The Rolls Royce Phantom has just cracked a century and with that Centenary private collection As a limited edition model, you won’t be afraid to celebrate the milestone.
Developed by the company’s Bespoke division, the limited edition model features a two-tone exterior paint finish with a black top and white bottom finished with Super Champagne Crystal, a clear coat with iridescent champagne-colored crushed glass particles.
The look is intended to be reminiscent of the golden years of Hollywood and the Phantoms from the 1930s.
On the grille is a Spirit of Ecstasy figure, patterned after the first Phantom, cast in 18k solid gold and plated in 24k gold. The limited edition rides on unique disc wheels, each engraved with 25 lines.
For the interior, Rolls-Royce applied the same over-the-top ethos. The front seats feature laser-etched motifs from the nameplate’s history, including a rabbit, a nod to the 2003 Phantom’s “Roger Rabbit” codename, and a seagull, the codename for the first-ever Phantom prototype.
Laser engraving, multi-directional 3D inlays, 3D ink layers and bands of fine gold leaf are used in the wooden panels of the door cards, most of which depict places and things dear to Sir Henry Rolls. However, there is a panel dedicated to the 7,000km journey of the first BMW-developed Phantom across Australia.
At the top of the dashboard is the “Anthology Gallery,” a series of 50 3D-printed aluminum fins, each consisting of a series of shaped letters that can be read in either direction for press quotes on various Phantom models.
The back seat is adorned with a printed and embroidered fabric that took 12 months to develop, includes over 160,000 stitches and includes 45 panels depicting the history of the Phantom and abstract details about the owners of each generation of the car.
Looking up, the Starlight Headliner uses another 440,000 stitches to tell more stories about the Phantom’s history.
Despite the heavily revised exterior and interior, the Centenary Private Collection features an unchanged powertrain from the regular Phantom variants, with a 420kW/900Nm 6.75-litre twin-turbo V12 driving the rear wheels via an eight-speed automatic.
Only 25 private collections will be built for the 100th anniversary, and accordingly Autocar The starting price is 2.5 million pounds (A$5.1 million).
If the Centenary Private Collection has piqued your interest, we regret to inform you that all 25 cars have already been sold.
Rolls-Royce doesn’t say who bought it, of course, but the company notes that the Phantom has been bought by a variety of people over its generations, including Queen Elizabeth II, 50 Cent, Liberace, Marlene Dietrich, Elvis Presley and Andy Warhol.
The Phantom nameplate made its debut in 1925 and continued for six generations until 1980, with production only interrupted during World War II.
After BMW gained full control of the Rolls-Royce automobile brand in 2003, it revived the Phantom name for the first Rolls-Royce developed under its leadership. The current eighth generation Phantom came onto the market in 2017.
MORE: Explore the Rolls-Royce Phantom showroom
