Page 11 - Cool Britannia

You rarely saw Rolls Royces being used in cool way, mostly owned by “old money” the period of the 70’s Rock Stars in Rollers was fading and the although beautifully built were not known for either driveability or modern technology of any sort, only that the loudest thing you could hear was the clock ticking.In 2003 when Rolls Royce, now owned by BMW reintroduced the Phantom powered by a silent V12, the strong and powerful design must have raised some well manicured eyebrows of the old guard in their leather armchairs of the traditional gentlemen’s clubs where the Rolls Royce driver peeped over the top of his times at the guy in his thirties being refused entrance for not wearing a tie or worst still wearing the devils cloth…. Denim jeans. If the Gold Silver Shadow was the RAC club, the new Phantom was the Groucho…The Phantom had made Rolls Royce cool again, its imposing stance shouted “get out of my way” as it would glide toward you, so silent it could have been sail powered. This was made for Rock Stars again only now they wore lots of bling and drank Champaign from the bottle. The Phantom was embraced by global royalty, successful business people and superstars the world over. The brand was back. In 2005 we ordered a Phantom in Black, with black wood inside and black trim, the salesman at the time thought this highly irregular and recommended walnut and tan, but we stuck to our guns. Ours was Black, black, black we also had some huge 26 inch alloy rims made with those fantastic Rolls centres inserted (the RR badge stays still as the wheel turns) again in black with just the very rim in polished alloy. Our windows were tinted it looked stunning. Or so I’m told as I never saw the car. I was out of the country when it was delivered to the Birmingham show room, my brother sent me a photo, then we had a call from the dealer asking if we wanted to sell it… the price was right so it was possibly the best car I never owned. I was told that when the Phantom was released the average age of a Rolls Royce driver was 56, by 2007 it had dropped to 36. Rolls Royce was back where it should be, a global symbol of excellence or the ultimate “I’ve arrived” accessory. Personally I’ve always loved the way they drive, the Phantom seemed to shrink around you as it was surprisingly nimble to drive. So when I was offered a new Dawn to drive last summer I was genuinely excited. I had it for three days and the timing was perfect being our best friends wedding anniversary. This was the perfect way to arrive for a celebratory dinner.11