ROLLS-ROYCE PHANTOM GOLDFINGER
TO CELEBRATE 60 years of James Bond films, Rolls-Royce has released the ultimate villain’s car: a one-of-one long wheelbase Phantom referencing Auric Goldfinger’s 1937 Phantom III Sedanca de Ville from the 1964 film Goldfinger.
Incorporating some of the most extensively engineered and hand-crafted, bespoke features ever produced, including touches of solid gold throughout, this incredible and unique luxury motor car has been rumoured to have a value of up to £6 million – however we’re assured it’s not for sale as it’s already been snapped up by a mystery owner right here in the UK.
The Rolls-Royce motor company would never use a word so vulgar as “marketing” but that’s exactly what this is. A brilliant PR stunt, to grab headlines all over the world by announcing a car so special that nobody can even buy it. It’s certain to cement the reputation of the Phantom as quite simply the luxury car in a class of its own.
The Goldfinger promises to be the car-spotter’s ultimate target, and to make it unmistakable even to the untrained eye, it includes a masterful finishing touch: the prized British numberplate AU 1, the chemical symbol for gold, which graced the Goldfinger Phantom III in the film.
On the outside, the car is finished in a never-to-be repeated, two-tone design that reflects the yellow hue of the Bond villain’s original. On the inside, there are details galore to delight fans of the film.
A total of three years of continuous development was required to bring each of these elegant and playful bespoke features to life – from a complex “sculptural gallery” (the passenger side of the dashboard to you and me), inspired by the famous scene filmed on the Furka Pass, to a gold golf putter mounted to the inside of the motor car’s boot, recalling the club used by Auric Goldfinger during his first encounter with James Bond.
Rolls-Royce seldom, if ever, reveals details so banal as horsepower, top speeds, 0-60 times etc – because its customers rarely care about such things – but make no mistake, a car like this exudes effortless, limitless power.
Fact file
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbo V12 / CO2 emissions: 345 g/km
Fuel consumption: 18.6mpg / Power: undisclosed / Launch date: no chance!
Price: rumoured £6 million
By Oliver Chesher
