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THE FIRST GOODWOOD PHANTOM VII
2003 ROLLS-ROYCE PHANTOM VII
DESIGNED AND BUILT AT THE HOME OF ROLLS- ROYCE, GOODWOOD
The first Phantom to be built at Goodwood heralded both the launch of the seventh generation, and the renaissance of the Rolls- Royce brand under the custodianship of BMW Group – a feat described at the time as “the last great adventure in automotive history”. Rolls- Royce designers and engineers spent four years developing the car, under the strictest secrecy, in Germany and the UK. As the clock struck one minute past midnight on 1 January 2003, the first customer received the keys at a ceremony to mark the opening of the new Goodwood manufacturing plant and headquarters, and the official launch of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited.
The car’s Black Kirsch bodywork, black leather interior and burr walnut veneer show almost no signs of the car’s 14 years’ constant service, in which it has covered over 30,000 miles, including an epic 4,500-mile jaunt across Australia from Perth to Sydney. The first production car built to a new design, by a new workforce, in a new facility, it is truly the first of its line, and the benchmark for every Goodwood-built car that has come after it.
The car has been generously loaned to the Exhibition by the owner.
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