Think a Rolls-Royce Phantom is expensive? Well, yeah...it is. One of the most expensive on the market, as a matter of fact. (Hey, it's a Rolls-Royce. What did you expect?) But if you think the Phantom is expensive on the American market, you should take a look at what it costs elsewhere in the world.

Our new friends over at Automobiles De Luxe have compiled what they're calling "the Phantom Index", taking the example of "the Big Mac Index" from The Economist and carrying the formula through to the most bling-tastic of motor saloons.

You might be surprised that the Phantom is cheapest to buy in the United States, undercutting the equivalent price of the same automobile in the United Kingdom and in the European Union by over a hundred thousand dollars. Not that such concerns would factor into the equation for most buyers of a new Rolls-Royce, mind you... perish the thought.

[Source: Automobiles De Luxe]

This doesn't really surprise me. The US is the cheapest place on earth to buy a new car. It mostly has to do with lower taxes (VAT, import taxes, etc.)

I thought cars were so cheap in the US because of there being such a huge market for them. I always curse the US when I check out cars on ebay in the US, because the prices of BMW's over there are at least half of what they are here.
Eh, either way, Phantoms are hellishly expensive here in Aus. A cool million. Aussie dollars, that is, equivalent to about US$820k, 610,000 Euros, and 410,000 pounds. It must be a lot worse in some south asian countries .. where they add 100% tax on top of imported cars to support their local car manufacturers.

Tiny market for RR's over here compared to US and European markets. Searching for them on car sale websites, you'd be lucky to find two current Phantoms in the whole of Australia. I wonder if a single drophead coupe will even make it to our shores.

So far i have seen 3 Phantoms in Sydney, 1 dark green one, 2 silver ones, i would imagine one of the owners will be willing to buy a drophead coupe.

I think the reason why the Phantom is so cheap in America is due the the poor exchange rate, and is having a poor effect on all manufactures importing good to the USA. That's the reason why cars such as the X5 are made in the US, I think, so that when this happens profit margins aren't too low!

A few years ago, the Canadian market was one of the cheapest in the world... but with the rise of our dollar, and the fall of the US one... cars in the US cost alot less then here now.

So it's no surprise.