Rolls-Royce has launched the new eighth-generation Phantom in India at Rs. 9.5 crore and Rs. 11.35 crore for the standard and the extended wheelbase versions respectively – all prices ex-showroom Delhi. The eighth generation Rolls-Royce is now the most expensive car currently on sale in India. The first Phantom VIII in India will go to Chennai city and deliveries will move to other cities subsequently.
The new generation Rolls-Royce Phantom is based on the company’s brand new aluminium spaceframe platform that will also underpin future Rolls-Royce projects like the Cullinan SUV. The new platform that the Phantom is based on has improved ride quality and refinement levels over the older model. Rolls-Royce says that the platform is now 30 per cent more rigid than before. The new Phantom is 77 mm shorter, 8 mm taller and 29 mm wider than its predecessor, but still carries the imposing stately stance that it is known for. The design is an evolution over the previous generation and continues to be elegant. The standard Phantom is 5700mm long, while the extended wheelbase version is 5,982mm in length, with a wheelbase of 3,772mm.
The new generation Rolls-Royce Phantom VIII is powered by an all-new 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 engine that produces 563bhp and 900 Nm of peak torque available from just 1700 rpm. The engine is mated to an 8-speed, satellite-aided transmission. Its sheer size and weight aside, the Rolls-Royce can get to 100kmph in 5.4 seconds.
Being the Rolls-Royce flagship that it is, the Phantom gets a host of customization options. The highlight of the multitude of customization options is what Rolls-Royce likes to call ‘the Gallery’; it is a single slab of glass that stretches across the entire dash and it can be used by customers to commission art of their own choice on, or select one from the ones that Rolls-Royce offers. Other features include the Starlight roof, that can replicate the night sky. Rolls-Royce has used close to 130kg of sound deadening to make the Phantom the quietest car in the world.
We have driven it previously. Read about our drive here.