I think some people fail to remember that this is what Rolls Royce had turned into before BMW came along - hardly the image of "class, beauty and british perfection" you allude to.

Yep...Silver Spirit, Camargue and all these are not Rolls for me. I don't even consider them when I speak from Rolls-Royce. They are much more Vickers than Rolls-Royce!
The last real Rolls are the Silver Cloud/Phantom V and VI, the Silver Shadow is the beginning of the end...

The Phantom is, for sure, more Rolls than these Silver Spirit boxes...I give credit to BMW for that. Too modern, too bling-bling, but they had no other choice if they wanted to sell the cars.

Like Rob said...Modern time, modern taste, modern car.
The Phantom is a great achievement I admit, put as much Rolls as you can in a car that also needs to sell to tasteless people...

But why these special editions??

BTW...Something always annoyed me:

Why the hell is the Phantom sometimes called "Phantom VI"?? And not Phantom VII, like it should, as a Phantom VI already existed in the 1970'S-80's-90's? Just before the Silver Spur, LWB Silver Spirit?

And why did they use the name Phantom for a SWB?? And why just Phantom, without the number after?
Not "Silver Something", and the LWB "Phantom VII", like it should? (even if the Silver Spur already broke the tradition by not beeing called Phantom VII but Silver Spur)?

I know the name Phantom is extremely powerful, but now the LWB has no name...And Rolls-Royce Silver Thing is powerful too...

You are correct, a lot of people do make the mistake of calling it the Phantom VI.
Well BMW looked much further back in Rolls-Royce's past for inspiration. The Phantom II and III of the 1920s and '30s were not just available as LWB limousines, they could be built in any number of body styles ...including coupé and SWB models.

1933 Phantom II limousine.


1935 Phantom II Continental coupé


Today we tend to think mostly about the luxury barges from the 1950s and '60s (Phantom V and Silver Cloud) but in the pre-war years there were even some quite 'sporty' Rolls-Royces -- BMW are reviving this with the Drophead coupé and some future 'sporty' models.

As for the Silver Clouds being the last "real" Rolls-Royce, there are quite a few R-R enthusiasts who would consider the Silver Wraith (1938-1955) to be the last "real" Rolls-Royce.

Bruce Wayne's Silver Wraith in Batman Returns

Yes because the more recent Rolls were not built without any consideration of money, and had the GM steering/gearbox...
But Cloud and Phantom V and VI are for me real Rolls, they are amongst the best and most beautiful cars ever made.

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How can you compare these Phantom V, these marvels, with any modern production car...

All I can say is, wow. Looks like a VIP lounge in a Ritz Carlton type of hotel.

It's not as though RR specially caters to these tasteless people. You don't see RR coming out with a 'Pimp-tastic special edition' with 25" chrome wheels, Sony Playstation system installed with a 40" Plasma screen that folds down from the cabin ceiling, as well as special pneumatic system that allows the driver to make the car bounce up and down.

RR's special editions still retain every bit of class, exclusiveness and sophistication that the brand stands for. Each special edition contains minor enhancements/additions but nothing major... and that's simply because the Phantoms does NOT need to receive a semi-makeover to boost sales like MM tried to do with the 57/62S. The 'base' Phantom is more than good enough that any special edition will only be very small to either mark a special occasion (eg: the 100th anniversary of the Silver Ghost, the 80th anniversary of the Phantom name, the Centenary Phantom) or they are themed (eg: Phantom Black, Tungsten Edition - which was produced to satisfy the demand for the Phantom to look more like the Coupe's distinctive design features).

But I still hear you asking why so often, why so many special editions?
Well, as Luw' said, each Phantom can be customised to the n-th degree by the buyer if they so choose, but offering these special editions provides buyers with 'ready-made' styles. Furthermore, the low-cost to produce these special editions makes it a financially clever to re-promote the brand and products in the public (due to the continual exposure of the RR Phantom name).. provide a quick sales boost to keep sales figures linear (not to mention using such a special edition to negate any positive news/editions from competitors) ..and of course to provide customers with something fairly exclusive. In my mind, I think a buyer who purhcased one of the RR Phantom special edition's would feel their Phantom is MORE exclusive than simply a Phantom which was created to their specific tastes. There's something about having a limited-run special edition model which is more exclusive than a normal Phantom which can be individualised to the n-th degree. I guess it's because you can individualise your Phantom whenever you chose to purchase it, whereas with the special editions, if you want one you HAVE TO put your name down on the order list RIGHT NOW otherwise you miss out (hence the temporary sales boost).

Add a special exterior colour, some new fancy interior trim, a fancier exhaust.. a nice lookin colour-strip down the length of the car, as well as a special decal stating that the car is a 'special edition'.. and you instantly have a Phantom which not only will sell in the blink of an eye, but will also allow RR to charge an extra price-premium due to the limited-run of the edition. Increase in sales, increase in profit-margins, increase in customer satisfaction, increase in brand-exposure, and of course stealing yet another potential customer from competitors.... and all this WITHOUT detracting from the exclusive appeal of the RR brand (actually increases its exclusivity IMO). Where exactly is the problem? Very clever marketing strategy by RR!

I think the thorn in your side is because despite what you may might like to admit, the [modern] Phantom actually does live up to the Rolls Royce name, albeit in a modern context. Especially compared to that hideous 90's beast I posted earlier. But because this Rolls, which does live up to its illustrious name, is bowing to cheap marketing tactics, it grates on your nerves. A car with such a flawless pedigree and large price tag should not bow to the pettiness of actually trying to sell these things succesfully.

But as beemer and rob and others have pointed out, these cars do need to sell, and special editions are a good (if a little tacky) way of doing this.

Just because the Phantom is a worthy Rolls does not mean it exists independently of this vain, frivolous and consumerist world we live in.

Yes.

It should also be noted that in the US particularly, many buyers don't like to wait for their new car -- they prefer to buy the car straight off the showroom floor. These special editions are a way of promoting Rolls-Royces ability to customize the vehicles ....and perhaps encouraging more customers to order their cars with unique features.

The world's rich today are different from those of the 1920s and 30s; in those days wealthy individuals would have their cars, furniture, clothing, shoes, etc. all made to measure, all custom made. We live in an era where many of the most expensive products are relatively mass-produced and often machine made. Whereas Machine made products were once not considered as prestigious as hand-made products, today that attitude does not really exist. In our consumer society, even products aimed at the super rich (Bugatti Veyron for example) are made in serial production.

The Phantom has been very successful. The problem is one Phantom pretty much looks the same as the next -- the usual black/black we see so often.
Rolls-Royce would prefer people to customize their vehicles with a little more imagination -- these [quite tame] limited editions offer some diversity ...as well as help to promote the possibilities available. I think those chrome exhausts will probably be ordered by a few new buyers ...I think they look good.

Some good reading here. The usual suspects educating us on luxury items in the modern day, class and history and what not...lol. I feel as though I'm peeking in on a finishing/history class.

M