Perhaps the most instantly recognizable name in the luxury car world other than the Rolls-Royce moniker itself, the Phantom limousine has served as the brand’s flagship vehicle for almost 100 years. It was built as an evolution of the 40/50 HP Silver Ghost, the car that had established Rolls-Royce as one of the world’s best luxury carmakers, and shared manyparts including its chassis.
However, the 7.7L six-cylinder engine was a new design, created to keep up with the rapidly evolving engine technology of the era. It was a powerful unit — not the fastest of its day, but the smoothest. The focus on quietness and refinement over sheer power is a tradition that Rolls-Royce continues today.
Its status as the original incarnation of the most famous luxury car ever built means that surviving examples are sought after by collectors today, but it wasn’t always that way. Automotive technology progressed at an unprecedented rate throughout the ’20s, and just four years after the Phantom I’s unveiling in 1929, it was replaced by the more technically advanced Phantom II. During the Second World War, many older luxury cars including the Phantom I were stripped down and repurposed as military or agricultural vehicles, leaving only a small fraction surviving to the present day in original condition.
