Automotive

patrick_y
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The previous generation Phantom was something really special..

The previous generation Phantom, known as the Phantom VII (seventh generation) came out around 2003 and left us around 2017 or so. The car was made in a completely different way than any other car. First, you had an entire aluminum architecture that was basically built like a skyscraper. Skyscrapers are built out of steel/iron I beams. These beams literally look like the letter I with flat tops and bottoms. The Phantom was built with extruded aluminum box beams. They literally look like small boxes and this manufacturing method meant that the exterior strength was substantial - as substantial as the interior chassis' strength of a typical car. It also meant that the car had to be physically bigger, because these beams were relatively thick. So while the car was huge on the outside, the car wasn't that much bigger on the inside.
The Phantom VII also had a very special double floor. This, sadly, was not repeated on the Phantom 8. The Phantom 7's double floor allowed the subwoofers to be recessed between the two floors, it also allowed for extra sound deadening material. And it also allowed for a very graceful entry and exit - there's no sill, the floor is flat and equal to the door sill. Thus, when you step into the car, you're not going over a sill and into the footwells of the car. There's no footwell, the floor is completely flat with the sill, so you step onto the floor.
The Phantom 8, you step over the sill, and then down into the footwell. So you step "Into" the 8 while you step "ONTO" the 7.
The 7 isn't as easy to drive as the 8, and the 8 is more practical in many ways. But the Phantom 7 is much more special in terms of the design and mechanics that went into the car. It was constructed in more special methods than the 8. The 8 is a more close to a "typical car" where then 7 is actually closer to a bus. I know a "bus" is not a flattering comparison, but, mechanically the 7 is built in a very different method compared to a car. The Phantom 7 body shell is also much more difficult to build overall.
The Ghost is an amazing car already, and there's no real reason nor need to get a Phantom. The Ghost is a slightly smaller and less imposing car than the Phantom. But the interior space is about the same in size as the Phantom because it doesn't use that thick beam construction. The Ghost in some ways can be said is a modified BMW 7 series as it does use a highly modified BMW chassis.
A typical Phantom 7 took about 400+ man hours to craft. A Ghost is probably around 200 man hours.
The one to get is probably the Wraith, basically a 2 door version of the Ghost. But the car behaves very differently when compared to the Ghost. The Wraith in many ways is the best driver's Rolls Royce ever. It came out in 2014, two years late, partially because when it was supposed to come out in 2012, a year after the Ghost was launched in 2011, the car was deemed not good enough. Rolls-Royce knew that most Wraith owners would drive the car themselves, and thus knew that the car had to be comparable to a Porsche, Bentley, or Ferrari (the typical cars an owner would typically drive if they drove themselves). But when BMW executives and a small core group of consultants drove the 2012 prototypes, they realized the product was only half baked. Thus, they changed the car extensively and delayed the launch until they made a car that their typical client who owned a garage of other two door cars would gravitate towards. The Wraith did wonders for the RR brand, RR became the exotic brand with the youngest clientele (both in average and median age) partially thanks to how well the Wraith was received by a younger audience. Ferrari, Aston, McLaren, and even Lamborghini clients were older than RR clients for a number of years (median and avg).
I once had a Wraith company car - and that remains to be my favorite company car I've ever had.
The story continues, RR is going to debut an electric car soon. And even I'll want one of those! Big, comfortable, safe, practical, and electric. Sounds like my cup of tea! Hmm... Too bad, no more fancy company cars for me!

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