Celebrating the centenary of an icon: a year of Phantom stories

Rolls-Royce on Thursday reflected on a year of global celebrations marking Phantom’s centenary

Famous historical Phantom owners from the worlds of art and music honored the debut of Phantom Centenary Private Collection: the most complex and technologically ambitious Collection yet.

Throughout 2025, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has celebrated the centenary of its pinnacle product and the most famous nameplate in luxury history: Phantom. These celebrations focused on the people, places and events that shaped Phantom’s incredible story, and how this extraordinary motor car has both reflected and influenced the world around it.

Designed by Sir Henry Royce, the original ‘new’ Phantom made its debut in 1925. Over the next 100 years and throughout eight generations, Phantom has always been the grandest, most impressive and effortlessly refined motor car built by the marque: a century of unassailable luxury and engineering excellence.

The centenary year has featured appearances by all eight generations of Phantom at celebratory events across the globe, culminating in the unveiling of the Phantom Centenary Private Collection, Rolls-Royce’s own Bespoke tribute to its most storied model.

Clients around the world also chose to take delivery of their Bespoke Phantoms in 2025 – in many cases beginning the journey years in advance, in anticipation of the anniversary – ensuring their motor cars would not only become part of their personal legacy, but also take a once-in-a-lifetime place in the ongoing story of this remarkable nameplate.

Rolls-Royce takes this opportunity to reflect on Phantom’s legacy, revisiting the stories and moments shared among clients, the media, and the world throughout this unforgettable centenary year.

CELEBRATING PHANTOM’S PLACE IN MUSIC BY BRINGING A LEGEND TO LIFE

In 2025, Rolls-Royce celebrated the legendary figures in music who chose Phantom, both as a symbol of success and a source of creative inspiration. From Marlene Dietrich and Liberace to Elvis Presley, Sir Elton John, Pharrell Williams and Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson, these artists helped shape, and were drawn to, Phantom’s magnetic presence.

Perhaps the most memorable tale from Phantom’s musical mythology is Keith Moon’s infamous 21^st birthday party, when The Who’s drummer reportedly drove his Rolls-Royce into a swimming pool. Though witnesses have only a hazy recollection of what really happened, a Rolls-Royce submerged in a pool became the ultimate symbol of rock ‘n’ roll indulgence.

To mark Phantom’s centenary, Rolls-Royce brought the myth to life by submerging a Phantom Extended body shell — a retired prototype destined for recycling — in the Art Deco Tinside Lido in Plymouth, England.

The location also has Beatles heritage: on 12 September 1967, The Beatles visited while filming The Magical Mystery Tour. That same year, John Lennon debuted his yellow, hand-painted Phantom V, forever linking the nameplate with music history.

REFLECTING ON PHANTOM’S CONNECTION TO A CENTURY OF ART

As part of the centenary celebrations, Rolls-Royce reflected on Phantom’s long-standing connection to the art world. In one of the most surreal arrivals in history, Salvador Dalí once filled a friend’s Phantom with 500kg of cauliflowers, then flung open the door upon arrival at the Sorbonne in Paris, sending the brassicas cascading to the ground. This moment – which itself will celebrate its 70^th anniversary on December 26, 2025 – was commemorated by the marque, along with reflections of other Phantom owners who led the creative conversation, including Andy Warhol, who was so compelled by Phantom that he acquired a 1937 model on the spot after seeing it parked outside a Zurich antiques shop in 1972.

WORLD STAGE FOR PHANTOM

Throughout its centenary year, Phantom was celebrated on a truly global stage, with commemorative events held across five continents. From prestigious concours to exclusive gatherings, these moments reflected the power of Phantom’s legacy in every sense.

The centenary journey began at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in Italy, followed by the Goodwood Festival of Speed and Goodwood Revival in the UK, where five historic Phantoms – including the celebrated Phantom I ‘Brougham De Ville’, or ‘Phantom of Love’ – graced the Aerodrome Lawn. In Spain, all eight generations of Phantom were showcased at the beautiful Torre Loizaga in Bilbao.\

A celebratory drive across Scandinavia and the Baltics saw members of the 20-Ghost Club journey more than 2,000 kilometres from Helsinki – where the cavalcade was waved off by a Phantom VIII – through Nordic landscapes in 26 pre-War Rolls-Royces, including three examples of Phantom I. The oldest participating motor car dated from 1927.

Celebrations continued in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic, where Phantom’s cultural role was marked at the city’s renowned film festival. In Warsaw, Poland, Rolls-Royce hosted a jazz evening featuring renowned vocalist Stacey Kent, while in Baku, Azerbaijan, an exclusive cultural club paid tribute to Phantom’s deep-rooted musical connections and its appearance in song lyrics across musical styles and generations.

n North America, Phantom’s centenary was honoured with a dedicated class at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, where eight generations of Phantom were united for this occasion. This milestone was celebrated at gatherings in Colorado Springs for the Rolls-Royce Owners’ Club Annual Meet, the Las Vegas Concours d’Elegance, and the grand opening of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Oakville in Canada.

In Asia, Rolls-Royce hosted a standout event at Azabudai Hills, Tokyo, showcasing a selection of rare Phantoms – from Phantom II Continental to Phantom Oribe, designed in collaboration with Hermès for a Japanese collector.  100 Years of Phantom were celebrated in Singapore with a contemporary culinary journey.  In Shanghai, five generations of Phantom were honored at a showcase for Chinese clients and friends of the marque.

Across the Middle East, the Phantom Centenary made landmark appearances at the National Museum of Qatar and at private events in Dubai, Riyadh, Manama, and Abu Dhabi. These showcases included historic and modern Bespoke Phantoms such as the Phantom Drophead Coupé Zenith, Phantom Scintilla Private Collection, replete with an 869,500-stitch interior, and Phantom Centenary Private Collection.

COMMISSIONS INSPIRED BY AN UNFORGETTABLE LEGACY

Aware of the historical significance of 2025, clients around the world placed Bespoke commissions for delivery in Phantom’s centenary year — in many cases beginning that journey years in advance. These Phantoms stand among the most ambitious ever created by the marque’s Bespoke Collective and resident designers in the Private Offices of Shanghai, Dubai, Seoul, New York, and the original at the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, West Sussex. Each is further distinguished by a specially crafted centenary‑chassis plaque displaying the motor car’s unique vehicle identification number (VIN).

COMMISSIONS INSPIRED BY AN UNFORGETTABLE LEGACY

Aware of the historical significance of 2025, clients around the world placed Bespoke commissions for delivery in Phantom’s centenary year — in many cases beginning that journey years in advance. These Phantoms stand among the most ambitious ever created by the marque’s Bespoke Collective and resident designers in the Private Offices of Shanghai, Dubai, Seoul, New York, and the original at the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, West Sussex. Each is further distinguished by a specially crafted centenary‑chassis plaque displaying the motor car’s unique vehicle identification number (VIN).