What is it?
“No no,” says Torsten Müller-Ötvös, CEO of Rolls-Royce. I have just made the mistake of likening the Phantom Series II to something else within the motor industry. “It’s not a car,” he insists. “The Phantom is a luxury good. The rival is not another car; it might be jewellery, or a Swiss chalet, but not a car. The Phantom is how [the buyer] rewards themselves for a job well done, or as a gift to themselves.”
It is a car, of course. Torsten knows that, unless – and this seems unlikely – he hasn’t seen the bit on the company stationery that reads ‘Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’. But the point he’s making is a fair one: most of the usual rules don’t apply to Rolls-Royce.
What other car could you leave on sale unchanged, aside from the arrival of new body styles, for nine whole years? It’s testament to the quality of the purity of the original item that the Phantom looks and feels as good as it did at its launch in 2003.
Better, you could argue. Those looks weren’t everyone’s cup of char a decade ago, but today they’re like smoke-free pubs, or Jack Dee presenting I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue: the unfamiliar made familiar to the point of institution.
Some market forces still apply, of course. Rolls-Royce customers apparently didn’t rate the decade-old satellite navigation system, which is understandable. And the Phantom saloon’s sales curve has threatened to follow a traditional market trend: an early peak, gradually tailing back. It has been offset, however, by the growing supply of exceptionally wealthy people, which is increasing by around 10 per cent a year.
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Fidji
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It's not showing its age at all, really! I know it's expensive, but it's the ultimate car if you have loads of money, and I'm glad that things like this, with a big V12 engine, can still be made!
The Special One
Fidji wrote: It's not
I totally agree, this car still looks fabulous today. Now, just throw the 6.6-litre twin turbo in it, BMW
Rich_uk
No avatar, no number of
No avatar, no number of posts, no idea how long the poster has been a member. This new look may be news related but the design spec clearly stated 'don't give a stuff about the forum users'. A foolish thought I suspect; it's us regular website visitors that up the website usage which I naively assume is linked to how much you can charge advertisers. I'll wait for a bit but I think this might be the beginning of the end for me.
The comments section needs a makeover... how about a forum??
Cavalier
New look forum
Agree completely with Rich. Could we have a bit more of a community feel returned to the forum please.
Fidji
Cavalier wrote:Agree
I agree too. There isn't much left of our little community any more.
I had to put the sad face on a new line, because it made my text go all out of line. Time for another sad face, methinks.
disco.stu
"...customers primarily said:
"...customers primarily said: by all means give it a tweak, but for heaven’s sake don’t spoil it." - Autocar
The same could apply to the Autocar website. Except they didn't listen...
www.TheCarExpert.co.uk
devil's advocate
Only £350,000 short of the price...........
.... any contribution gratefully accepted with sincere thanks.
Overdrive
Well written test
Agree with the article's impressions of the Phantom. It's one of those rare cars that seems to transcend time and fashion trends. Utterly fabulous.
Flash Harry
RR Phantom
I agree with other here.This is one of those ageless cars that stands out from the crowd,for all the right reasonsNote to self BMW.
Dirkie
Phantom
Its almost the same design than the Phantom Series 1. It just got a new back bumper and ne headlamps... The person who buys the Phantom Series 2 just wanna show he can buy a BRAND NEW ROLLS !
rkie96.Dirkie96
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