The king of bling is back with the new Rolls-Royce Phantom VIII.
Changes to the new model are hard to notice, but Rolls-Royce does have some significant changes to its exterior. The famous grill grows even larger and the whole front of the car is sculpted to look even more imposing. Rolls-Royce designers said they wanted to give it the look of a yacht powering through a harbor. Since most owners probably have a yacht for themselves they’ll be able to make a better judgment than us.
Thankfully with the slight design changes the one thing that remains untouched is the Spirit of Ecstasy. The ornament is available in silver, gold-plating, or an illuminated polycarbonate. To prevent thieves from making off with the crown jewel of the Rolls, the Spirit lowers into the grill with the flip of a switch.
One of the weirdest features on the exterior is the headlights. While they contain the LED rings pretty much all new cars do, the lights themselves are excessively bright. Rolls-Royce claims it’s the most advanced headlight system available to date. Utilizing lasers, the car can cast light almost 2,000 ft in front of it.
The excess continues under the hood too. The Phantom still has a 6.75-liter (sorry, six-and-three-quarters) V12 engine but it now has two turbochargers bolted to it. This cranks the output up to 563 hp and 664 lb-ft of torque, a huge jump over the 453 hp and 531 lb-ft. the NA V12 made. The extra power now surges the 6,000 lb car to 60 mph in just 5.3 seconds.
Unfortunately, owners will never get to hear the glorious sound of a boosted V12 engine though. With over 280 lbs of sound insulation and huge body joints, drivers should be able to hear a pin drop. Even the tires get a layer of foam that reduces road noise by nine decibels. Roll-Royce claims its sound engineers thought their instruments broke during testing.
The interior of the Phantom is a veritable symphony of leather and wood. The ceiling also gets the Starlight Headliner treatment too — a staple of the modern Rolls.
Rolls-Royce made the seats even more comfortable than previous models. Customers get a wide variety of seating choices and can tailor each of them to their comfort level. There’s even a newly introduced sleeping seat that will whisk passengers to dreamland.
Probably the most ostentatious feature on the interior is “The Gallery”. When buyers spec their Phantom they can choose between several high-end art designs for their dash. Choices include several oil paintings, porcelain roses, and abstract silk sculptures. To make the car truly theirs, buyers can even get a gold-plated map of their DNA.
As expected, Rolls-Royce hasn’t announce the price of the car. However, we’re under the impression that if you have to ask, you probably can’t afford it.
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