Legacy – a word that comes to many people’s minds nowadays as automotive dynasties shift, industry spanning conglomerates prepare for the next generation of succession, and global leaders do their best to navigate the shifting political landscapes. Yet through it all, the Rolls-Royce Phantom has steadfastly stood in its uniquely historic place as a symbol of the very best in effortless motoring luxury, engineering excellence, fine materials and exquisite, highly skilled craftsmanship. Over its eight distinct generations, each as storied as the last, Phantom has remained unchallenged and unequaled both as Crewe’s flagship motor car, and also perhaps the world’s very best luxury vehicle. It still remains an authoritative statement of connoisseurship among the world’s great movers & shapers, even as it enters a second century of production.
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Chief Executive Chris Brownridge said, “Phantom is much more than a motor car. For 100 years, it has stood at the pinnacle of all Rolls-Royce motor cars – a cultural phenomenon that both reflects and influences the world around it. From its earliest days, Phantom has been one of the most desired rewards for success and a potent symbol of power and prestige on the world stage. Beyond status, it has always offered its owners a canvas for personal expression, transformed through Bespoke craftsmanship into a moving work of art. Across music, politics, art and beyond, Phantom has been present at many of history’s defining moments. The stories that surround it – and the images they’ve inspired our designers to create – reveal its extraordinary reach, and its enduring connection to greatness.”
Since it was born, Phantom has always enjoyed long associations with famous individuals, historic events and influential turning points in pop culture, signifying indomitable power and far-reaching influence through the sheer scale of its physicality, dominant presence, and the unique ability to reflect each owner’s personality and significance via bespoke commissions. Rolls-Royce will mark the Phantom’s centenary with a series of original artworks created by the marque’s designers, paying tribute to the fascinating stories of this remarkable motor car’s legacy and its cultural impact over the decades.
There is a historical precedent here too dating back to 1910, when the marque commissioned six original oil paintings for its 80-page catalogue from the artist Charles Sykes, who would even go on to design the Spirit of Ecstasy hood mascot. His paintings depicted Rolls-Royce motor cars arriving at the opera, a country house, the golf course and other esteemed venues, reflecting their aristocratic owners’ lifestyles and contemporary tastes. Now, the 2025 illustrations crafted by the marque’s designers demonstrate just how much diversification this unique clientele has seen over the past 100 years, from heads of state to stars of the stage and screen.
It all began during the Second World War, when esteemed commander Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, was known for his austere lifestyle that gained him the nickname of ‘the Spartan General’. Yet he recognised the irresistible power of image and symbolism, using two personal Phantoms as his personal transport to convey permanence, solidity and reliability, clearly implying to his troops that he would remain by their side even through the darkest of times.
A 1936 Phantom III with coachwork by Freestone & Webb took the role of Montgomery’s day-to-day transport, requisitioned from Frederick Wilcock who was the Talbot Motor Company’s head. He made use of this Phantom to convey Winston Churchill, General Eisenhower and even King George VI to planning sessions at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force in Southwick House, Hampshire, in the days leading up to D-Day in June 1944.
He also used the ‘Butler’ Phantom III on occasion throughout the war years, with this Phantom so named because it was originally commissioned for the De Havilland Aircraft Company’s Chairman, Alan Samuel Butler. Featuring HJ Mulliner bodywork, it also had a distinctive front-sloped windscreen that improved its aerodynamic efficiency by 15%, along with a swept-tail rear profile and enclosed spare wheel and tyre. Having purchased it in 1958, Montgomery would keep the ‘Butler’ until 1963, during which time it was also enjoyed by an eminent series of passengers including the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Closer to Rolls-Royce’s home of Great Britain, Phantoms have also taken pride of place within the household of the Royal Family, long known for their keen motoring interest and steadfast support of iconic British marques. Following his marriage to HRH Princess Elizabeth, the Duke of Edinburgh paid a visit to Rolls-Royce in 1948. An experimental car was loaned to him, having been nicknamed ‘the Scalded Cat’ by its test drivers because of the incredible speed bestowed by its experimental 5.3 liter straight-8 engine. Duly convinced, he proceeded to commission a more formally bodied car for the usage of both HRH Princess Elizabeth and himself.
Rolls-Royce accepted his request, and thus the first Phantom IV chassis was laid down with coachwork finished to His Royal Highness’ design, guided by the marque’s advice. 15th November was the order’s confirmation date, and it was given the ‘Maharajah of Nabha’ designation to keep its creation secret; a code name which the historic motor car continues to wear while actively serving at the Royal Mews to this day.
The British Royal Family subsequently commissioned another Phantom IV, two Phantom Vs, and two Phantom VIs to convey the sovereign. Among these esteemed Phantoms, a notable one is the renowned Silver Jubilee Phantom VI which the British motor industry presented to Queen Elizabeth II in 1977 as a celebration of her quarter century on the throne. Featuring a famous Bespoke raised roof, it would be used again in 2011 at the then-Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding, conveying the bride from the Goring Hotel to Westminster Abbey.
