Rolls Royce Phantom Coupe Revealed
Rolls Royce just sent out press shots ahead of the Geneva debut of the new Phantom Coupe, and I don't mean to be a buzzkill but is this really it? In its corner it has: more exclusivity than the Holy Grail, phenomenal hand-built craftsmanship and materials, a 450 horsepower V12, suicide front door, a B-pillarless design, and a trick trunk. Against it: I don't think it really looks that good. In fact, this design language just might be better suited to the locomotive sedan and the Drophead Coupe (that's convertible, to us serfs). It's so bulky with such a high roofline, it has top hat proportions that don't suit it all that well. Rolls says it's likely to be purchased by robber barons, shipping industralists, and professional athletes who already have a Phantom and/or Drophead Coupe and apparently no taste for variety. The PR folk at Rolls are also marketing this as a "driver's car" to which I say: if you want a rare, high performance GT, try a Ferrari 599. If you insist that it's British, then you've got the stunning Aston Martin DB9. And even if it must be rare, high performance, British, and have a functional back seat, then there's the better looking (and admittedly outdated) Bentley Brooklands. It is for this reason – and not the $400,000 price tag – that this writer will not be commissioning one. Of course, you may disagree.
[Rolls Royce Phantom Pixamo slide show here.]
Immensely bored law student. I've also got 3 dogs.
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OMG, that is an ugly car. I cannot fathom who spends nearly 1/2 of a million dollars on such a thing? And boy, talk about depreciation! Put 100k miles on these things and they loose 80-90% of their "value". With a Maserati Quattroporte available for around $110k or a Bentley at about $180k anyone who buys a new Rolls is seriously addled. On looks alone the Maserati is one of the few high priced cars which delivers!
The Brooklands has more power and more style
For me it looks like the hybrid baby of a classic locomotive and a speed boat
Dean is right about the A-pillars. But think back to American cars from the late 50s. They had wraparound windshields which were all glass. This just looks like they cheaped out on the windshield which is something you don't do in this price range. If somebody actually wants this thing, they are not going to care that the Maserati or the Bentley is a better buy for the money.