When it was launched at the beginning of 2003, I’d never have picked the Rolls Phantom as my car of the decade.
You need a few years to see how such an extraordinary machine settles into the society of cars, and to drive a few examples to be sure they work according to the high-sounding claims.
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You also have to know, before you lay your £264,000 (plus options) on the line, that its looks and reputation satisfy your peers as well as yourself. It’s too much money to risk being laughed at.
Nowadays, I’m entirely confident of the design and role of the Phantom, especially since they’ve sharpened the styling and made some discreet improvements to a fundamentally marvellous design. I now view the Rolls as one of the most desirable cars on the road.
I like the way it looks, I’ve enjoyed (sparingly) the way it drives, and above all, I’m confident that it “occupies the territory” of a national flagship in a way no Rolls-Royce saloon has managed since the Silver Shadow of the mid-’60s.
Think about it: the Rolls-Royces after 1965 were increasingly compromised in engineering and styling (thanks mainly to the poor resources of the companies that owned Rolls on the way to its present BMW ownership). By the turn of the millennium, the whole notion of a British automotive flagship desperately needed to be unravelled and re-thought.
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re: Rolls-Royce Phantom is my Car of the Decade
I'm shocked and disappointed by the views of some people on this thread reguarding Rolls-Royce's 'Britishness.' BMW have performed an exemplary job with the custodianship of Rolls. They gave it the massive investment it required, offered it technologies that upto the Phatoms conception that would be considered a pipe dream for the Vickers run outfit.
It seems to be suggested that BMW engineered this car, which is catagorically untrue. Any German engineering involvement was under the employ of Rolls, not BMW.
If you want to pick a fight with BMW, may I suggest aiming your venom towards Mini. Simply a German car, built in the UK. Mini has no R&D or Design base in the UK. Infact their more likely to be designed in California(?!) And this is why Mini will ultimately fail, the British success stories work best when the foreign firm stumps up the readies and let's us get on with it - MK1 New Mini, Rover 75, RR Phantom, Bentley Continentals, Range Rover, Aston Martins DB9 & Vantage... We have an intrisic understanding of our companies and thus produce cars with the history in them, without becoming a pastish; step forward Mini Mk2 & Countryman.
Let's face it unfortunately we just can't do it on our own these days, but I'm not complaining when we're producing cars of the calibre of the XF, Range Rover and Phantom.
re: Rolls-Royce Phantom is my Car of the Decade
tcy148 - Yup, you got it. The Veyron looks like a monkey's bum (some might say) but its technological abilities and engineering put it on a different planet to any other car. Definitely my Car of the Decade too.
re: Rolls-Royce Phantom is my Car of the Decade
Maybe steve will win one of those fancy automotive awards- and the fancy ceremony that goes with it, for being so bold and perceptive to award RR the car of the Decade.
surely its time to start giving awards for giver of the best award, no? J