Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is celebrating 100 years of its most famous nameplate – the Phantom.
Phantom occupies a unique place in the history of Rolls-Royce.
At any given time over the past century, it has represented the very best in effortless luxury, engineering excellence, fine materials, and exquisite, highly skilled craftsmanship.
Across eight generations, each as storied as the last, Phantom has remained unrivalled.
Not just as the marque’s flagship motor car, but the world’s pinnacle luxury product – an icon of icons.
As it enters its second century, Phantom remains an authoritative statement of connoisseurship, enjoyed by those who shape our world.
Henry Royce in the first experimental Phantom I at Elmstead.
Phantom has been associated with famous people and momentous events from its inception, signifying power and influence through its sheer size, dominant presence and – perhaps most significantly its unique capacity to reflect its owner’s personality and significance.
The marque’s designers have created a series of original artworks paying tribute to Phantom’s legacy, celebrating this remarkable motor car’s cultural impact through the decades and capturing the spirit of each of its eight generations.
These artworks echo a historical precedent dating back to 1910, when the artist Charles Sykes, who would later create the Spirit of Ecstasy mascot, was commissioned to produce six original oil paintings for the marque’s 80-page catalogue.
These images showed Rolls-Royce motor cars arriving at the opera, a country house, the golf course and other venues, reflecting the tastes and lifestyles of its almost exclusively aristocratic owners at the time.
The illustrations created by the marque’s designers in 2025 illustrate just how much that client profile has diversified over the past century.
While these contemporary illustrations celebrate Phantom’s evolving role in culture, they also echo a deeper truth: that for a century, Phantom has been present at defining moments in politics, society, and global history.
From heads of state to stars of stage and screen, it has served those whose decisions and presence have helped shape the world in which we live.
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