The Rolls-Royce Phantom is an ultra-luxury sedan launched as a 2003 model. It is the first Rolls-Royce car designed and built under the ownership of BMW, which acquired the company in 1998.

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Despite its classic looks, the Phantom makes use of some pretty advanced technologies. The sedan is built on an aluminum space frame, making it around 500 lbs lighter than its nearest competitor -- the Mercedes Maybach.

Of course, the car is sill relatively heavy at 5,798 lbs, and that's where its 6.75 liter V12 engine comes in. Producing 453 horsepower at 5350 rpm and 531 pound-feet of torque at 3500 rpm, the powerplant propels the Phantom to 60 mph in just 5.7 seconds.

Despite being engineered by BMW, the Phantom shares just 15 percent of its components with the 7-Series. BMW made sure the Phantom had completely unique styling to differentiate it from the 7-Series and other Bimmers. The intention was to avoid experiencing something similar to the "upmarket Mercedes" stigma attached to Maybach luxury series.

Fitting with its exotic car status, the Phantom has a number of unique features. These include reverse-hinged rear "suicide doors," pop-out umbrellas hidden in the doors, a retractable hood ornament, hydraulic motors to close the rear doors, "RR" logos that float upright on the hubs independent of the spinning wheels, and last but not least, a "power reserve dial" instead of tachometer, indicating how much of the engine's power is left available to the driver.

Luxury materials

The hides used in the new Phantom come only from carefully controlled breeders. Hides are sourced from mature bulls that have been breed for their meat, producing leather as a byproduct. The animals are kept in conditions as close to their natural habitat as possible.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars uses a newly developed colouring process whereby the dye permeates through the depth of the hide. This produces a supremely soft, natural finish that will not fade or crack.

Between 15 and 18 hides are used in each motor car and each one is checked by hand for blemishes before laser equipment is used to assist in laying out the pattern pieces. The interior of the Phantom is made up of 450 pieces of leather, which are cut by a computer-guided knife.

About six times a year, the manager of the interior wood trim meets the supplier to select personally the veneers for the Phantom. This painstaking process ensures that the highest quality veneers of the correct color and grain characteristics are chosen.