Further in the Far East, another distinguished Phantom V was woven into the legacy of distinguished leadership, this time at the dawn of a new Middle Eastern nation. It was originally commissioned by the United Arab Emirates revered ‘founding father’ Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and delivered in 1966 with Mulliner Park Ward coachwork. After being present at his inauguration as Abu Dhabi’s ruler, it played a pivotal power projection role in his negotiations for unification with the leaders of Dubai and the other neighbouring Emirates. Adding to its historic significance, in 1971 this Phantom conveyed the first British Ambassador to the UAE James Treadwell, to the federation’s formal founding ceremony on 2nd December. That same Phantom V would bring both royal legacies full circle eight years later in 1979, when it prominently served as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s official state conveyance during her historic visit to the UAE.
Beyond ceremonial duties on the world stage, another quieter role long played by Phantom has been in the theatre of diplomacy. Reflecting their symbolic significance around the world, Parliament formally debated the use of Rolls-Royce motor cars by UK government departments in 1965. Phantom Vs became trusted diplomatic envoys in themselves during the period, serving British diplomats posted in locations as far-reaching as New York, Washington, Tokyo and New Delhi, while earlier examples saw usage in Rome and other global capitals.
As a strong testament to its importance in the subtle language of statecraft, Phantom has also seen official usage in countries including Australia, Kuwait, Spain, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates. Indeed Sir John Fretwell, the former British ambassador to Paris, once remarked to The Times, “My Rolls certainly helped when visiting the Élysée. The guards on the gate had no excuse for not knowing it was the British ambassador.” The Phantom’s imposing presence has always been a key factor when navigating power plays both on the world stage and closer to home, a characteristic exemplified by the 1959 Phantom V that stretched 5.8 meters long at launch. Urban legend has it that the minimum statutory distance between British parking meters was revised in order to accommodate its dimensions.
Other distinguished Phantoms would eventually symbolise a different kind of cultural power by playing influential roles on stage, screen and in the realm of music. Come December 1964, Britain’s disruptor-in-chief John Lennon commissioned his very own Rolls-Royce as a reward to himself for the success of The Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night. In his typically iconoclastic fashion, Lennon requested that his Phantom V should be all black everywhere, inside and out. The marque insisted that a standard bright finish be retained by the car’s Pantheon grille and Spirit of Ecstasy mascot however; clearly some lines can’t be crossed even by a Beatle. This was one of Britain’s first automobiles to incorporate blacked-out windows, made using Triplex Deeplight darkened reflective glass.
As Lennon said to a Rolling Stone interviewer in 1965, privacy wasn’t their sole purpose. “It’s partly that, but it’s also for when you’re coming home late. If it’s daylight when you’re coming home, it’s still dark inside the car – you just shut all the windows and you’re still in the club,” the Beatle remarked. This particular Phantom’s most famous evolution would come later however, being reborn in May 1967 mere days before Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was released.
Lennon commissioned a complete transformation, partially on the advice of Marijke Koger, one of the artists behind the design collective The Fool. His Phantom was boldly repainted in vibrant yellow, and emblazoned with swirling, floral motifs & zodiac symbols. A local artist was enlisted to bring the new design to life, resulting in a Summer of Love artistic manifesto that was often proudly parked outside his Kenwood home. As one might expect, this did not meet universal approval. As Lennon’s freshly painted Phantom drove through a Piccadilly promenade that summer, he later claimed that an outraged Englishwoman shouted, “How dare you do that to a Rolls-Royce!” before launching an attack on it with her umbrella – something that simply solidified this Phantom V’s legendary status.
In 1971 it moved with him to New York, becoming a familiar sighting in Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Lennon donated it to the Cooper Hewitt Museum in 1977, and it later sold for $2,299,000 at auction – a 1985 world record for a piece of rock and roll memorabilia. The Phantom was gifted to the Province of British Columbia a year later, where it remains in the Royal British Columbia Museum’s stewardship, as perhaps the world’s most famous counter-cultural Rolls-Royce. Phantom has been the motoring reward of choice for influential figures who have shaped the cultural landscape ever since its inception, both as a success symbol and a canvas through which to express their own personality and vision. As its memorable history reflects, the Lennon car is just one example of Phantom’s extensive cultural ties.
Numerous film appearances would further reinforce the Phantom’s renowned status in the years and decades to come. 1964 was its annus mirabilis, when it starred in leading roles for two of that year’s major movie releases.
“Do you want me to talk?”
“No, Mr. Bond, I want you to die!”
