Rolls-Royce Phantom Series II review

Sir Henry Royce is famously quoted often as having said, “Take the best that exists and make it better”. It is one of those rare utterances in which the superlative precedes the comparative.

Every evolution of Rolls-Royce’s famous luxury cars is meant to epitomize this maxim. However, embracing this as a motto and reinterpreting perfection is a tough task. The Rolls-Royce model that is truly a reflection of the trait, changing with the times and yet holding on to its timelessness, is the Phantom.

The Rolls-Royce Phantom was reintroduced in 2003 after the BMW Group took over reins and revived the brand. A few outstanding model derivatives like the Drophead Coupé and the Coupé later, the Phantom recently got a fairly comprehensive makeover with the launch of the Series II.

To experience the new Phantom Series II, Rolls-Royce had organized test drives in a setting which also in a way signifies the essence of the company’s motto. The Nice-Monaco area in the French Riviera – classy, filled with the aura of opulence and even better now than it ever was. And set amidst the alcoves and picture postcard hill-side residences is a private, two-hectare peninsula which has been the playground for the rich and famous for over a century.

The Star of Nice

This is Cap Estel, an exceptional hotel that has one of the most unique locations along this stretch of the Mediterranean coast and yet, you could just miss it as you drive from Nice to Monaco, via Côte d’Azur. Like the company and the car, the hotel too has had a superlative past and yet is ‘better’ today after an extensive renovation completed almost at the same time (2004) that the Phantom was relaunched. Discreetly luxurious, effortlessly elegant and uniquely positioned to pamper, Cap Estel was so much the reflection of RR’s qualities.

It would be no surprise then if many of its billionaire guests and clients over the past century have all been Rolls-Royce owners. Just to consider that celebrities and Hollywood actors and actresses like Greta Garbo, Sir Laurence Olivier, Anthony Quinn, Robert De Niro, The Beatles, The Begum Aga Khan, Bono and more have all been hosted here is mind blowing.

There is nothing nondescript about Cap Estel, but these celebrities must have sought the property’s ability to tuck them quietly away into suites that overlook the blue waters off the Côte d’Azur.

I check into one of the suites which look like it has been carved out of a side of the peninsula. The soft sound of the lapping waves of the Mediterranean ten feet below the room and the sight of the hotel’s garage stuffed with a dozen Rolls-Royces were my introduction to the Phantom Series II test drive experience.

Redesign

The Phantom Series II is not a radical departure from its illustrious predecessor. It is more a cosmetic repackaging of the model series to make it more modern and more efficient. The essence of the Phantom is really its design, and that striking long bonnet with the Parthenon grille and the Coach-like rear are still very familiar. But changes have been introduced to keep it looking modern and to retain its allure amongst the increasingly young buyers that are drawn in by the brand.

The front of the new Phantom Series II is the one with the most changes. Though it continues to look quite the same, the feature that you would immediately notice missing is the round fog lamps. In their place is a neat array of square LEDs and the headlamps too now get a rectangular cluster with the indicator strip. The front bumper has also been redesigned. RR says it is the first car manufacturer to offer full LED headlamps as standard, with curve lighting functionality incorporated. Basically, the adaptive headlamps are motorised to swivel and light up the path even as you plan to take the turn.

There is also a new single piece grille surround for the Phantom Drophead Coupé and the Phantom Coupé with the option to colour code the same. Three new wheel finishes are available across the model range. These are new options that are likely to be greatly appreciated by RR buyers who are eager to further customise their cars. The redesigned Phantom Saloon's rear bumper now also features a stainless steel highlight.

At the wheel

The first Phantom I step into is the Saloon. Gloved hands hold the door open as I step in. For the test drive, Rolls-Royce officials have chosen a looping, winding route along the coast and up the hills surrounding the Nice-Monaco region. There are short stretches of two-laned highways, but for the most part it is single carriageway roads winding up the hills and climbing down on the other side. Oh, and there were of course a lot of hair-pins and cliff-side roads too.

