New Rolls-Royce Phantom Centenary is extravagant, exclusive and expensive - just as a Rolls-Royce should be

The cornerstone of Rolls-Royce’s centenary celebrations for its iconic Phantom has been revealed in the form of an ultra-exclusive special edition – or ‘private collection’ in the luxury brand’s own lingo. 

The Rolls-Royce Phantom Centenary, as it’s formally known, isn’t just a celebration of the model’s history, but an extravagant example of the craftsmanship that has defined the firm since it was founded in 1904. 

Rolls-Royce has not announced a price, but with only 25 to be made available, the new model will no doubt be very expensive, and grace the world’s most impressive collections. 

The Centenary model is based on the current generation Rolls-Royce Phantom Series II, to which a range of exquisitely detailed and engineered elements have been applied. These include unique additions to the dual-tone paintwork inspired by the ‘Old Hollywood’ era, pinstriped wheels and a solid-gold Spirit of Ecstasy. 

However, the most dramatic changes are in the cabin. No fewer than 77 sketches have been recreated across the interior surfaces via a range of techniques including fabric printing, laser etching, embroidery and timber marquetry. 

The Phantom is, of course, also renowned for its Gallery section of the dash, and in this case it’s an abstract representation of a book’s pages imagined in aluminium. 

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Rolls-Royce says the bespoke elements applied to the Phantom Centenary took its engineers to the very extremes of what’s possible with the latest technology, and they employed groundbreaking new techniques to produce an extraordinary level of detail and craftsmanship.

A look in detail at the exterior 

Rolls-Royce’s exterior design for the Phantom Centenary was inspired by the look and feel of ‘old Hollywood’ –  the era of the original Phantom. This drove the colour choice, which comprises a two-tone finish in a bespoke colour split. The ‘long-sided’ duo-tone finish features an Arctic White panel across the car's flanks, with the lower bumpers, bonnet, boot and roof all finished in black. 

The entire car is then finished with a Super Champagne Crystal top coat, which literally has small iridescent pieces of glass crushed into the high gloss clear-coat. Its brightwork is mixed, with the window surrounds finished in black, but the door handles in silver. 

The 22-inch plate wheels are also unique, and feature 25 thin pin-stripes that represent each of the 25 units that concentrically circle the Rolls-Royce badge at the centre. All the badging is also finished with gold-plated lettering. 

The Spirit of Ecstasy is a particular highlight, cast in 18-carat gold for strength and then plated in 24-carat gold. It’s not just the material that’s different, but the design too – as it is not the icon we know today, but the original design that graced those very first Phantoms 100 years ago. 

Incredible attention to detail inside

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The cabin is even more extravagant, with those 77 sketches relating to the model’s history over the various surfaces an obvious highlight. 

The rear seats, for example, feature unique print-over fabric, while there are 160,000 embroidered stitches across the rear bench. The front seats feature laser-etched leather with yet more drawings, with the colours grading from white to black as you go up each of the chairs. 

Rolls-Royce’s expertise in wood marquetry is also on show, with incredible scenes depicted on the black wooden panels across the doors and tray tables. These are constructed with new-age three-dimensional marquetry, as well as ink-layering and even gilding in gold.

The rooflining features the usual Rolls-Royce starlight elements, but to this a further 440,000 individual embroidered stitches create a stunning scene inspired by the Goodwood factory. 

Finally, the Gallery in the dashboard features 50 3D-printed aluminium fins that are interleaved like pages in a book. Each of these is subtly lit by shifting lights that cause the inside to shimmer. 

More than just a celebration of Rolls-Royce’s incredible artisanal skills, the Phantom Centenary private collection is being billed as the ultimate addition to any collector’s garage – although they’ll need to have particularly deep pockets to get their hands on one.

Only 25 will ever be built, so if you fancy one and your Euromillions ticket comes up trumps, you’d better be prepared to act quickly.

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