Rolls Royce Phantom: Six Characters, Six Stories

The Phantom is much more than a car. It represents the best of the British brand's luxury, engineering excellence, fine materials, and exquisite craftsmanship.

Since its inception and through eight generations, the Phantom has provided its owners with a means of personal expression. A car associated with figures linked to power, grandeur, triumph, history…

The famous American actor, dancer and composer Fred Astaire (1899-1987) fell in love with the newly released Rolls-Royce Phantom I Town Car in London in 1928, while performing at the Princess's Theatre first, and later at the Winter Garden Theatre, the famous musical "Funny Face", with music by none other than George Gershwin.

The chassis was fitted with a custom-made body by the prestigious British coachbuilder Hooper. After acquiring it, he shipped it back to the United States at the end of the show season.

1940s. The world has exploded. One of the great military men of the Second World War was Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery (1887–1976), 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, nicknamed “the Spartan General” for his austere lifestyle. His only concession to comfort lay in his personal transport. Recognizing the power of image and symbolism, “Monty” liked to use a pair of Phantoms to communicate permanence, solidity, and reliability, sending a clear signal to his troops that he would stay with them in their darkest hours.

Montgomery's daily transport was a 1936 Phantom III with Freestone & Webb bodywork, requisitioned from Talbot Motor Company director Frederick Wilcock. In the run-up to D-Day in June 1944, he used this car to transport Winston Churchill, General Eisenhower, and even King George VI to planning sessions at Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force at Southwick House in Hampshire.

On occasion during the war years, he used the Phantom III "Butler," assigned to the Chief of the Imperial General Staff. This particular car was so named because it was originally ordered for Alan Samuel Butler, Chairman of the de Havilland Aircraft Company. Bodied by H.J. Mulliner, its most distinctive feature was a raked front windshield that made the Phantom 15 percent more aerodynamic, a quality further enhanced by its swept-back rear profile and cowled spare wheel and tire. Montgomery purchased the car in 1958 and kept the "Butler" until 1963, during which time it would welcome numerous illustrious passengers, including the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

In 1948, Philip Mountbatten, the Duke of Edinburgh (1921–2021), newly married to Princess Elizabeth, visited the house of Rolls-Royce. He was lent an experimental car with a new 5.3-liter straight-eight engine, nicknamed "the Scalded Cat" by the brand's test drivers. Shortly after, he asked if the company could create a car with a more formal body for use by HRH Princess Elizabeth and himself. The Duke's request was granted, and the first Rolls-Royce Phantom IV chassis was built. With advice from Rolls-Royce, it was completed to HRH's design. The order was confirmed on November 15, and to preserve secrecy during its creation, it was given the codename "Maharajah of Nabha." This historic car remains in active service at the Royal Mews under the name "Maharajah" to this day.

The British Royal Family subsequently ordered another Phantom IV, two Phantom Vs, and two Phantom VIs ​​to transport the sovereign. One of these is the famous "Silver Jubilee Phantom VI," which the British automotive industry gifted to Queen Elizabeth II in 1977 to celebrate her 25 years on the throne. Famous for its raised Bespoke roof, it was used again in 2011 for the wedding of the then Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, transporting the bride from the Goring Hotel to Westminster Abbey.

Not every Phantom V was destined for royal service or diplomatic ceremony. Some would come to symbolize an entirely different kind of cultural power. In December 1964, John Lennon rewarded himself for the success of the Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night" by ordering his own Rolls-Royce.

In his iconoclastic style, Lennon specified that his Phantom V should be 100 percent black, inside and out. However, there are some lines that not even a Beatle can cross; the brand strongly advocated for the car's Pantheon grille and Spirit of Ecstasy mascot to retain their conventional gloss finish.

Of course, it will be one of the first cars in Britain with darkened windows, made of darkened, reflective Triplex Deeplight glass. As Lennon told a Rolling Stone interviewer in 1965, these weren't just for privacy. "It's partly that, but it's also for when you're coming home late," the Beatle remarked. "If it's daytime when you come home and it's still dark inside the car, you just close all the windows and still be in the club..."

In May 1967, just days before the release of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," this car shocked with its new look. Inspired by the Romani-style caravan he kept at his home in Weybridge, Lennon reportedly followed the advice of Marijke Koger, one of the artists in the design collective The Fool, and commissioned a complete makeover.

The previously black Phantom was repainted a vibrant yellow and covered with swirling floral motifs and zodiac symbols. Lennon hired a local artist to create the new design; the result was an artistic manifesto for that year's Summer of Love, and was often proudly displayed outside his home in Kenwood.

Not everyone approved. As the freshly painted Phantom was driving around London's Piccadilly that summer, Lennon claimed an outraged Englishwoman shouted, "How dare you do that to a Rolls-Royce!" before attacking the car with her umbrella, a moment that only reinforced its legendary status.

Lennon's Phantom moved with him to New York in 1971, where it became a familiar sight on Manhattan's Upper West Side. In 1977, he donated it to the Cooper Hewitt Museum. When it was auctioned in 1985, the Phantom sold for $2,299,000, a world record for any piece of rock and roll history. A year later, it was donated to the province of British Columbia, where it remains in the care of the Royal British Columbia Museum: a countercultural artifact and perhaps the most famous Rolls-Royce in the world.

And the "King" himself, Elvis Presley, didn't just love Cadillacs. In 1963, he bought his first Phantom, a V with bodywork by James Young. Extras included a Blaupunkt Köln hi-fi stereo system, Firestone whitewall tires, a microphone, and a rear armrest with a notepad, mirror, and clothes brush. It was initially painted "Midnight Blue" with a gray cloth interior, but Elvis had it repainted after his mother's chickens started pecking at their reflections in the mirror-polished finish. Reportedly, the lighter "Silver Blue" color chosen didn't show the paint's imperfections...

In 1968, Elvis donated his Phantom to the charity SHARE, an act that later inspired Leonard Cohen & Was (Not Was)'s song "Elvis's Rolls-Royce" from their 1990 album "Are You ok?"

Over eight generations, each as legendary as the last, the Phantom has remained not only the brand's flagship car, but an icon of icons, a journey through history and some of its characters.