The 2012 update brought improvements like subtle styling tweaks, updated electronics and an eight-speed automatic transmission with a new rear differential, and these will probably be the last major changes before a new generation model appears, given the extended period between the Phantom’s introduction and mid-cycle facelift.
Leftlanenews has learned from Richard Carter, director of Rolls-Royce Global Communications, that the Phantom has a planned lifecycle of 17 years. That’s way more than the “life expectancy” of an average car (8-10 years), but then again, the Phantom is anything but average. Carter said that when a customer pays $500,000 for a new Phantom, he or she doesn’t want the car to be outdated in just a few years’ time.
Therefore, if you have a Phantom, don’t worry, you still have 6-7 years before it's replaced and you may want to think about trading it in for the new model. The next-generation Phantom is a mystery so far, but rumor has it that the Phantom family may switch to a platform derived from the BMW 7-Series, just like the Ghost.
By Dan Mihalascu
In addition to the two one-of-a-kind cars, Rolls-Royce is also showing off its Alpine Trial Centenary Collection and the Wraith coupe, which makes its debut in the Middle East.
The Rolls-Royce Celestial Phantom may have debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show this autumn, but the car came to Dubai with one important addition – or 446, to be exact. The door-cappings, center console lid and rear-privacy divider now feature 446 diamonds! The one-off Phantom celebrates the handover of the first Phantom to its owner at midnight on January 1, 2003.
The car’s color scheme evokes the night sky, integrating fine glass particles into the paint to achieve an alluring sense of depth and light. The theme continues on the inside with the Starlight Headliner that features the constellations exactly as they were at midnight on that historic evening.
Over a thousand fibre optic lights hand-woven into the Celestial Phantom’s headlining represent the stars. To make sure everything is authentic, the night-sky constellation arrangement was verified by the South Downs Planetarium.
The second Bespoke model on display is the Phantom Coupé Chicane, commissioned by AGMC, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ authorized dealer for Dubai, Sharjah and the Northern Emirates. The one-off vehicle incorporates design cues and materials that evoke Goodwood’s rich motor sport history.
It is the first contemporary Rolls-Royce that features colored wheels (matching the car’s Gunmetal main exterior paint finish), with the exterior being further individualized by the matte black bonnet and windscreen surround, as well as the Bespoke coachline. Inside the cabin, the traditional wood-finish makes way for carbon fiber, a reference to the materials used nowadays in racing cars.
By Dan Mihalascu
Apparently, the allure of a multicolored car isn’t limited to the masses as the owner of this Rolls Royce Phantom proves. According to the team over at Autogespot, it belongs to a UK resident named Alan who happens to own a number of exotic supercars including a Lamborghini Murciélago LP640 Roadster, Pagani Zonda F Roadster and a Spyker C8 Spyder.
