To celebrate 100 years of Phantom, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has launched a truly landmark creation: the Phantom Centenary Private Collection, limited to just 25 examples worldwide. It stands as the most complex and technologically ambitious private Rolls-Royce ensemble ever seen.
For 100 years, Phantom has been chosen by the world’s most influential figures as the ultimate symbol of success and discernment. To mark this milestone, the Bespoke Collective – a collaboration of designers, engineers, and artisans – immersed themselves in Phantom’s lineage, crafting a collection that honors the brand’s past, defines its present, and projects the principles that will guide it forward.
The collection’s interior celebrates pivotal figures, notable clients, significant models, journeys, places, and moments that shaped the first century of Phantom. More than 77 hand-sketched motifs were translated into exquisite archival references through couture textiles, embroidered leather, laser etching, and avant-garde woodcraft.
Seating as Storytelling
The rear seats feature high-resolution printed fabric developed in partnership with a fashion atelier, completed with over 160,000 stitches. The layered design depicts historic locations tied to Phantom – from the original Conduit Street showroom in London to Henry Royce’s southern France retreat – together with a montage of Phantom models and abstract portraits of notable owners. The panels span 45 sections and were tailored at the Home of Rolls-Royce using Savile Row-inspired techniques.
Laser-etched leather continues the narrative in the front seats. Motifs include a rabbit (the codename for Rolls-Royce’s 2003 relaunch) and a seagull (the codename for the 1923 Phantom I prototype), all drawn from hand-sketched line work inspired by Phantom’s heritage.
Woodwork as Art
The wood panels mark another Rolls-Royce first: marrying three-dimensional marquetry, ink layering, and 24-karat gold leafing. Rear doors depict Henry Royce’s winter retreat in Le Rayol-Canadel-sur-Mer; front passenger doors feature West Wittering, near his summer home; and the driver’s door recognizes the first Goodwood Phantom’s 4,500-mile journey across Australia.
Roads and flora are carved from gold leaf, while stitched “roads” continue across adjacent leather panels. Even the picnic tables incorporate mirrored etchings of the 1925 Phantom I and the current Phantom VIII.
Exterior Brilliance
The cars sport two-tone exteriors: Super Champagne Crystal over Arctic White on lower sides, and Super Champagne Crystal over Black above. The effect is deepened by doubling the champagne-colored glass-flake content in the clear coat.
On the hood sits a reinterpretation of the first Spirit of Ecstasy, cast in solid 18-karat gold, plated in 24-karat gold, and hallmarked with a Phantom Centenary stamp. The base is finished in white enamel with the collection’s name. The signature “RR” Badge of Honor is executed in 24-karat gold and enamel.
Phantom disc wheels carry 25 engraved lines – one for each car in the collection – with a total of 100 lines commemorating Phantom’s centenary.
Above, the Starlight Headliner includes 440,000 stitches, illustrating Phantom history with symbols like the mulberry tree at Goodwood and honeybees referencing the Rolls-Royce apiary. Hidden details nod to legends like Sir Malcolm Campbell’s Phantom II “Bluebird.”
This collection is nothing short of a golden legacy. It embodies the same spirit that created Phantom itself: a relentless commitment to unchallenged quality, exquisite narrative, and the ambition to build the world’s finest motor car.
Images: Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
