Rolls Royce Phantom

Cabin

This is a Phantom and not an ordinary car for everyday use. Whatever you see in the cabin is not just majestic but also historical and one of it’s kind. Every material inside, be it from the leather to the wood veneer to the wool carpeting, is chosen and finished to a standard Rolls-Royce treat as non-negotiable regardless of specification. The front cabin still offers a properly comfortable driving position, though the entire layout, from seat design to sound insulation, is tuned with the rear passenger firmly in mind.

Expectedly, like any modern car, there is a touchscreen that handles navigation and vehicle settings up front, while rear passengers on well-equipped cars can get their own touch panel to control climate, seating, and entertainment without needing to lean forward or ask the driver. Rear-seat entertainment screens are also available, turning the back of the Phantom into a private cinema for longer journeys.

When it comes to features, wood veneer panels are matched by hand across dozens of surfaces, using timber selected specifically so the grain flows continuously from one panel to the next. The Starlight Headliner, a signature Rolls-Royce feature using hundreds of fiber-optic points woven into the roof lining, is available as part of the extensive Bespoke options.

Front Seat

• Wide electric adjustment range for driver and passenger
• Heated and ventilated on well-equipped cars
• Firm, supportive cushioning tuned for long stints behind the wheel
• Memory function for multiple driver profiles 

Rear Seat

This is where the Phantom makes its case, and it should actually, as no owner is mostly driving the car; it is driven. And comfort, safety, and elegance are what the rear actually has all put together. The individual rear seats on higher specifications can recline, heat, and cool independently, with a fixed center console between them housing controls for climate, entertainment, and other functions. The Extended Wheelbase version further gets quite perfect legroom over the standard car, aimed squarely at buyers who expect to spend the majority of their time in this car being driven rather than driving.

Climate Control

The automatic climate control system is designed to bring the cabin temperature down quickly after a car has been parked in direct UAE sun. At the rear, passengers can get independent controls for their own zone, a detail that matters more in a car built around rear-seat comfort than almost any other on sale.

Storage

The boot space runs to around 500 liters, depending on configuration, which can be considered generous for a car of this size, though naturally secondary to the space set aside for the cabin. At the rear, door pockets and a deep center console cover the smaller items rear passengers actually reach for, while the boot itself remains large enough for a proper set of matched luggage.

• Driver and passenger airbags with front side airbags
• Anti-lock braking system with electronic brake-force distribution
• Vehicle stability and traction control systems
• 360-degree camera and around-view monitor on higher specifications
• Blind spot warning and rear cross-traffic alert
• Collision mitigation and pre-collision braking systems

The Phantom is built on the same aluminum spaceframe architecture Rolls-Royce uses across its current range, engineered first for structural rigidity and cabin isolation rather than outright weight-saving. Rolls-Royce also fits a retracting Spirit of Ecstasy as a security measure, while UAE buyers should check the exact driver-assistance equipment included with their chosen specification.

Front

The grille stands taller and more upright on the Phantom than on any other current Rolls-Royce, a deliberate styling choice that gives the car its unmistakable, formal presence from every angle. The LED headlights are positioned on either side, and the Spirit of Ecstasy figurine rises prominently on the bonnet, a hierarchy Rolls-Royce maintains carefully across its range.

Side Profile

A long bonnet and a nearly vertical rear pillar give the Phantom dimensions that owe more to coach-built limousines of decades past than to any contemporary sedan. The very well-known, iconic coach doors, hinged at the rear, swing wide enough for rear passengers to step in and out without ducking. The Extended Wheelbase version stretches this same profile further still, giving visible length ahead of the rear doors to grow legroom in the back.

Alloy Wheels

There are 22-inch alloy wheels available for the Phantom, with wheel designs varying depending on the specification. Clearly, the wheel design does more than change the appearance, as the large wheels are designed to complement the car’s commanding stance while maintaining the ride comfort expected from a Phantom.

Rear

The rear integrates well into the design of the current generation. A formal, near-vertical boot line and full-width taillights give the rear of the Phantom the same commanding presence as the front, with twin exhaust outlets tucked neatly beneath the bumper rather than made a visual feature. The retractable Spirit of Ecstasy sits at the highest point of the car, visible from a distance down any UAE boulevard.

