For 100 years of history, Rolls-Royce Phantom has reigned as an embodiment of automotive supremacy. Since its debut in 1925, the Phantom has gracefully showcased the world’s elite. Immortalized by its iconic muse of the Spirit Of Ecstasy to define the extraordinary becoming of its owner. From bespoke monograms to celestial headliners replicating the constellations of excellence, the Phantom’s presence commands reverence; its proportions, a study in sovereign grace. The Pantheon grille stands as a modern cathedral of design and a monument to quiet dominance. Rolls-Royce Phantom isn’t just an engineering wonder, it is the pinnacle of artificial creation, the embodiment of majesty, power and ultra-luxury.
Every generation of Phantom tells a story of artistry, ambition, and absolute mastery. It has served monarchs and magnates, commanders and celebrities; witnessed treaties, triumphs and transformations. Yet its identity remains unwavering: grandeur in motion, defined by serenity and power in perfect balance.
Rolls-Royce commemorates this centenary by unveiling a collection of original artworks and contemporary homages inspired by Charles Sykes, the visionary who in 1910 painted Rolls-Royce scenes that defined aristocratic motoring. Today, those canvases have evolved. No longer depictions of opera houses and country estates alone, they now mirror a century of social metamorphosis; from palaces to penthouses, and from royalty to creators of digital empires.
Few vehicles have been so intimately entwined with the world’s defining moments. Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, known as the Spartan General, chose Phantom as his singular indulgence during the Second World War. His 1936 Phantom III became a command post on wheels transporting Churchill, Eisenhower and King George VI in the tense days before D-Day. His later ‘Butler’ Phantom III, with its pioneering aerodynamic profile, would convey heads of government from across the Commonwealth.
In Britain’s royal chronicles, Phantom holds an unbroken lineage. When the newlywed Duke of Edinburgh sought a formal motor car for Princess Elizabeth in 1948, his request birthed the first Phantom IV — codenamed Maharajah of Nabha. That historic car remains in active royal service, a masterpiece of discretion and dignity. From there, the royal fleet expanded through Phantom V and VI including the celebrated Silver Jubilee Phantom VI, presented to Queen Elizabeth II in 1977, later bearing the Duchess of Cambridge to Westminster Abbey on her wedding day.
Far beyond the palaces of London, Phantom has long served as a silent envoy in the theatre of global diplomacy. A 1966 Phantom V commissioned by Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, founding father of the United Arab Emirates, stood witness to the nation’s creation in 1971. Eight years later, that same car would convey Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II during her state visit completing the circle of royal legacy. Throughout history, Phantoms have represented sovereign authority from Canberra to Kuwait City, Bangkok to Madrid. One British ambassador remarked, “My Rolls-Royce needed no introduction at the gates of the Élysée”. It is a testament to Phantom’s immutable language of presence and diplomacy expressed in design.
Not all power is political… When John Lennon commissioned his 1964 Phantom V, he redefined what ownership meant. First cloaked entirely in black exuding mystery and rebellion. Later, reborn in the kaleidoscopic hues of the Summer of Love, it became an emblem of counterculture, adored and reviled in equal measure. Lennon’s Phantom has since become a museum piece; a work of art on four wheels with its journey from Piccadilly to New York symbolising a new kind of aristocracy: one born not of title, but of talent. Elvis Presley followed suit, commissioning his own Phantom V in 1963, complete with high-fidelity stereo and bespoke interior detailing. Even the chickens at Graceland were part of the legend prompting The King to repaint his car in Silver Blue to protect its mirror-like finish.
Since the dawn of cinema, Phantom has been as comfortable before the camera as behind the gates of great estates. From Goldfinger’s villainous 1937 Phantom III to the titular car in The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1964), it has been both prop and protagonist defining a symbol of wealth, intrigue and allure. In homage, Rolls-Royce has even produced Phantom Goldfinger, a one-off Bespoke edition echoing the film’s gilded grandeur. Fred Astaire, Greta Garbo, Jack Warner — all sought in Phantom not transport, but transcendence. To own one was to declare oneself part of the cultural vanguard.
By the turn of the 21st century, the nature of success had transformed. A new generation that is self-made, self-expressive, and self-assured sought not tradition but individuality. Enter Phantom VII, the first hand-built Rolls-Royce of the modern Goodwood era. Its purpose was clear: to be both masterpiece and canvas.
The ultra-wealthy and global leaders, influencers and celebrities, entrepreneurs and visionaries found in Phantom an energy of excellence. It appeared at red carpets, exclusive ceremonies, and fittingly across the world’s digital stages as the almighty identity of power and grace.
Today’s Phantom VIII carries that legacy forward, a symphony of quiet power and limitless imagination. In collaboration with maisons like Hermès and Iris van Herpen, Rolls-Royce has transformed the Phantom into a mobile gallery of the sublime, a space where craftsmanship becomes conversation between eras.
Each commission tells a story: of lineage, of legacy, of a worldview rendered in steel, wood, and silence. The Phantom remains, above all, a mirror of its owner’s essence: unique, dignified, enduring.
For one hundred years, the Rolls-Royce Phantom has not merely kept pace with history — it has defined it. It has been the silent witness to the rise of nations, the score to cultural revolutions, and the symbol of personal triumph.
As it enters its next century, Rolls-Royce Phantom transcends flamboyance with its Spirit Of Ecstasy becoming the adventurer of divine magnificence, an automobile of grand majesty, and glorified luxury masterpiece of all time.
MAGNIFICENZA 