Rolls-Royce isn’t the kind of name that regularly appears on these pages; it’s not particularly relevant to any of us and there are some pretty galling nouveau-riche connotations. There is still a strong whiff of Grey Poupon ...
Rolls-Royce isn’t the kind of name that regularly appears on these pages; it’s not particularly relevant to any of us and there are some pretty galling nouveau-riche connotations. There is still a strong whiff of Grey Poupon whenever the flying lady comes into conversation.That said, looking at our most recent instalment of R.A-S.H, in which the brochure for the ’82 Silver Spirit was filleted and digested, an awful lot has changed in Crewe since the early ’80s, not least the fact that Rolls-Royce Motor Cars aren’t built there any more. There have been an awful lot of column inches frittered away on the Phantom over the last ten years, and now I’m afraid I’m going to add to them. The mantle of “best car in the world” is harder to assume now than ever before; the Range Rover, the Jaguar XJ and the forthcoming Mercedes S-Class arguably have some claim to the title. But the Rolls-Royce name must still bear consideration.I’m obsessed, I admit it. But should this post be taken as a cry for help, or are any of you similarly afflicted?The Rolls-Royce Phantom has become a familiar sight in the media world, disgorging “flavour of the month” celebrities at red-carpet events, or shuttling faceless but influential heads of industry from one faceless but influential conference to the next. With the bling-obsessed, status-hungry nature of today, The Phantom is undeniably the right product for Rolls-Royce to be producing right now. And that things should have worked out so well wasn’t always guaranteed.BMW wholly took the reigns of the venerable marque in 2003, after a stint with VW on the saddle. Rover had suffered badly from their BMW experience, but the story has been rather different for Rolls-Royce. Truth is it would have been inconceivable that such a significant name would be treated with anything but the utmost care and consideration and, fortunately, that’s exactly what seems to have happened, though we could be forgiven for having worried. The Germans don’t seem to always get it right when it comes to matters of ultimate prestige.There was the Maybach, of course; Mercedes reinterpretation of the Zeppelin albeit eighty years later. Coming accross as the obese brother of the W220 S-Class, the Maybach presented luxury as the Germans understood it at the time; more of everything and biggest is best. Available in two available lengths; 5.7 or 6.2 metres, the Maybach was filled with masses of indulgent technology; from rear-seat Wi-Fi setups through to electrochromatic glazed roof panels. The German car was basically a massive boast on wheels. It was damned effective; a sort of road-navigable Learjet, adept at traversing the high-speed roads of Europe at a 150mph cruise, where possible. A staggering technological achievement.Unfortunately, it was also ghastly. The stacked headlamps were reptilian, the “M” badge meaningless to all but historians, and the lines derivative. Granted, this is all my opinion but, side-on, a guillotined and lengthened Rover 75 would do a passable impression of the Maybach. The Maybach was the most expensive, most advanced disposable consumer white-goods car in living memory.The Rolls-Royce Phantom, which competed at a comparable price point, was cut of rather different cloth. At its conception the Rolls-Royce name had been sitting almost dormant, with only the Seraph trickling along in production until 2002. That car, though, was strangely lacking in identity; somehow not enjoying the pomp and circumstance of the similar Bentley Arnarge, and encumbered by a BMW V12 that wasn’t really in keeping with the spirit of things. Nice car, but not enough to change the world.When the Phantom arrived in ’03, it was to stunned silence. Big and unmistakable, it was certainly no shrinking violet and physically forced the world to take notice. It took a little while for the shock to be fully absorbed; for FAB1 Thun