Gallery

And this is one unique feature of the Phantom: the illuminated Gallery, a glass panel spanning the width of the dashboard that Rolls-Royce commissions directly from artists to display bespoke artwork chosen by the owner. This is a signature feature of the Phantom, and it turns the simple act of opening the door into something closer to walking past a gallery installation than climbing into a car.

Colors

Rolls-Royce’s Bespoke paint program opens possibilities far beyond the standard palette a new buyer might see displayed at a showroom. The Phantom can arrive in traditional colors like Midnight Black, Arctic White, or Smoky Quartz, but these represent merely the starting point for owners willing to work directly with the brand. For Middle Eastern buyers, particularly in the UAE, accustomed to bespoke cars, this level of color customization is exactly what justifies the price premium and the wait time that comes with a factory commission.

The legendary V12 gives its full torque from barely above idle, which means the Phantom rarely needs to raise its voice to gather pace, a trait entirely in keeping with a car built around effortless, unhurried progress. Current UAE specifications list 563 hp and 900 Nm, with a 250 km/h limited top speed.

For example, unlike its siblings, the Cullinan and Ghost, the Phantom sends power only to the rear wheels, a configuration Rolls-Royce keeps out of respect for the car’s traditional character rather than any compromise in outright capability.

City Performance

Now, when you are driving around Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the Phantom’s considerable length becomes the most obvious daily consideration, since fitting into a standard mall parking bay or a tighter side street takes real care.

The reward for that patience is a driving position and visibility that make judging the car’s extremities easier than its size might suggest, helped by a full suite of parking cameras on well-equipped cars. Also, the throttle response stays gentle and progressive at low speed, and the transmission shifts early to keep the V12 working well below its actual limits.

Highway Performance

On the highways, the Phantom settles into a cabin quietness that remains the benchmark against which every other luxury sedan gets measured. Acoustic glass, extensive sound deadening, and tires developed specifically to minimise road roar all contribute to a cabin where rear passengers can hold a normal conversation at highway speeds without raising their voices. The V12’s deep reserve of torque means overtaking rarely calls for more than a light press of the accelerator.

Ride and Handling

The Planar suspension, shared across the current Rolls-Royce range, pairs self-levelling air springs with a forward-facing camera system that reads the road ahead and primes the dampers before a bump arrives. On the Phantom, tuned specifically around comfort rather than outright body control, the effect is closer to gliding than driving in the conventional sense, an impression Rolls-Royce engineers work toward deliberately. The cornering grip and body control take a back seat to this goal, and the Phantom makes no attempt to disguise that this is a car built to smooth out a journey, not sharpen a driver’s sense of the road beneath them.

The Rolls-Royce Phantom is available in two core configurations in the UAE. Both get the same 6.75-liter twin-turbocharged V12 engine, and the real difference is primarily about the wheelbase and rear-seat space. Current UAE listings show both Short Wheelbase and Extended Wheelbase versions.

Short Wheelbase (SWB)

This is the standard configuration for the Phantom for self-driving to some extent. It has dimensions that allow it to connect with the road and maintain control, rather than simply floating forward in isolation from the chassis beneath. It also gives rear passengers a highly luxurious environment while retaining a slightly more manageable footprint than the Extended Wheelbase.

Extended Wheelbase (EWB)

This stretches the rear cabin to create a luxury on wheels. The extra space is engineered entirely for rear occupant comfort, with additional legroom and a rear-seat environment designed around luxury and isolation from the outside world. This is the Phantom for buyers who plan to spend more time being driven than driving.

Frankly, not many cars achieve such a milestone and stay relevant after so many decades. And so now it is now a hundred years in; the Phantom is still the car Rolls-Royce measures every other model against. The cabin stays hushed at speed in a way few rivals can match, the V12 promises power without ever raising its voice, and the rear seat remains the most complete luxury experience in the current range. The centenary commissions built through 2025 only clearly show how much weight this one nameplate still carries within the company.

It is quite fair to say that it is not a car built for narrow city streets or for a driver chasing engagement behind the wheel. Its size demands patience in tight UAE car parks, and its whole character points toward the back seat rather than the front. But as a statement of what Rolls-Royce considers its highest expression, the Phantom has no real equal.

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