GENEVA: This year’s Geneva Motor Show sees Rolls-Royce return to Switzerland only six months after the world’s media confirmed New Phantom as ‘The Best Car in the World’ during its global launch on the shores of Lake Lucerne.
Three distinct Phantoms, commissioned by discerning connoisseurs of luxury, will demonstrate why Rolls-Royce is a Luxury House in the business of motor cars and the by-word for Bespoke.
Three different Phantoms, three distinct customer visions -at this year’s Geneva Motor Show, Rolls-Royce will show why it is considered to be the world’s leading luxury house by showcasing three very different Phantoms curated for specific patrons of the brand.
The first of these three Phantoms is known as The Gentleman’s Tourer and harks back to the era of the grandest of Grand Tourers – the Phantom II Continental Saloons of the Thirties. These Phantom II Continental Saloons were always four-door standard wheelbase cars driven by the owners themselves on long journeys across Europe or the United States with friends.
This idea of a large four-door trans-continental Grand Touring car appealed to this customer, and he commissioned a standard wheelbase New Phantom in this spirit.
Phantom II Continental Saloons were always notable for being commissioned for the road, their colours and interiors specified for driving endurance rather than show, necessarily.
The Gentleman’s Tourer pursues this approach, with a unique Iced Gunmetal exterior paint, complemented by a satin silver bonnet. This new paint was developed specifically for this customer to appeal to his interest in high performance aircraft, with its satin appearance reminiscent of cutting edge military tech.
The 22 inch alloy wheel centres are also accented in Iced Gunmetal, another first use of this process on a wheel.
The interior of The Gentleman’s Tourer is a masculine, utilitarian-feeling space, bespoked for the purpose of long, luxurious journeys. Tones of Black, Selby Grey and Anthracite leathers are blended beautifully by Goodwood’s craftspeople across the snug cabin while details such as the embossed Spirit of Ecstasy in each door panel and the silver pinstripe across the Piano Black veneer draw the eye to the detail paid to this minimalist, modern interior.
One final precious feature confirms the technical modernity of this beautiful motor car – the Cascade Steel Gallery finished in Ruthenium, a rare and precious metal from the Platinum group.
With only 20 tonnes of this metal mined annually – compared with 2,500 tonnes of Gold – this indeed is a very precious way to detail one’s Phantom.
Two beautiful and very significant Phantom Extended Wheelbase also grace the Rolls-Royce stand at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show. Whispered Muse and A Moment in Time are the first two new Phantoms commissioned with completely one-off, artist designed Galleries.
These two individual Galleries have each been developed independently of the standard Gallery offer, and independently of each other, demonstrating the marque’s commitment to the maxim ‘Bespoke is Rolls-Royce’.
