Simply Abu Dhabi VI

1 6 7 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I The launch of the Rolls-Royce Phantom on 1 January 2003 was much more than the reveal of a new ultra-luxury car; it signalled the 21st Century renaissance of the world’s most famous luxury automobile brand and the first glimpse of a masterpiece that quickly established itself at the pinnacle of automotive excellence. For the preceding five years, under BMW Group ownership and in the absence of publicity, designers, engineers and skilled production staff had overseen the birth of a flagship Rolls- Royce motor car and state-of-the-art production facility on the Goodwood Estate in Southern England. Without parallel in the car industry, the achievement was all the more astonishing for a brand which shouldered the weight of historic ups (and occasional downs) and for which expectations for the future were rightly high. From launch, the Rolls-Royce Phantom proved itself a worthy recipient of the famous Spirit of Ecstasy figurine. From Pantheon grille to long rear overhang, the design was clearly a Rolls-Royce. Every angle revealed a bold yet elegant car with road presence that was second to none. Rolls-RoyceRe-defineLuxury withthePhantomSeriesII Making a modern masterpiece: R O L L S R O Y C E - T H E P H A N T OM S E R I E S I I