Goodwood, West Sussex – At the end of July, Rolls-Royce will welcome the eighth generation of its flagship Phantom limousine with an exhibition of Phantom models from the past 92 years in Mayfair, London on 27 July, led by a 1927 Phantom 1 that once belonged to Fred Astaire.
So far, the only official images of the new Phantom are the two you see here, of a slightly curved, rather than tented ‘pantheon’ grille, and a strip of very strongly figured dashboard wood veneer, including the iconic analogue clock.
We know the car will be based on the same platform as the new 7 Series, incorporating lots of aluminium, so the new Phantom will be significantly lighter than its predecessor – which went out of production in 2016 – but with styling clearly derived from the previous model, so it won’t look like a BMW, no matter how much of its DNA it shares.
It’s expected to launch with an upgraded, even smoother-running version of BMW’s 6.7-litre twin-turbo V12, ensuring that the car’s performance will be ‘adequate’ in every sense of the word, although a plug-in hybrid is thought to be on the cards. In addition, head of sales for the Asia Pacific region, Ian Grant, has confirmed that the new Phantom will have four-wheel steering.
Rolls-Royce has promised more details and pictures over the next eight weeks, starting with today’s teaser video featuring some atmospheric shots of Astaire’s 1927 Phantom 1. Further releases will tell the story of each of the classic cars that will star in the ‘Great Eight Phantoms’ exhibition, one from each generation.