Goldfinger would see the film’s namesake arch-villain (played by Gert Frobe) using his black-and-yellow 1937 Phantom III Sedanca de Ville to smuggle gold through the Swiss Alps to his mountainous lair, until his plans are thwarted by that suave British secret agent James Bond, a role then superbly played by the late, great Sir Sean Connery. Rolls-Royce motor cars would go on to make 12 film appearances throughout the long-running 007 franchise, with another Phantom III being Kamal Khan’s car in 1983’s Octopussy. In 2024, Rolls-Royce commemorated the iconic film’s 60th anniversary with Phantom Goldfinger, a one-of-one Bespoke Phantom VIII that paid faithful homage to its famous predecessor with a distinctively original finish and innovative film-inspired elements.
The Yellow Rolls-Royce also premiered that same year, starring a 1931 Phantom II with Sedanca de Ville coachwork by Barker and written by Britain’s legendary dramatist Terence Rattigan. The anthology film charts the motor car’s adventures with three distinctly different owners: an English aristocrat, a Chicago gangster, and an American socialite, through the course of their lives and loves, up to and throughout the Second World War. Its all-star cast featured such luminaries as Alain Delon, Ingrid Bergman, Rex Harrison, Shirley MacLaine, Omar Sharif, George C Scott, and Jeanne Moreau. Its soundtrack song Forget Domani scored a Golden Globe and was later recorded by both Perry Como and, most notably, Frank Sinatra who would also go on to own a Rolls-Royce of his own.
Fueled by their growing fame across the world, other titans of popular culture naturally gravitated to Phantom as a fitting status symbol. None other than ‘The King’ himself, Elvis Presley was another passionate lover of cars and acquired his first Phantom V with coachwork by James Young in 1963. Suitable refinements to go with its rock’n’roll status extras comprised white-walled Firestone tyres, a high fidelity Blaupunkt Köln stereo system, a microphone, and accoutrements including a writing pad, mirror and clothes brush built onto the rear armrest. Originally finished in Midnight Blue with a grey cloth interior, Elvis had it repainted after his mother’s chickens started pecking at their reflections in the mirror-polished sheen; it was said that the later shade of Silver Blue didn’t show the resulting blemishes as obviously. Elvis donated his Phantom to the SHARE charity in 1968, something that later inspired the Leonard Cohen and Was (Not Was) song Elvis’s Rolls-Royce.
For the longest time, Phantom owners tended to be made up of two distinctive classes: those born into aristocracy, and individuals who rose to their own prominence in business, the arts or entertainment. From the mid-1970s onwards however, a series of technological developments including home video, personal computers, mobile phones and the advent of the Internet, gave enterprising individuals the means to build influence and wealth on their own terms, shifting the ownership balance towards business leaders who wrote their own success stories.
These people made their own fortunes significantly faster and earlier than ever before, thanks to technology’s fast pace of advancement. Equally so, those who earned influential public profiles of their own, from sportspeople to movie stars and musicians, could commercialize their image on their terms favourable to them. The shift brought with it an entirely new breed of Phantom customers: younger, self-made, entrepreneurial and new to luxury, with eclectic and individually unconventional tastes. Most significantly. they sought products that ideally personified not only their wealth and success, but even their own unique creative visions and personalities.
The Phantom VII’s arrival was thus timed perfectly. It was every inch a true Rolls-Royce that satisfied not only the requirements and expectations of the marque’s traditional clientele, but even those of the newly wealthy global elite as an all-new luxury motor car hand-crafted at Rolls-Royce’s new Home at Goodwood, West Sussex. Just as its coachbuilt predecessors had been, it was also ideally positioned as a canvas for Bespoke individualisation.
“Goes like the wind.. Only quieter.”
Almost nowhere was this made more apparent than in the 2011 film Johnny English Reborn, which starred an especially remarkable Phantom VII Coupe alongside Rowan Atkinson. The iconic Mr. Bean star himself had first pitched the idea of the Phantom being an authoritative yet trustworthy, good companion for his British secret service character, that also embodies a credible sense of fantasy with its spycraft oriented enhancements. These included an AI voice assistant years before it has now become an actual feature in production cars, along with the experimental 9 liter V16 engine that first appeared in the 100 EX and 101 EX, which would go on to become the Phantom VII Coupe and Drophead Coupe respectively.
This remarkable powerplant had been originally proposed for the Phantom VII saloon itself, yet prototype testing had shown that it didn’t run quite as smoothly, effortlessly or silently as expected by the marque and its clientele who have nothing less than perfection in mind with everything they pursue in life. No matter, because as Rowan himself put it, “It comes to the rescue. Yeah, the Rolls-Royce Phantom, if you like, in our film.. Saves the world.”
There indeed is another celluloid testament to the Phantom’s century-long legacy of being a quiet, yet imposing and deeply reassuring presence throughout history’s most defining events. As it enters its second century of life with the Phantom VIII generation, Rolls-Royce’s finest motor car remains a highly potent status symbol of power, influence, and success. As Phantom enters its second century, it continues its journey through culture, communities and continents while gathering even more momentum with the passing of each year. It remains a reassuring constant in our rapidly evolving world: the ultimate expression of legacy, presence, purpose, that has more than earned its place as both the pinnacle of luxury and a cultural icon.
