a 6.75 L, 48-valve, V12 engine that produces 453 hp (338 kW) and 531 ft·lbf (720 N·m) of torque. The engine is derived from BMW's existing V12 powerplant.

It is 1.63 m (63 in) tall, 1.99 m (74.8 in) wide, 5.83 m (228 in) long, and weighs 2485 kg (5478 lb). The body of the car is built on an aluminium space frame and the Phantom can accelerate to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 5.7 s. It has a six-speed automatic transmission and double wishbone suspension.

The Phantom features side markers on all vehicles (rear ones are red in the U.S. to comply with federal car lighting rules).

An extended wheelbase Phantom was presented in March 2005 at the Geneva Motor Show, which is 250 mm (9.8 in) longer than the standard Phantom.*[1]

A Phantom at the 2005 United States Grand Prix

Rear view of a 2005 Phantom

Although some 15 percent of components are shared with other BMW models such as the BMW 7 Series, the Phantom retains the traditional Rolls-Royce design cues.

The intention was to avoid being seen as just an extension to the BMW range. When Mercedes introduced its Maybach luxury saloon, it was criticized for producing "the ultimate Mercedes" instead of a totally different car^{[citation needed]}. The car shared many components with and looked like the less expensive S-Class Sedan. BMW learned from this lesson, selling the Phantom through separate dealerships where BMWs are not sold, while the Maybach showroom in London also sells the most basic of Mercedes models.

The aluminium spaceframe body is built in a BMW plant in Dingolfing, Germany and the V12 engine in Munich. Final assembly, as well as all wood and leather work, for each customer's individual specification is at a purpose built €100M plant at Goodwood, West Sussex, England. The Goodwood plant contains only two robots to paint the spaceframe body; all other work is done by hand, in keeping with the Rolls-Royce tradition.

Instead of a tachometer, the car has a power reserve dial indicating how much of the engine's power is left available to the driver.
The rear doors are rear-hinged, a style commonly referred to as suicide doors, but called 'coach doors' by Rolls-Royce. Because of the rear-seating position in relation to the rear inner-door handles, buttons are mounted on both C-pillars which operate hydraulic motors in order to close the rear doors. An electronic lock prevents the doors from being accidentally opened when moving.
The rear doors feature pop-out umbrellas. Fans are installed in the holding compartment to remove moisture when the umbrellas are stored. Škoda offers a similar feature for the compact executive car Škoda Superb (a plastic box inside the left rear seat's armrest including an umbrella).
The traditional Spirit of Ecstasy ornament has an electronic retraction mechanism to prevent theft and protect pedestrians in the event of an accident. It may also be retracted by the driver at the touch of a button.
The 'RR' logos on each of the wheel hubs are independent bezels in order to always remain upright while the wheel is rotating.

Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé is the latest convertible made by Rolls-Royce which debuted at the 2007 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan on January 7, 2007. The platform is based on the Rolls-Royce Phantom and has styling heavily derived from the 100EX concept car unveiled to celebrate the company's centennial in 2004.

**Annual sales**^[1]
Year	Sales
2003	300
2004	792
2005	796
2006	805
Total	2693

BMW has set a lifetime limit that only 10,000 units of the Phantom will be built.
The base price is £250,000 in the UK and $300,000 in the US.
Rolls Royce's target of 1,000 vehicles sold per year has not quite been met, with 2006 seeing the higest sales of the car's four year life at 805 units. However, even in 2004 Rolls-Royce was selling twice as many cars as its closest rival Maybach.
The 2000th car rolled out of the Goodwood factory in December 2005.^[2]
In July 2006, Rolls Royce produced a limited edition run of 25 cars called the "Phantom Black" [2]
The 3000th car rolled out of the Goodwood factory in March 2007.
Rolls Royce produced a limited edition run of 25 cars to commemorate the centenary of the Silver Ghost. [3]
The Peninsula Hong Kong Hotel has purchased a fleet of 14 Extended Wheelbase Phantoms to replace the Silver Spurs in the fleet, all painted in a special "Peninsula Green" and delivered in December 2006, making history for being the largest single order for the Phantom.^[3]
Rolls Royce released a special Tungsten edition Phantom which incorporated innovations featured in the EX101 Experimental Car.[4]