Cars - Rolls-Royce Phantom

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	Cars - Rolls-Royce Phantom

The Rolls-Royce Phantom is a luxury saloon (sedan) automobile made by Rolls-Royce. It was launched in 2003 and is the first Rolls-Royce model made under the ownership of BMW.

Technical Specification

It has a 6.75 L, 48 valve, V12 engine that produces 453 hp (338 kW) and 531 ft·lbf (720 N·m) of torque. The engine is derived from BMW's existing V12 power plant.

It is 1.63 m (63 in) tall, 1.99 m (74.8 in) wide, 5.83 m (228 in) long, and weighs 2485 kg (5478 lb). The body of the car is built on an aluminium spaceframe and the Phantom can accelerate to 60 mph in 5.7 s. It has a six-speed automatic transmission and double wishbone suspension.

The Phantom features side markers on all vehicles (rear ones are red in the USA to comply with federal car-lighting rules).

An extended wheelbase Phantom has been presented in March 2005 at the Geneva motor show. An extra 250 mm has been added to the standard Phantom.

Image:Rolls-Royce Phantom at USGP 2005.jpg|A Phantom at the 2005 United States Grand Prix Image:Phantom_tail.jpg|Rear view of a 2005 Phantom

Novel Features

Instead of a tachometer it has a novel power reserve dial indicating how much of the engine's power is left available to the driver.

The rear doors are rear hinged, a style referred to as suicide doors. An electronic lock prevents the doors from being accidentally opened when moving.

The rear doors feature pop-out umbrellas.

The traditional Spirit of Ecstasy ornament has an electronic retraction mechanism to prevent theft and protect pedestrians in the event of an accident.

The 'RR' logo on the wheel hubs rotates separately in order to always remain upright.

Design and Build

BMW have gone to great lengths to distinguish the Rolls Royce product from their own range. Although some 15% of components are shared with other BMW models, the Phantom retains the traditional Rolls Royce design values.

The intention was to avoid being seen as just an extension to the BMW range. When Mercedes introduced its Maybach luxury saloon, it was criticized of producing "the ultimate Mercedes" instead of a separately branded car. The car shared many components with and looked like the cheaper S-Class saloon. BMW learned from this lesson, selling the Phantom through separate dealerships where BMWs are not sold, while the Maybach showroom in London also sells the most basic of Mercedes products.

The aluminium spaceframe body is built in a BMW plant in Dingolfing, Germany and the V12 engine in Munich. Final assembly to each customer's individual specification is at a purpose built €100M plant at Goodwood, West Sussex, England.

Sales

As of October 2004, only 555 Phantoms were sold, down from a target of 1,000 units per annum. Many say this is due to the slow set-up of the dealer network. By the end of the year the company expect to have sold between 750 and 800. However, at this stage Rolls-Royce is selling twice as many cars as its closest rival, the Maybach 57 and 62.

BMW have set a lifetime limit that only 10,000 units of the Phantom will be built.

The base price is £250,000 in the UK and $340,000 in the US.

Trivia

Basketball star Shaquille O'Neal purchased a white Phantom as a wedding gift for Donald Trump and his wife.

Oprah Winfrey purchased a black Phantom for Stevie Wonder as a "thank you" for singing her "Happy Birthday" on her 50th birthday.

The current Sultan of Brunei and his brother Jefri each purchased six bulletproof Phantoms .

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