The Rolls-Royce Phantom of 2003 was the seventh Rolls-Royce to take on the Phantom name, and it represented the new dawn of an exciting era for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. The guardianship of the company had been taken over by BMW in 1998, and a new factory was constructed on Lord March’s famous Goodwood Estate, with purpose to construct new Rolls-Royce motor cars. Designed by architect Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, the new Rolls-Royce production facility was a work of art in itself. Sir Nicholas and his team set out to create “a modern, light, and airy working environment...where everyone who worked or visited felt part of a continuum dedicated to making something very special”.

Constructing and designing the Phantom was a monumental undertaking, and its unique aluminium space frame chassis consisted of more than 200 extruded profiles and over 300 sheet parts. Some 500 feet of welds were completed by hand in approximately 2,000 locations on the completed frame. A chassis that unique required a special powerplant, and BMW provided a 60-degree V-12 engine made specifically for use in the Phantom, which had a very traditional Rolls-Royce capacity of 6.75-litres.

The design team paid great attention to detail in the history of the marque. “Waftability” was a term that the company picked up on, and the key to this elusive quality was low end torque, something the BMW V-12 could provide in spades. Traditionally, the horsepower of all Rolls-Royce cars had been declared as simply adequate. At 70 mph, the Phantom’s power reserve gauge proudly displays that the car has 93 per cent of its power at the ready, should the driver feel the need to indulge. With an adequate 435 horsepower and 531 foot-pounds of torque on tap at 3,500 rpm, the car can cruise along at a serene 149 mph and can accelerate to 60 mph in just 5.7 seconds. Performance numbers like those for a car of that size was not just adequate, it was extraordinary.

The Phantom presented here is a very early example, and it has just under 38,000 kilometres on its odometer. Finished in stunning Madeira Red with tan leather, it presents and drives as new, which is no doubt a testament to the quality of the workmanship in the Goodwood factory. Perhaps Car magazine summed up the newest Rolls-Royce best when saying “step behind the wheel of the Phantom and you know that this is a car like no other. There is nothing like it. Nothing”.