Rolls Royce has introduced the eight
generation Phantom in India. The Rolls Royce Phantom VIII starts at a whopping
INR 9.5 crores. Its long wheelbase form costs INR 2 crore more with prices
starting INR 11.5 crore onwards.
At the front, the Pantheon grille is reminiscent of the futuristic
103EX’s grille, but it is also influenced by the classic Rolls-Royce Silver
Cloud. The portrait grille is raised higher, which has led to the Spirit of
Ecstasy going approximately a half inch higher. The new headlamps feature a
ring of daytime running lights, the headlamps incorporates laserlight system
with a range of over 600 metres.
The 2018 model welcomes
the passenger to a familiar but considerably more luxurious and high-tech
cabin. It blends classic Rolls Royce look with modern bits like a 12.3-inch LED
screen for displaying driver information. The analogue clock has moved to the
passenger side of the dashboard. It is right beside the centre console, like in
the RR Ghost, RR Wraith and RR Dawn.
Rolls-Royce has appointed newly sculpted and
hand-crafted seats in the redesigned Phantom. Behind the wood paneling on the
rear of the front seats, there are electrically operated Rear Picnic tables and
Rear Theatre Monitors for the rear-seat passengers. The rear seat choices
include a lounge seat, individual seats with occasional armrest and individual
seats with fixed centre console, as well as the new sleeping seat.
The fixed rear centre console has incorporated a
drinks cabinet, with whiskey glasses and decanter, champagne flutes and
coolbox. Rolls Royce’s signature Starlight Headliner inside the new Phantom is
the largest any Rolls-Royce car has ever had.
A massive 6.75 litre twin-turbocharged V12 engine
sits under the hood and delivers 563 hp and 900 Nm of torque from just
1,700 rpm. Despite weighing more than two and a half tonnes, the new Phantom can
sprint from 0-100 km/h in just 5.3 seconds. It has an 8 speed, Satellite-Aided
transmission, which takes into account the driver’s style and the geographic
location to optimise gear changes. Additionally, the Phantom VIII is equipped
with the ‘Flagbearer’ – a stereo camera system integrated into the windscreen
that sees the road ahead and adjusts the suspension proactively.
The 2018 Rolls Royce Phantom is 5,762 mm long, 2,018
mm wide and 1,646 mm tall. It is 80 mm shorter in length, 28 mm wider and 8 mm
taller compared to the previous generation. Measuring 3,552 mm, the wheelbase
is 18 mm shorter. The long-wheelbase version stretches it by 200 mm. The
Phantom Mk8 is the company’s first car to utilise the ‘Architecture of Luxury’
for its basis, which is approximately 30% more rigid than the spaceframe
architecture of the Phantom Mk7.
