One hundred years. A whole century. It’s a long time to be the best. Athletes might get to enjoy a dozen years at the top of their game, if they’re lucky. Movie stars might enjoy a few decades of fame. Companies go boom and bust in less time. Heck, some countries don’t even last 100 years.
But the Rolls-Royce Phantom is celebrating its 100th birthday this year, and it is still the best car in the world, just as it was back in 1925. Since then there have been eight generations of the Phantom, each one taking onboard the technology and desires of an era, while still retaining the prestige and power and poise the Phantom has made its calling card.
“From its earliest days, Phantom has been one of the most desired rewards for success and a potent symbol of power and prestige on the world stage.”
Chris Brownridge, chief executive officer of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
Whilst being chauffeured around Monaco in the palatial and serene Phantom II, the latest iteration of Rolls’ flagship, everything outside the windows somehow began to look small — which of course makes one feel big, precisely the point of such an ostentatiously large automobile. So isolating and silent is the cabin that the outside world begins to feel small, small enough that you start to think it might just be mastered. Of all the luxury cars in the world, it is quite simply the best.
But with a price tag of around $500,000, the Phantom is a rare sight. That’s why it was so special when, at this summer’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, all eight generations of the Rolls-Royce Phantom were photographed together for the first and only time. While each is clearly distinct, they all carry the weight of the Phantom’s history and reputation with grace.
100 Years of the World’s Best Car: Celebrating the Rolls-Royce Phantom
100 Years of Rolls-Royce Phantom Generation I.
100 Years of the World’s Best Car: Celebrating the Rolls-Royce Phantom
100 Years of Rolls-Royce Phantom Generation II.
100 Years of the World’s Best Car: Celebrating the Rolls-Royce Phantom
100 Years of Rolls-Royce Phantom Generation III.
100 Years of the World’s Best Car: Celebrating the Rolls-Royce Phantom
100 Years of Rolls-Royce Phantom Generation IV.
100 Years of the World’s Best Car: Celebrating the Rolls-Royce Phantom
100 Years of Rolls-Royce Phantom Generation V.
100 Years of the World’s Best Car: Celebrating the Rolls-Royce Phantom
100 Years of Rolls-Royce Phantom Generation VI.
100 Years of the World’s Best Car: Celebrating the Rolls-Royce Phantom
100 Years of Rolls-Royce Phantom Generation VII.
100 Years of the World’s Best Car: Celebrating the Rolls-Royce Phantom
100 Years of Rolls-Royce Phantom Generation VIII.
“Phantom is much more than a motor car. For 100 years, it has stood at the pinnacle of all Rolls-Royce motor cars — a cultural phenomenon that both reflects and influences the world around it,” said Chris Brownridge, chief executive officer of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. “From its earliest days,” he continued, “Phantom has been one of the most desired rewards for success and a potent symbol of power and prestige on the world stage.”
As the world’s best car, the Phantom has naturally been a favourite chariot of musicians, politicians, artists and royalty over the last century. And such, the Phantom has more than a few good stories to tell (and many more we’ll never know about).
Take, for example, the time Keith Moon, drummer of The Who, reportedly plunged his Rolls-Royce Phantom into a pool at the Holiday Inn in Flint, Michigan, during what surely must’ve been a drug-fueled 21st birthday party. Accounts of the event differ wildly, but it doesn’t matter what really happened because it’s a great story.
As part of its 100th birthday celebration, Rolls-Royce took the opportunity to once again plunge a Phantom into a pool, this time at the Tinside Lido in Plymouth, England. (No, these photos are not AI; Rolls really did put their car in a pool.)
Another story has it that the typically austere Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, one of the great commanders of the Second World War, often rode around in a Phantom. According to Rolls-Royce, Monty — as his friends called him — did so to convey a sense of, “permanence, solidity and reliability.” Unlike the Keith Moon story, this one is true.
Naturally, the British monarchy also favoured the home-grown Phantom when the occasion called for formal transportation. So too did any number of high-ranking British diplomats, who rolled around in Phantoms whilst abroad. As the company notes, “Phantom Vs became trusted envoys in themselves, serving British diplomats in postings as far-reaching as New York, Washington, Tokyo and New Delhi, with earlier examples used in Rome and other destinations.”
Sir John Fretwell, former British ambassador to France, told a British newspaper, “My Rolls certainly helped when visiting the Élysée. The guards on the gate had no excuse for not knowing it was the British ambassador.”
Indeed, nothing projects soft power like a Phantom. It’s another reason why business magnates and governments around the world still like to roll in the big Rolls.
John Lennon was one of the many, many musicians who purchased a Phantom. His was an all-black model, bought on the heels of the success of A Hard Day’s Night. In 1967, ahead of the release of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and just in time for the Summer of Love, Lennon had it painted yellow with a flamboyant floral motif.
As you can clearly see in the photograph of all eight Phantom generations together, no two examples of Rolls-Royce’s flagship have been exactly alike. They’re each unique, and each has its own story to tell. You can bet there’ll be many more Phantoms, and many more great stories, as it begins its second century as the world’s best car.
