2018 Rolls-Royce Phantom VIII Dissected: Interior, Design, Powertrain, and More!

From the October 2017 issue

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Rolls-Royce sold 4011 cars globally in 2016, 389 of which were Phantoms.

Rolls-Royce’s Phantom enjoys the longest-lived model name on the market today, but new versions of the spectral range topper don’t come along very often. The first arrived in 1925, and, with fairly substantial furloughs between some generations, this new version is only the eighth to bear the name. Its design sticks close to the shock and awe engendered by the previous iteration—the first produced under BMW’s control of Rolls-Royce—but the car is almost entirely new. The mission, too, is hardly changed: Appeal to those for whom even a Bentley Mulsanne is a little common.

Chassis

The Phantom is the first car to sit on Rolls-Royce’s new aluminum spaceframe, officially and unselfconsciously called the Architecture of Luxury. Rolls sunk a lot of money into the platform and will use it beneath all of its upcoming models, including the crossover known as the Cullinan. The wheelbase and overall length shrink slightly relative to the outgoing car’s, but the Phantom remains a mammoth vehicle. Even with the shorter standard wheelbase, it’s longer than a Chevrolet Suburban.

The rear seats are angled slightly inward to reduce neck strain should the occupants want to look at each other.

Design

Despite a years-long creative process that included sending the team on a mind-clearing sabbatical to contemplate the essence of luxury, Rolls-Royce has managed to make the new Phantom look, at first glance, very similar to its predecessor. Detailing now includes what design director Giles Taylor calls a waft line at the base of the doors, and the stainless-steel radiator grille stands even taller, though the basic proportions and rear-hinged back doors remain intact. Other neat details include headlamps with frosted-glass internals and laser main-beam elements.

Interior

The Phantom’s cabin is still the feature that really gets billionaires’ check-signing fingers itching. As with the previous car, much is deliberately old-fashioned. It’s pleasingly incongruous that the most expensive production sedan in the U.S. still uses rotary mechanical controls for heating and ventilation. The driver still faces three traditional instrument dials, none of which is as vulgar as a rev counter. Instead, there’s a “power reserve” meter. Although Rolls-Royces are traditionally designed from the back seat forward, the new Phantom’s most striking interior feature is at the front of the car: a glass dashboard that has been designed so that individually commissioned artwork can be positioned behind it. And don’t worry, insipid oligarchs; the company will help with inspiration if none is forthcoming. One example Rolls showed us was a three-dimensional depiction of the “DNA” of “aspects of the patron’s character” rendered in 24-karat gold. Classy.