The Rolls Royce Phantom Riding high on the coattails of the Flying Lady

The sensation of being in a parallel, and completely serene, universe continues from behind the wheel. Nevertheless, even Rolls Royce has to adapt to current trends, and hence there’s an engine-start button in the Phantom, as has become the norm these days. The difference here, of course, is that it activates a starter motor (which incidentally has its very own battery) that itself makes a brilliant and purposeful sound as it fires up the mammoth 6.75 liter V12 BMW power unit – that’s all you hear of the engine though, as it’s eerily silent in the cabin thereafter.

The Phantom has double glazed glass, enough sound deadening material to outfit a recording studio, and a double bulkhead – all of which ensures that absolutely no noise or sensation permeates the cabin. Everything you’ve been told is true – the only thing you can hear in a Rolls Royce at 100km/h is the clock ticking. Only in this case, the clock doesn’t tick – so in reality, the only thing you actually hear is your heart beating a little faster every time someone comes even remotely close to the car. It’s a slightly strange sensation because you can see the chaos on the roads, but you feel far removed from it all because you can hardly hear it. It’s almost like being in a dream, as though there’s an elaborate silent film playing out all around you.

From behind the wheel, the first thing that strikes you is the view – you look out onto a massive bonnet outstretched in front of you, with the glorious Spirit of Ecstasy pointing the way. Nevertheless, should you for some reason tire of seeing her – she’ll slink away into the grille at the touch of a button. The other thing that strikes you is a ‘power reserve’ meter right next to the speedometer – where you’d ordinarily expect to find a tachometer. In this case, the gauge moves anticlockwise from 100% to 0 depending on how much of the engine’s power you’re actually consuming.

Now this may be a large car at over two-and-a-half tonnes, but it feels incredibly light thanks to the more than generous power reserves of the engine – as a result of which, every time I looked down at the power reserve meter, I found that I almost always had close to 100% of the engines power still at hand. On the few occasions when I actually tried to make use of these liberal helpings of force, I was amazed at how quickly, yet inconspicuously, the transmission would downshift, and just how rapidly we’d make progress. This should come as no surprise, however, since the Phantom supposedly accelerates from 0-100km/h in a sports car rivaling 5.9 seconds. Although, it seems like you should have to apply for permission from the Geological Department before a full blooded start in the Phantom because it’s sure to upset the balance of the tectonic plates below the earth’s surface.

It may cause carnage below the earth’s crust, but in the cabin it feels like you’re floating on a cloud. The Phantom just wafts you serenely from place to place. The ride is astonishing despite the 21 inch rims. Plus, it doesn’t suffer from pedestrian characteristics such as dive under braking or squat under acceleration. It does what you ask of it, and it does it well indeed, but its first priority is to ensure the comfort of its well heeled occupants. The strange and surprising thing is, though, that it actually feels wonderful to drive. You would expect it to feel lifeless and vague like an American luxury barge, but in fact it feels delicate and light through its dignified thin rimmed steering wheel. And you can be sure that this hasn’t happened by chance, Rolls Royce and BMW have worked extremely hard at it. You see, the Phantom has an aluminum spaceframe to guarantee light weight, yet ensure rigidity. The majority of body panels are also made from aluminum – the front wings are even made from a composite material. The steering rack is a rack and pinion, which should explain the steering feel. All of this combines to ensure that the Phantom feels just as good from behind the wheel as it does from the rear seat. The car responds to your inputs in a way that you don’t expect from a vehicle this large. It moves, and it moves fast, but there are no jerks or jolts – it doesn’t throw you back in your seat. It just picks up the pace quickly and progressively and goes – as you’d expect with a 450 horsepower V12 under the hood. But, it does so in a dignified way – after all, you don’t expect the queen to just pick up her dress and run do you?

The other thing that strikes you is just how incredibly easy it is to drive. The car really does seem to shrink around you – it’s maneuverable with a great turning circle. And visibility is good since you sit relatively high up. The only thing that takes some getting used to is the fact that the front end, which can feel like it’s in another zip code, enters an intersection before you’ve had the chance to look around the corner. Once you learn to compensate for that, it should be no problem to drive the Phantom everyday, which I’m told some owners actually do – thankfully.

The Rolls Royce Phantom is everything you expect it to be – only much more so. You think you’ll have an idea of what its going to be like if you’ve spent time in an S Class Mercedes, 7 series BMW, or even a Bentley, but the Rolls really is on another level – you have to experience it for yourself to really get a sense of it. Once you get used to this kind of luxury, there’s no going back. Like the sales manager at Rolls Royce Delhi said, you can’t take your money with you – so, if you can afford it, you ought to invest in a Rolls. It’s so calming, and everything is so pleasurable, that it really is the ultimate anti-ageing device, and that’s priceless isn’t it? But it is a land yacht, and like its seafaring counterpart, if you have to ask how much it costs to maintain, you can’t afford it.

So, is this the best car in the world? It depends of your definition, but any car that can make such a strong case for itself both from the rear seat as well as from the drivers’ chair, deserves serious consideration. In keeping with its heritage, the Rolls Royce Phantom truly is majestic.