Rolls-Royce celebrates a century of flagship excellence.
Known for creating some of the world’s most desirable and opulent ultra-luxury vehicles, Rolls-Royce has a long, storied history of creating over-the-top masterpieces with elegant design, painstaking engineering, artisan craftsmanship and fine materials. However, the pinnacle of those aspects has, for 100 years, worn the Phantom nameplate, as 2025 marks the 100th anniversary of the Phantom legacy, a milestone anniversary for the flagship nameplate of the historic manufacturer.
Now in its eighth generation, the Rolls-Royce Phantom has for 100 years represented the pinnacle of Rolls-Royce’s ability to construct the ultimate luxury vehicle, with each generation showing major leaps in technology and features. Today, the Phantom prominently serves as Rolls-Royce’s greatest blank canvas for Bespoke commissions, becoming a vessel for personal expression, artistic excellence, and nods to history. Creations like the one-off Phantom Syntopia, inspired by Iris Van Herpen’s haute couture, the Phantom Extended ‘Year of the Dragon,’ celebrating Chinese culture and the Lunar New Year, and the Phanom Scintilla, inspired by Rolls-Royce’s own Spirit of Ecstasy, show off the immense breadth of Rolls-Royce Bespoke’s potential.
In the early 1920’s Henry Royce realized that the Silver Ghost, Rolls-Royce’s ‘best car in the world’ introduced in 1906, had reached its full potential, calling for a replacement. That replacement, introduced in 1925, was the New Phantom, using a name coined by Rolls-Royce’s Commercial Managing Director at the time, Claude Johnson. The first Phantom to feature a V12 engine was the Phantom III, introduced in the early 1930s, after which World War II changed the world surrounding Rolls-Royce, and nearly extinguished the Phantom legacy.
However, the Royal Household tasked Rolls-Royce with creating a one-off formal limousine in 1950, and when other heads of state asked the same, the Phantom IV saw 18 examples made. The Phantom V was launched in 1959, and became the Phantom VI, the last body-on-chassis Rolls-Royce model, whose last example was was delivered to the Sultan of Brunei in 1993.
The Rolls-Royce Phantom we know today was introduced when Rolls-Royce entered its home in Goodwood over 20 years ago, built entirely in-house by Rolls-Royce and catapulting the historic ultra-luxury manufacturer into the new era the it is known and celebrated for today. The latest generation continues to feature the Phantom’s signature opulence with a V12 engine, a sumptuous, bespoke interior, and artisan craftsmanship. As Rolls-Royce continues into the future, the flagship Phantom legacy will continue to represent Rolls-Royce’s ultra-luxury pinnacle, as it has for an incredible 100 years.
Image Source: Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
