The Rolls Royce Phantom Coupe - Exterior

The Rolls Royce Phantom Coupe

“Rolls-Royce has always been about pace, performance and style,” says Ian Cameron, who led the design team. “For the Coupé design we have emphasised the dynamism. The driving dynamics of the Phantom have always come as a surprise to customers and the Coupé builds on this visually as well as dynamically, via hard engineering changes. Its design adds drama to the outstanding engineering and drivability that are fundamentals of Rolls-Royce cars.

“We could have simply bolted a hard-top roof to the Drophead in order to make the Phantom Coupé. After all, the convertible is an incredibly well mannered car that performs impeccably. But this would not have been the right thing to do. The Coupé and the Drophead are two distinct cars, with different personalities and specific performance characteristics.”

Rolls Royce Phantom Coupe Exterior

The sleek lines of the Coupé suggest tremendous, effortless power. Designed to look like a moving form even at a standstill, the Coupé has the demeanour of a muscular animal, ready to be unleashed.

The front end, with its slim LED sidelights and larger, round driving lamps, has a gently raked, softer-edged appearance, sweeping back over the long bonnet to the strong line of the triangular A-frame. The front coach-doors are rear-hinged and were newly homologated for use on the Drophead Coupé. Enabling all passengers to enter and exit more gracefully, these doors also offer safety benefits: the rear hinging allows an uninterrupted A-pillar, which adds significantly to the car’s overall torsional rigidity. For ease of operation, the doors may be closed at the simple touch of a button, housed discreetly inside the front quarterlight.

In classic Rolls-Royce style, the Phantom Coupé has a dynamic, rising profile, its high waistline tapering back to a contemporary take on a boat-tail. Sleek body panels create an uninterrupted visual flow, complemented by accents of stainless steel and aluminium.

The picnic boot, as seen on the Drophead Coupé, is a wonderfully sociable feature. When lowered, it provides a seating platform for two, with hinges substantial enough to hold a weight of 150 kg / 330 lb. At the same time, it also offers easy access to the luggage compartment, which has a volume of 395 litres / 13.9 cu ft – enough for four sets of golf clubs.

The mirror-like finish of the paintwork perfectly sets off the stunning lines of the Coupé. Each body receives five individual coats of paint and lacquer, with hand-finishing between each layer. It is then polished for five hours to create a lustre that is unsurpassed in the automotive world. A new palette of nine standard paint colours has been selected for the Coupé, including Darkest Tungsten, Anthracite and New Sable. However, through the Bespoke programme, customers can choose from more than 44,000 different hues. Like the Drophead Coupé, the new model is available with a brushed steel bonnet and A-pillar surround. These parts are machine-brushed to create a uniform grain and then hand-polished to a unique and flawless finish.

Extraordinary attention to detail is the hallmark of a true Rolls-Royce and this is exemplified in the finer details of the Phantom Coupé. Visible tailpipes hint at its role as a driver’s car, as do the 21-inch wheels, which are available in three styles, including two forged alloy options. Indispensable to those who spend a lot of time in town is an optional camera, nestled below the front numberplate. When pulling out of a side road or parking, it transmits a split-screen view of the road ahead. At the rear, another camera is fitted beneath the chrome boot-lid handle, to aid reversing manoeuvres.