In 2003, when Rolls-Royce revived the Phantom name that had lain dormant since 1990, there was at least as much at stake as in 1925 when the first “New Phantom,” as it was initially known, became the range-topping standard bearer for a company already world renowned for luxury, sophistication and craftsmanship. Once more Rolls-Royce was in a way returning to its very earliest roots, devoting all of its resources to producing a single model, on which its entire reputation would depend. The Phantom that emerged in 2003 after four years of development re-invigorated the brand and restored the company’s credibility. Yet more was to come with the arrival in 2007 of the drophead coupe, which also took four years to refine into a production version and was considerably more costly at $412,000. Some convertibles are merely sedans with the roof chopped off—not so the Phantom drophead coupe. As with previous generations of convertible, such as the Corniche and Mulliner-Park Ward Silver Cloud, the Phantom drophead was a transformation of a relatively formal sedan into something altogether more “exuberant,” as Chief Designer Ian Cameron put it. It’s lower, sleeker and shares barely any body panels with the sedan. Its profile, accented with a swooping hockey-stick flourish, conceals thicker sills and extra crossmembers, which, according to Rolls-Royce, endowed it with torsional rigidity very close to that of the sedan. Although Rolls-Royce traditionally eschewed providing performance figures it’s no secret that the Phantom’s 6.75L V-12 produced a prodigious 453 HP, which translated into sports car performance and a 150 MPH top speed. As for luxury, sophistication, craftsmanship and attention to detail, the result, said British magazine The Autocar, was that, “Little else can touch it for that feel-good factor and little goes about its duties in the same prestigious and refined fashion.” This 2009 example, with just 15,165 miles, benefits from more than $16,000 in recent service work and effectively presents as new. Something else perhaps worthy of consideration is that when the model ceased production in 2016, it cost $533,000.
