Construction
The Phantom uses a unique chassis platform, body, interior, and retains traditional Rolls-Royce design cues. The body is mostly aluminium. Final assembly, including all body, paint, wood, and leather work, is completed to each customer's individual specification at the Rolls-Royce plant in Goodwood, West Sussex. The plant is down the street from the historic Goodwood Motor Racing Circuit.
The plant contains the paint shop, body shop, leather shop, woodworking shop, assembly line, and executive offices under one roof. There are only two robots in the factory. The two robots paint the body; the paint is polished by hand after the robots spray each coat. All other work is done by hand, in keeping with the Rolls-Royce tradition.
It has a 6.75 litre, 48-valve, V12 engine that produces 453 bhp (338 kW; 459 PS) and 720 N·m (530 lb·ft) of torque. The engine is derived from BMW's N73 V12 powerplant. The engine is assembled by BMW. The engine uses direct fuel injection, and is a drive by wire design, using valvetronic technology. The power output is regulated by infinitely varying valve lift by moving the rockers and rocker fulcrums via electric servos, rather than using the throttle body.The throttle body is maintained for fail-safe operation.
The aluminium extrusions that are used to construct the aluminium spaceframe are produced in Norway using hydroelectric power, shaped and machined in Denmark and finally hand-welded in Germany.
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 transmission is sourced from ZF of Germany. The vehicle electronics are sourced from BMW.
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. It is currently referred to as the Phantom Extended Wheelbase (or EWB).
Novel features
Customers can choose from 44,000 paint colours, and specify any leather colour.
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. This is to provide a sense of tremendous power in reserve. The cluster is not shared with any other vehicle. Doors are remote operated.
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 car will automatically brake to a walking speed if a coach door remains open when driving off. The rear doors also house umbrellas that are stored within the doors, and can only be accessed when the front or rear doors are open. The fabric of the umbrella is coated with Teflon to assist in shedding water when the wet umbrella is stored within the door.
Luxury Amenities
Features include a navigation system with voice recognition, power sunroof, upgraded leather upholstery, rear-view camera, rear-seat DVD entertainment system, 26-speaker premium sound system, 8-disc CD changer, 18-way power front seats, 16-way power rear seats, heated and cooled cup holders, rear-seat tables, outside-temperature indicator, universal garage door opener, power tilt/telescopic heated wood and leather-wrapped steering wheel with radio, climate, and navigation controls, power open/close trunk lid, power closing doors, wireless headphones, iPod adapter, refrigerator, and air conditioning with 5-zone climate controls. There are unlimited options available through the Rolls-Royce "Bespoke" program through which the factory will create any option a customer asks for.
The traditional Spirit of Ecstasy ornament has an automatic 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, and retracted when the alarm is armed. The base contains a sensor which detects movement, and will retract if tampered with.
The 'RR' logos on each of the wheel hubs are independent bezels in order to always remain upright while the wheel is rotating
Sales
1....The introductory base price was £250,000 in the United Kingdom and $300,000 in the United States.
2....After selling 805 units in 2006, Rolls-Royce first met its annual sales target of 1,000 vehicles in 2007 (1,010 Phantoms sold, Drophead Coupé sales included).
3....In 2004, Rolls-Royce was selling twice as many cars as its closest rival Maybach.
4....The 2,000th car rolled out of the Goodwood factory in December 2005.