First look: Rolls Phantom Coupe

Rolls-Royce will use next month’s Geneva motor show to blood its first new coupe for over thirty years: the Phantom Coupe. The first of these £285,000 two-doors will be handbuilt-to-order at the firm’s Goodwood factory this summer. It is billed as Rolls-Royce’s most entertaining and dynamic model. And Autocar has detailed and exclusive photographs of it, as well as all of the vital details.“The Phantom Coupe builds on the success we’ve enjoyed with the Phantom saloon since its introduction in 2003,” explains Rolls CEO Ian Robertson. “As our third model built on that same production line, it completes the Phantom family. However it offers a slightly different driving experience to its siblings. This is a luxurious grand tourer; a car you can step from after a long journey feeling great.”

The English gent’s GT

The Phantom Coupe will become the closest thing Rolls-Royce makes to a sports car: the quickest, strongest, stiffest, lowest-riding and most enlivening model to wear the Spirit of Ecstasy. But, true to the Rolls-Royce mould, it’s also a spacious four-seater capable of cosseting mellifluousness too.Underneath it lies a mix of mechanicals: the front structure is related to that of the Drophead convertible, while much of the car’s rear skeleton comes from the Phantom saloon. As a result, it gets the larger sills and stronger A-pillar construction of the former, and the larger 100-litre fuel tank of the latter, giving it a significantly better torsional rigidity than the Phantom saloon, and a greater touring range than the Drophead.The Coupe is 5609mm long overall: it’s 225mm shorter than a Phantom saloon, and 250mm shorter between the wheels, identical measurements to those of the Drophead. The Coupe’s cabin is almost identical to the Drophead’s, too, the only difference being a very marginal reduction in rear headroom. However, in line with its touring remit and larger fuel tank, the Coupe will also swallow more luggage than the Drophead: 395-litres plays 315, enough, says Rolls, for four sets of golf clubs.

Familiar mill, stronger shell, stiffer chassis

Powering the car is the same 6.75-litre V12 you’ll find throughout Rolls’ current model range. With 453bhp and 531lb ft, it’s got no more power or torque to call upon than a standard Phantom, and carrying a substantial aluminium roof, it’s only 30kg lighter than a Drophead at 2590kg. All the same, however, this should be the most agile, responsive and precise Rolls yet.The Phantom Coupe will dispatch the 0-62mph sprint in 5.6sec, four tenths of a second quicker than the Phantom limo we road-tested in 2003. Its top speed is governed to the same 155mph maximum as the standard Phantom. Most impressive of all though is that at a continental 100mph cruise, the Coupe’s characteristic power reserve dial – something you’ll only ever find on a Rolls-Royce – shows that 90 per cent of the V12’s potential is untouched.But the real work has gone into making this car handle better than a standard Rolls. The Coupe has the same continuously adjusting air suspension system as the rest of the Phantom family, but tuned for greater response and handling accuracy. It has higher spring rates, stiffer rear dampers, a thicker rear anti-roll bar and less strongly-assisted steering. It also has a braking system tuned for better pedal feel.