 Join AutoCar (April ’09) in this exclusive drive, in one of the world’s most exclusive cars – the new Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe. The first ever Rolls with a sports mode!
So how driver-friendly is the latest Rolls? The muscle under the bonnet is the same 6.75-litre V12 motor that powers all BMW-era rollers. That means 453bhp and 73.41kgm of torque. The company claims it’ll touch 100kph in 5.8 seconds. That’s faster than the BMW 750li, which in AutoCar tests recorded a 0-100kph time of 6.38 seconds. Because it is a direct-injection petrol engine, it delivers 75 percent of its maximum power at just 1000rpm, giving it a smooth, unstressed performance. There’s no thunderclap, no angry soundtrack from the twin exhaust pipes. The 2,590kg car just whooshes out with a polite murmur.
 The Phantom Coupe is supposed to be by far, the best handling of the Phantom family. The engineers have made countless detail changes to the suspension, steering and transmission to sharpen its responses. So does the sports mode change things? Yes, the steering does get a little more responsive and progress is a bit more urgent but it’s rather pointless. Rolls-Royces were never meant to be ‘sporty’. Pace, yes; sporty, no. the Phantom Coupe is first and foremost a luxury car - and perhaps the grandest of the grand tourers…
Every car enthusiast must have read about Rolls’ fantastic hand-crafted build. But to read or see it in pictures can never match up to the actual. Minute attention has been given to the minutest detail. The switched shaped like violin keys seem to have been sculpted by a jeweler and the dashboard is more a piece of furniture and the seats are sofas. It’s just a tactile overload of the finest wood and luxurious leather with dashes of chrome.
 No car can be 100 percent perfect. So what the not-so-good points about the Phantom Coupe? Well, the huge rear-hinged backward opening doors mean that you can’t park it in a tight spot, but then we guess no roller owner will ever have to park it in a tight spot…another gripe? The rear window visibility sucks but then you have the option of a rear-view camera. That’s about it.
So what’s the verdict? It’s grand, it’s luxurious and it’s extravagant. You can’t judge a car that’s not built to any automotive convention. All you can do is dream that if you work harder, maybe one day….concludes AutoCar (April ’09).
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