100 Years Of The Rolls-Royce Phantom: The Car That Scored The Soundtrack Of Modern Music

When you think of music history, you might picture Abbey Road, Woodstock, or a sold-out Vegas residency. But lurking in the background, often sharing the spotlight, is a car: the Rolls-Royce Phantom. And now, as a part of its 100th anniversary celebrations, the brand is looking at its star-studded history.

For a century, the Phantom has been more than just the pinnacle of luxury engineering. It’s been a stage prop, a status symbol, and a silent co-star in the biggest cultural movements of our time. From the jazz age to hip-hop, the Phantom has moved in sync with music’s evolution, its V12 heartbeat echoing the rhythms of global stardom.

The Phantom: Engineering & Expression

Rolls-Royce first launched the Phantom in 1925, positioning it as the ultimate successor to the Silver Ghost. Across eight generations, the Phantom has always been the car that defines its era—blending cutting-edge engineering with the freedom for owners to turn it into a personal statement.

• Phantom I (1925–1931): Debuted with a 7.7-litre straight-six so silent it earned the nickname “the best car in the world.”

• Phantom II (1929–1936): Improved chassis and suspension delivered sharper handling, making it a favourite for grand touring.
• Phantom III (1936–1939): The only pre-war Phantom V12, boasting a 7.3-litre engine and advanced independent front suspension.
• Phantom IV (1950–1956): Just 18 examples produced, exclusively for royalty and heads of state, powered by a straight-eight engine.
• Phantom V (1959–1968): Rock stars and dignitaries alike adored its 6.2-litre V8 and cavernous rear cabin—Elvis and Lennon among them.

• Phantom VI (1968–1990): Coachbuilt luxury at its peak, with a 6.75-litre V8 and regal proportions that made it a state limousine of choice.
• Phantom VII (2003–2017): Ushered in the Goodwood era with an all-aluminium spaceframe, 6.75-litre V12 (453 hp), and modern tech, reasserting Phantom as the ultimate luxury car.
• Phantom VIII (2017–present): Built on Rolls-Royce’s “Architecture of Luxury,” featuring a twin-turbo 6.75-litre V12 (563 hp, 900 Nm), laser headlights, “The Gallery” dashboard, and the iconic Starlight Headliner.

But numbers alone don’t explain the Phantom’s magic. Each generation has been a blank canvas, transformed into everything from a mirrored stage car for Liberace, to Lennon’s psychedelic masterpiece, to a hip-hop icon with “stars in the roof.”

Legends Behind the Wheel

Few cars can boast a celebrity roll-call quite like the Phantom:

• Marlene Dietrich’s Phantom I (1930): Gifted by Paramount, painted in a bold green, even appearing on screen in Morocco.
• Elvis Presley’s Phantom V (1963): Midnight Blue, fitted with a microphone, fridge, and an incredibly reflective mirror-polished paint.
• John Lennon’s Two Phantoms (1964 & 1968): From a blacked-out Phantom V with TV and fridge, later transformed into a psychedelic yellow masterpiece, to a stark all-white Phantom echoing his White Album minimalism.
• Liberace’s Mirror-Ball Phantom V (1961): A stage prop turned legend, clad in mirrored tiles and glittering under Vegas spotlights.
• Sir Elton John’s Phantoms: Multiple examples, including a white Phantom VI impulse buy on the way to a gig, later retrofitted with an audio system so powerful the rear window needed reinforcement.

And of course, Keith Moon, who may—or may not—have rolled a Rolls into a swimming pool on his 21st birthday. The myth was strong enough that, for Phantom’s centenary, Rolls-Royce recreated it with a Phantom shell submerged at Tinside Lido.

Phantom and Hip-Hop: From Goodwood to Global Charts

If rock ’n’ roll made Phantom famous, hip-hop cemented its cultural immortality. Since production moved to Goodwood in 2003, the Phantom VII has become the most name-checked luxury car in lyrics. Pharrell Williams and Snoop Dogg immortalised it in Drop It Like It’s Hot; 50 Cent cruised in a Phantom Drophead Coupé on Entourage; Lil Wayne even put the car on his album cover.

And then there’s the Starlight Headliner—1,000+ fibre-optic lights hand-woven into the ceiling. Once just a bespoke option, it became hip-hop shorthand for otherworldly success, immortalised in lyrics as “stars in the roof.”

A Century On: The Phantom’s Encore

One hundred years, eight generations, countless legends. Yet Phantom still represents what it always has: the pinnacle of personal luxury. Whether fitted with a fax machine in the ’70s, a hand-painted zodiac motif in the ’60s, or Rolls-Royce’s most advanced infotainment system today, Phantom remains both technically untouchable and endlessly customisable.

For automotive enthusiasts, it’s more than just a car — it’s a rolling studio, stage, and statement. A V12 symphony on wheels that has defined the sound of success for a century. And if history is any guide, Phantom’s second century will be every bit as flamboyant, powerful, and culturally iconic as its first.

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