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| 'BMW' Phantom |
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The first prototypes of the new Phantom were made in June 2002, whilst the Goodwood facility was yet to be completed. There is much of BMW's influence in the Phantom; the engine, rear suspension and many of the electrical systems are related to those of the 7-Series, much of the engineering work was done in Germany, and its body is made in BMW's Dingolfing factory using components from Eisenach (eastern Germany) and Italy. But its design was developed in London, some of the designers and chief engineers are British, and of course, the car is assembled, painted and trimmed in Sussex.
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| New Phantom |
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The new Phantom is built on an aluminium spaceframe, like an Audi A8, Jaguar XJ or BMW Z8, with aluminium outer panels, apart from a steel bootlid and composite plastic front wings. At over 19 feet long, it has distinctive rear-hinged back doors for more graceful access - the first 'suicide' doors in a Roller since the Phantom IV of the early 1960s - and to propel all this along is the BMW V12, enlarged to 6749cc for 453bhp and 531lb ft. Check out 4Car's full Road Test story (linked below) to read more on the Phantom...
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| 100EX Concpet Car |
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BMW continues to develop Rolls-Royce, seeing itself as the brand's "custodian". New dealerships are opening worldwide on a monthly basis, with an outlet in Red Square, Moscow, recently joining the network. There are also hints at new models, not least a successor to the Corniche convertibles: the 100 EX show car displayed at the Geneva Motor Show (see link below) points the way to a Phantom-based drop-top. This V16-engined, vast and utterly incredible-looking machine is, says Rolls-Royce, only a concept to celebrate the firm's centenary, but "it's designed to show our engineering future", according to chairman Tony Gott. He told 4Car that "this car doesn't have variable valve timing and lift and so on, but it would have in production. We'd like to make a convertible Rolls-Royce, but it probably wouldn't have a V16. This is a celebration - and we're interested in people's reactions." If the reactions of Geneva show-goers are anything to go by, the next few years are set to be pretty exciting for the venerable company.
Road Test: Rolls-Royce Phantom
Concept car: Rolls-Royce 100 EX
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