Rolls-Royce Phantom and a Century of Excellence

As I write this, it’s exactly 100 years ago that this copy for an advertisement in The Times newspaper appeared – on Saturday, May 2, 1925 to be precise: ‘Rolls-Royce Ltd beg to announce that, after prolonged tests, they can now demonstrate and accept orders for a new 40/50 H.P. chassis. The 40/50 H.P. chassis hitherto manufactured by them will be sold as before… The original chassis of this type was the famous Silver Ghost, and to prevent confusion such chassis will be known as the Silver Ghost model, whereas the new chassis will be known as the New Phantom.’

Who would have thought that the first time the Phantom name appeared in print would kickstart a legacy that would continue for 100 years, and look strong enough to dominate the next century too – no other model nameplate has been around for so long. Back then, the Phantom was a replacement for the hoary Silver Ghost, which by all means was overdue. The ‘haunting’ nomenclature for the models was a clever bit of marketing by managing director Claude Johnson – a tradition that continues at Rolls-Royce to this day. Instead of the dry British legal numbering (engine type/power rating), Johnson felt that giving a name that evokes the supernatural as an attribute to the silent performance and effortless ‘waftability’ of the cars would be more evocative.

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Well, it worked, and as another old jungle saying goes, ‘The Phantom’s Silence Speaks Louder Than Words.’ The Phantom nameplate was always affixed to the pinnacle Rolls-Royce model – the one made for leaders and royalty, tycoons and stars, and those for whom peak luxury, exceptional craftsmanship, effortless performance, high levels of customisation and an elevated experience were a need rather than a want. Across eight generations, the Phantom has always been associated with people of power and influence, whether temporal or cultural. Whether you were born into wealth or became enormously wealthy, the Phantom was the Rolls-Royce that you rewarded yourself with.

Sir Henry Royce in the prototype Phantom I at his home, in 1923.

Curiously, the ‘New Phantom’ – which later began to be retrospectively called the Phantom I – was not exactly new, as it used the same chassis as the Silver Ghost! The logic? Rolls-Royce did not want to spend money developing a new chassis because it believed its customers would not want to look under the body. However, what it did debut was an all-new overhead valve inline-six displacing 7,668cc – a contemporary, silky smooth, silent and powerful engine. In true Rolls-Royce tradition, the output was never revealed; it was simply deemed sufficient. Rolls-Royce only supplied the complete rolling chassis in two wheelbase lengths for the Phantom I; customers, in the meantime, would have specified their coachwork and body style with any of the Rolls-Royce-recommended coachbuilders. The New Phantom was, as you’d expect, pretty expensive, but for owners, the refinement and grace in the way it moved was worth it – even if out-and-out performance, handling or fuel efficiency was not its forte.

Illustration done in 2025 by Rolls-Royce designers as tribute to the 100th anniversary of the Phantom.

An all-new chassis debuted in the Phantom II with the same engine, while the Phantom III’s highlight was the spectacular aero-engine inspired V12. The Phantom story would have ended here, as 1950s Britain and Europe were reeling from the after-effects of WWII, and an outsize, expensive automobile felt out of place. Still, Rolls-Royce made it in limited numbers – only 18 hand-built units were offered to heads of state and royalty – with the caveat that it would never be sold ahead by the first owner, and only returned to Rolls-Royce! This, the largest, heaviest, most expensive and most exclusive of all Rollers was powered by an inline-eight cylinder motor. The Phantom V took it up a notch further, and came with a 6,230 V8 and 4-speed automatic transmission built under license from General Motors that could purr effortlessly, especially in stately low-speed processions. The Phantom VI was mechanically identical, but was offered with better equipment and features. It was the last of the Rollers to feature a separate chassis. After BMW took over Rolls-Royce in 1998, the first nameplate they reintroduced was the Phantom. The seventh-generation model brought the hallowed marque into the 21st century with a bang, with its imposing spaceframe body versus the coach-built versions of the past. The Phantom VII was immensely popular and broke the volume records of previous Phantoms, with 10,327 units built across variants until it was replaced by the Phantom VIII in 2017.

1927 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Tourer ascends the Stelvio Pass on the 2023 Alpine Tour.

I have had the pleasure of driving about four of the eight Phantom generations, and the hissing sound of the engine is the only giveaway that it’s running. Piloting it with the spectacular Spirit of Ecstasy guiding the way, with the light glinting off the imposing Parthenon grille is an experience that is tough to describe. But the Phantom’s pièce de résistance is, of course, to revel in the extraordinary luxury at the rear – a veritable seven-star hotel on wheels. What’s common across all generations is that the Phantom defines luxury, exclusivity, performance and craftsmanship on its own terms, and is not swayed by trends or styles. It stands alone, the Phantom amongst Rolls-Royces. Truly, 'The Phantom Walks In The Path Of The Ancestors, Guided By Their Wisdom.'