A majestic Rolls-Royce Phantom sedan in China, seen in 2011 in the capital Beijing. The enormous machine was painted in a pretty shade of blue with a beige interior. Notably, it didn’t have darkened windows.
The interior with beige leather and dark brown wood.
The seventh generation Rolls-Royce Phantom, as it was called to count in historic Rollers with the same name, was manufactured from 2003 until 2017 with an update in 2012. Our blue Beijing car is a pre-update example.
Power came from the famous 6.7 liter V12 engine with an output of 453 hp and 720 Nm. Horses went to the rear wheels via a 6-speed automatic gearbox. Top speed was limited at 250 km/h and 0-100 was gone in a stately 5.9 seconds.
It may not have darkened windows but it did have beige curtains on the rear-side and rear windows. So that’s at least some privacy for the occupants. The 21 inch wheels would seem large on any other car but on the Phantom they are a perfect fit for the arches.
In China, price of the Rolls-Royce Phantom started at 6.58 million yuan (2011). That translated to 1.04 million US Dollar under 2011 exchange rates. That was 3 to 4 times as much as the Phantom cost in most other countries. The enormous price difference was caused by China’s then-massive import tax on cars with an engine larger than four liter.