RAY MASSEY: At £3.5m, the Rolls Phantom that’s a work of art on wheels

Every picture tells a story – and Rolls-Royce has turned its flagship Phantom model into a gallery on wheels to chronicle the limousine’s 100-year history.

With a solid gold Spirit of Ecstasy figurine at its prow, each of 25 special edition anniversary cars – priced at £3.5 million – showcases a century of illustrated tales. These stories have been retold by the carmaker’s craft experts across the interior – including on doors, seats, dashboard and roof linings – in a three-year project involving more than 40,000 hours of work.

The intricate artwork has been produced using 160,000 embroidery stitches across 45 individual panels and a combination of fabrics, leathers, and wood, cutting edge 3D marquetry and ink-layering, laser-etched designs, as well as 24-carat gold leaf to map out key journeys. Plus 440,000 stitches in the starlight roof.

The in-car images celebrate key figures, notable customers, significant models, and important journeys, places and moments that defined Phantom’s first 100 years. This includes the homes of co-founder and engineering genius Sir Henry Royce’s summer home at West Wittering, in Sussex – eight miles from Rolls-Royce’s current home at Goodwood, near Chichester – and Villa Mimosa Le Rayol-Canadel-sur-Mer, where he spent his winters.

Some images contain teasing, hidden meanings or ‘Easter Eggs’ for those in know – or known only to those wealthy enough to buy one of the cars and who will be let in on the secrets. And those buyers have not been in short supply – what Rolls-Royce dubs its Phantom Centenary Private Collection is already sold out.

Described as the most complex and technologically ambitious Rolls-Royce collection to date, the cars celebrate eight generations of Phantom with a string of craft technology ‘firsts’ – including 24-carat gold leafing to create most intricate woodwork ever.

Picture perfect: Ray Massey with the new Phantom special edition anniversary car – priced at £3.5 million

New technology developed for the project, including 3D ink layering, allowed previously unimaginable details – some just 0.13 mm in height – ranging from a boat sailing across the sea to location names on a map.

Powered by a mighty 571hp 6.75-litre V12 engine, it accelerates from 0 to 62mph in 5.4 seconds up to a top speed restricted to 155mph, but has just 18mpg fuel economy. It comes with a specially designed cover finished in Arctic white and detailed with 24-carat gold.

The Spirit of Ecstasy figurine is cast in solid 18-carat gold and plated in 24-carat gold for a flawless, tarnish-resistant finish.

Rolls-Royce chief Chris Brownridge described the car as ‘an uncompromising work of art’.

CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD GLAMOUR

In a nod to the flowing silhouette of 1930s Phantoms, the bespoke two-tone exterior of the long-wheelbase limousine – contrasting Arctic White sides with a black upper body – is designed to evoke ‘the timeless elegance of a black-and-white film star’ and ‘the golden age of Hollywood’ when Phantoms carried glamorous screen icons to movie premieres.

A specially developed finish includes iridescent champagne-coloured particles of crushed glass to give the exterior a metallic shimmer.

For the first time, the ‘RR’ badges front, rear, and each side are in 24-carat gold and white enamel. Each of the Phantom’s disc wheels are engraved with 25 lines – honouring the 25 motor cars in the collection and together, making 100 lines to celebrate the centenary year.

AN INTERIOR CANVAS

Phantom’s interior is a ‘canvas’ on which the story of the car’s centenary are ‘painted’ – on textiles and leather which recalls, recalling the marque’s early years when the chauffeur’s front seat was finished in hardwearing leather and the rear cabin in luxurious fabrics.

The intricate artwork has been produced using 160,000 embroidery stitches across 45 individual panels and a combination of fabrics, leathers, and wood

REAR SEATS: ‘SKETCHING WITH THREAD’

The rear seats of the Phantom Centenary cars with their storytelling artwork are inspired by the 1926 ‘Phantom of Love’ which was commissioned with handwoven French Aubusson tapestries.

The stories unfold across three distinct layers:

First, the background in high-resolution print, shows places and objects from Phantom’s history – from the marque’s original Conduit Street premises in London to Henry Royce’s oil paintings of Southern France.

Across the full composition, this intricate craftwork has more than 160,000 stitches

The second layer portrays great Phantoms of the past in finely drawn detail.

The third and top layer consists of abstract embroideries representing seven significant owners from every generation of Phantom save the current one.

Across the full composition, this intricate craftwork has more than 160,000…