The luxury brand Rolls Royce is celebrating in 2025 a very fascinating anniversary, which is the centennial anniversary of the Rolls Royce’s Phantom nameplate. Dating back to 1925 this iconic model has been one of the company staples for just as long, and although it has had breaks in production, it continues to be one of the most famous cars that the world recognizes.
With eight generations of cars comprising the Phantom family, it was created after the partnership between company founders Charles Rolls and Henry Royce in the early 20th century. The Rolls Royce brand became a symbol of luxury and engineering excellence with the Phantom at the helm, and not even the breaks in production, one during and just after the Second World War and another after the company changed ownership during the 1990s, have been able to put another car in the forefront of our minds when we think of the brand.
The history of the Rolls Royce Phantom
The car was not a completely original creation, it followed a previous model that has similar characteristics, the 40/50 H.P. Silver Ghost. Since both models had a 40/50 H.P. chassis that underpinned the cars, it was important for the company to be able to create a stark difference between them face the public to avoid any confusion, hence the Phantom name to replace the Silver Ghost’s unofficial moniker.
At that time the popularity of the new model could not have been predicted, and as such, and with many of the great products that we have come to love and appreciate, there was no lengthy marketing research or really much though put into the name. Company lore attributes the new name to the automaker’s then-commercial managing director, Claude Johnson, who did know that the strategy of naming the company’s vehicles would help them sell better.
After all, a one or two word snappy name sounds better to the general public than a string of numbers and letters identifying a model. Jhonson, who had already tried the strategy with its predecessor the Silver Ghost, just set on a name that would show the evolution of the car and prepared for its success.
He was not wrong, as the Phantom is one of those cars that has defied all odds, which each generation being lauded as representative of the company’s craftsmanship and engineering and often being used to introduce cutting-edge technologies that will later filter down to other less recognizable models (at least for those who are not car people).
Despite not being known for its innovative approach to car making, perhaps because of the lack of flash the company usually appreciates, Rolls Royce is at the forefront of the luxury market. In the past, innovations were introduced individually for each chassis, emphasizing the brand’s custom approach but with the passing of time the innovation has become par for the course, with the Phantom’s latest generation, introduced in 2017, having been built on a new aluminum spaceframe platform to elevate its luxury standards. It includes 286 pounds of sound insulation for a remarkably quiet interior and features a twin-turbocharged 6.75-liter V-12 engine producing 563 horsepower. This model also introduced a self-leveling air suspension and rear-wheel steering, enhancing both ride comfort and handling.
But the brand is far from being done. There are plans for the release of the Phantom IX later this decade, and since the company has announced its commitment to only producing electric vehicles in the future, it stands to reason that the new Phantom IX will be powered exclusively by batteries, once again becoming the flagship of innovation for the company. It will be a new era that will guarantee that the Phantom nameplate continues to be the oldest still in use for many more years to come.