Guiding me through these tight roads is the new satellite navigation system with 3D views and a new composite route planner function. The interior also gets a new larger control centre display and a new rotary controller in chrome, which is now flanked by shortcut keys. Also being demo-ed during the stopovers at the drive was the new camera system featuring top-view, rear path prediction and split-front view.

The interior of the Phantom in all the other derivatives too that I drove - the Drophead Coupé and the Coupé - is remarkably simple and yet elegant and reminiscent of the Rolls-Royces of the past.

The other change that the Phantom Series II gets is in the powertrain department. There was no need for the acclaimed direct injection V12 engine to be replaced, it just needed an environment-friendly tweak, so that its socially-connected, CSR-conscious billionaire owners can feel less guilty driving their cars. The super quiet and refined, yet powerful 6.75-litre engine (output 453bhp) powers the Phantom Series II from 0 to 100 kmph in 5.7 seconds. Sitting in the car during idling and during gradual acceleration it is almost impossible to feel the engine in the bonnet. To boost efficiencies, and lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions (both lower by ten per cent), the engine now gets an eight-speed automatic gearbox.

The Phantom's ride in the most difficult sections up the hills can get a wee bit fidgety and over wallowy when driven hard, but for the most part it lives up to its famous 'waftability' reputation. To be sure that I get to experience it like owners back home would, I also took a long ride while sipping on Evian (I was told champagne could have been arranged) at the rear seat.

Though the Saloon seems to merge and I don't feel its size at the wheel, its size on the road leaves me worried at blind turns and small driveways. It is one thing to be elated being offered the keys to a Rolls-Royce, but it is equally satisfying to return the keys of a car that is about a million dollars (minus some loose change - back home) with it still in one piece. But the image of the Rolls-Royce that potential owners back home will be most happy to note would have been the Saloon quite effortlessly negotiating the tightest of U-bends at Cap Estel's driveway.

Commissioned luxury

Right from its early years, Rolls-Royce cars have been all about its hand-made traditions and the extensive customization options that were available for its buyers. Bespoke manufacture of an RR model is, like Rolls-Royce says, akin to commissioning a special art work or tailoring a custom suit. Rolls-Royces of yore, including the ones commissioned by many Indian maharajahs were meant to reflect their personal preferences, whims and tastes. Though decades ago, it must have been a whole different level of customizing when coach building itself could be altered to suit buyer preferences, current day Rolls-Royce models too offer the tantalizing prospect each owner possessing a one of kind car.

Like with other luxury cars, there is of course a choice of body colours to choose from. But, with Rolls-Royce being the pinnacle of automotive tailoring, it is not a palette that is a couple of dozen shades but 44,000 external paint hues that buyers can choose one out of. Apparently, further colour customization where the hue is even named after the buyer is possible. Similarly, for the interior, different types of leather and wool, unique wood veneers and new age materials like carbon fibre are all oft requested bespoke options.

Taking customizing to the next level, RR designers and craftspeople have done special requests such as making an entire woodset sourced from a tree on a customer's estate, done a custom paint job colour matched to a buyer's favourite garment, come up with a gold-plated Spirit of Ecstasy, embroidered family crests into the headrests, hand-painted coach-lines bearing the owners insignia and even created housings for walking sticks and thermos flasks. Customers, for whom acquiring a Rolls-Royce goes beyond making a simple, off-the-floor purchase at the local dealership, can still start the customization process there. Meeting a Rolls-Royce representative in a specially designed Bespoke Lounge to touch and feel the materials that can go into the car is the start of the process. Customers who wish to personally consult a designer or witness their car being made can travel to Goodwood, Rolls-Royce's home in England.

Apparently, while the Phantom has always been the model that buyers look to customize extensively, almost 80 per cent of all Asian buyers for the Ghost too request bespoke elements.

>muraliswami@thehindu.co.in

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