New Rolls-Royce Phantom Arrives With Subtle Updates

Rolls-Royce today unveiled the latest expression of its halo car, thePhantom.

According to Rolls-Royce, the facelift is driven by its customers, who implored the British marque not to make any significant changes to the vehicle. Rolls-Royce agreed since it believes that its cars enjoy a long lifespan, eventually becoming timeless expressions of good taste.

It's hard to argue with this sentiment, asBMW's first Phantomnow looks better than it ever did. That oversized grille was a bit much in 2003, but it looks tiny by comparison, given thecurrent state of car design.

Rolls says that its facelifts are not about what should be changed but rather about what should be preserved and protected.

Rolls-Royce preserved the Phantom's stance and enhanced it by including a new polished horizontal line between the daytime running lights above the famous Pantheon Grille. Rolls also made a hardly noticeable geometric change to the famous grille to make theSpirit of Ecstasymore prominent when viewed from the front.

The grille is now illuminated, which was a feature first introduced on theGhost. Headlight-wise, it now comes standard with laser-cut bezel starlights to create a visual connection between the exterior and the famous Starlight Headliner inside.

From the side, there's nothing new to report on apart from a suite of new wheels. There's a new 3D milled stainless steel wheel with triangular facets, available either fully or partially polished. Or you can go for the new disc wheel, available in both polished stainless steel and black lacquer.

Rolls is also responding directly to customer demands. You may now order a Phantom with darkened chrome grille surround, black bonnet reins, windscreen surround, and side frame finishers.