Rolls-Royce Phantom

Rolls-Royce app lets you live (pretend) swank life

If you dream of riding around in a Rolls-Royce Phantom, but can only afford a rusted old beast with the fender hanging off, take heart. Rolls-Royce has released a free app for enthusiasts wanting to create a virtual customized version of the luxury car.

Using the Phantom app, users can apply any mix of trims to their car from a choice of 44,000 colors. If that's not enough variety for you, you can use an iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch camera to capture a new color from any surface (even nail polish--ever seen a Rolls in Miss Bossy Pants?) to create a completely unique version of the luxury car.

Users can experience interior ambiance interactively through features like a starlight headliner, where hundreds of illuminated optical fibers are woven into the roof lining of a virtual vehicle. The app even has the ability to turn up or down the degree of illumination.

The Rolls-Royce Phantom app features 360-degree exterior views and three interior angles from the front, side and rear seat. It can be used to create a virtual Phantom, Phantom Coupe, or Phantom Drophead Coupe.

Or users can recreate the Royal Wedding bride ride. Kate, you may have heard, was transported to Westminster Abbey in a 1977 Rolls Royce Phantom VI.

A similar app for the Ghost came out in March of last year.… Read more

Baby, you can drive John Lennon's car

A 1965 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 Coupe once owned by John Lennon is scheduled with be sold at Bonhams' Paris sale of Motor Cars at the Grand Palais, February 5, 2011.

The car was hand-picked by Lennon, after he got his driver's license for the first time, in 1965.

According to Lennon biographer Philip Norman, several luxury auto dealers in the Weybridge area, "jammed the road outside Kenwood's security gates with Maseratis, Aston Martins, and a Jaguar XK-E." But Lennon chose the ?2,000 light blue 300-horsepower, 4.0-liter, V12 Ferrari. He owned the car … Read more

2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost Unveiled at Frankfurt

Roughly a week ago, the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show wrapped up an exciting ten or so days of new cars being paraded around for industry insiders. A few days ago I presented a video clip in this blog documenting what Edmunds.com believed to be highlights of the Frankfurt festivities. One of the new cars coming out that caught my attention was the 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost. So I spent this evening doing some digging around on what this latest Rolls-Royce production model was all about, and this video is the best synopsis of this classy ride.

This video produced by … Read more

Rolling out in the Rolls-Royce Phantom

Settling into the plush leather seats of the Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe, it dawns on me that even the smallest vehicle in the Phantom line is still as large as a small truck.

Rolls had invited us to test drive its entire vehicle lineup at an event in Los Gatos, Calif., including the Phantom Sedan, the Phantom Extended Wheelbase, the Phantom Coupe, and the Phantom Drophead Coupe.

Inserting the smartkey into its receptacle and pressing the Start button, I expect to hear the 6.75-liter V-12 roar to life. Instead, I hear almost nothing. And it's not just because the … Read more

Video: Rolls Royce Phantom Coupe

It's the new Rolls Royce Phantom Coupe, and we've got a sneak peek at the 2008 Geneva auto show. If you're the type of person who likes to ride in style, and with tiny LED lights embedded in the rooftop that resemble stars, then this is the car for you.

Click here for our coverage of the 2008 Geneva auto show.

The Rolls-Royce Phantom gets stretched

Given the wild proliferation of stretch limos on the road today, we've always appreciated Rolls-Royce's restraint in preserving its traditional form. So it was with some trepidation that we learned of its newly extended version of the classic Phantom.

But thankfully, RR hasn't lost its senses in designing its stretched model, which has an extended-wheelbase that's 25 centimeters longer (just under 10 inches). The extension supposedly provides more leg room for the rear seats, though fellow Craver (and auto guru) Kevin Massy observes that the interior doesn't seem significantly more spacious than the original model, … Read more

Photo roundup: A day out in the Rolls, Nissan Altima Hybrid, and Samsung NV7 OPS

We're milking all we can out of having the swanky 2007 Rolls-Royce Phantom in our hands. Today we have some photos of what a typical day might look like if Car Tech editors owned this car. Trips to museums, reading The Wall Street Journal as they're chauffeured around, and even a ride to work? Hey! No one told me they were giving out rides. It sure beats the stinky ol' bus!

We also have pictures of the 2007 Nissan Altima Hybrid, perhaps a more affordable choice for the rest of us. And take a look at the Samsung … Read more

Rollin' in a Rolls

At CNET Car Tech, we got to spend three days with a 2007 Rolls-Royce Phantom, and found out that evaluating a $375,000 car isn't easy. There is an indefinable refinement to the Phantom in its hand-built interior. The attention from bystanders as you roll down the street lets you know you are behind the wheel of something special. There is a care and attention to detail in the construction of a Rolls-Royce that other cars, stamped out in factories, don't receive.

The profile of the Phantom employs a few optical illusions that took us some time to … Read more

Just another bulletproof Rolls Royce

It may have been awhile since we've seen a wave of highway shootings (thankfully), but some people apparently can never have too many bulletproof cars--especially if one of them is a Rolls Royce. The legendary automobile house has released the "Armored Phantom" in partnership with an "unspecified security company," Sybarites says rather cryptically, adding to the uber-vehicle's 007 appeal.

"The Phantom features VR7-level security which includes thickened glass, heavy-duty steel body panels and run-flat tires," it adds, though the weight of the additional security means that it won't be as … Read more