Rolls-Royce has used the Phantom name on full-sized luxury cars over the past century, and is the second, longest-used automobile nameplate in the world after the

Chevrolet Suburban The Chevrolet Suburban is a series of automobiles built by the Chevrolet division of General Motors. The name started in 1934 for the 1935 U.S. model year, making it the longest continuously used automobile nameplate in production. It has tra ...

. The Phantom is a low volume, hand-built limousine, which in earlier generations was custom built to the customers desires, and sometimes extravagant whims. As automobile manufacturing became more prolific, and vehicles from other manufacturers could be built in greater numbers and at reduced prices, the Phantom remained hand-built and production of individual models only began once the order was placed. The use of the name "phantom" is a long tradition of naming models after "

ghosts A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

". Earlier versions from Rolls-Royce consisted of the chassis and engine, then arrangements were made to customize the body and interior to whatever the buyer requested. The Phantom is popular with wealthy business people, royalty and celebrities who desire the best of everything, and want a car with exclusivity and elegance. During the years 1931-1998 when Rolls-Royce also manufactured

Bentley Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of luxury cars and SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded as Bentley Motors Limited by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Cricklewood, North ...

vehicles, the Phantom was exclusive to Rolls-Royce and the approach to opulent vehicles wasn't shared with Bentley. When Bentley was an independent automaker, they did produce on a limited basis the

Bentley 8 Litre The Bentley 8 Litre was a large inline 6-cylinder super-luxury car made in various configurations by Bentley Motors Limited at Cricklewood, London. Announced 15 September 1930, it was also the last completely new model by Bentley before the c ...

limousine. When Rolls-Royce assumed operations and ownership, the 8 Litre was discontinued. Bentley would not manufacture a limousine until 2002 when the

Bentley State Limousine The Bentley State Limousines are official state cars manufactured by Bentley for the late Queen Elizabeth II on the occasion of her Golden Jubilee in 2002. The two cars produced were in service for the Queen up until her death in 2022. They have ...

was presented to

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

List of generations

Rolls-Royce Phantom I The Rolls-Royce Phantom was Rolls-Royce's replacement for the original Silver Ghost. Introduced as the New Phantom in 1925, the Phantom had a larger engine than the Silver Ghost and used pushrod-operated overhead valves instead of the Silver Gh ...

, 1925–1931 *

Rolls-Royce Phantom II The Rolls-Royce Phantom II was the third and last of Rolls-Royce's 40/50 hp models, replacing the New Phantom in 1929. It used an improved version of the Phantom I engine in an all-new chassis. A "Continental" version, with a short wheel ...

, 1929–1935 * Rolls-Royce Phantom III, 1936–1939 *

Rolls-Royce Phantom IV The Rolls-Royce Phantom IV is a British automobile produced by Rolls-Royce. Only eighteen were made between 1950 and 1956. They were only built for buyers whom Rolls-Royce considered worthy of the distinction: the British royal family and heads ...

, 1950–1956 *

Rolls-Royce Phantom V The Rolls-Royce Phantom V is a large four-door limousine produced by Rolls-Royce Limited from 1959 to 1968. Based on the Silver Cloud II, it shares a V8 engine and General Motors Hydra-Matic automatic gearbox with that model. Rolls-Royce as ...

, 1959–1968 * Rolls-Royce Phantom VI, 1968–1990 *

Rolls-Royce Phantom VII The Rolls-Royce Phantom is a full-sized luxury saloon car made by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. Launched in 2003, it was the first Rolls-Royce developed and introduced after BMW purchased the right to use the Rolls-Royce name and logo in 1998. It was ...

, 2003–2017 ** Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé, 2007–2017 ** Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupé, 2008–2017 *

Rolls-Royce Phantom VIII The Rolls-Royce Phantom is a full-sized luxury saloon manufactured by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. It is the eighth and current generation of the Rolls-Royce Phantom, debuting in 2017, and the second launched by Rolls-Royce under BMW ownership. It i ...

, 2017–present

References

External links

{{Rolls-Royce vehicles

List of generations

See also

References

External links