The eight-gen Rolls-Royce Phantom’s first pictures have been leaked to Chinese media over a week before it actually had to be officially revealed. The images, from an online brochure that isn’t meant to be live yet, prove that the new car keeps much of the old one’s looks, despite using a brand new platform that will be shared with the ‘Cullinan’ SUV the firm is working on.
It keeps the signature chrome grille and narrow headlights, albeit with a slightly altered shape, and the second pair of headlights is now gone. it looks like two-tone paint will again be a popular feature. The images show a long-wheelbase Phantom, which isn’t news in itself because we knew it was coming, but we have to admit we’re a bit disappointed in the centre console, which, in these photos at least, doesn’t look much like it belongs in a £350,000 car.
On the other hand, the beautifully-carved dark wood trim inlay in another of the images looks every bit as finely crafted as you’d expect. Beneath the long bonnet there will be a V12, but we don’t yet know whether it will be an evolution of the same 6.75-litre unit we know and love from the old Phantom, or a tuned version of the more modern 6.6-litre BMW engine used by the Rolls-Royce Ghost, Wraith and Dawn. The car will be officially revealed in just over a week’s time, at which point we should be able to bring you more and better images. If we’re lucky, there might even be a spec detail or two to cast your way.
