Rolls-Royce, a company that is owned by BMW, is now testing early prototypes for the next-generation Phantom. This time around, the model was spied towing a cargo trailer in Spain.
After 13 years of continuous production, the first iteration of the Rolls-Royce Phantom for the 21st century will finally go out of production by year’s end. It is a little baffling that Rolls-Royce hasn’t started testing the next-generation Phantom a few years ago, but oh well, at least it will be good to go in 2018.
To keep up with the recently facelifted Bentley Mulsanne, the 2018 Rolls-Royce Phantom will be infused with more luxury, more refinement, as well as more techy stuff. The big news regarding the Phantom Mk2 is an all-new vehicle platform inspired by the BMW CLAR (Cluster Architecture). This means that we’re in for high-strength steel, aluminum, as well as carbon fiber.
In other words, the Phantom Mk2 will be lighter than the current model. By how much, nobody knows for certain at this point. In the case of the BMW 7 Series, the high-tech architecture helped the full-size luxobarge shed up to 130 kilograms (286 pounds). Be that as it may, the 2018 Rolls-Royce Phantom is sure to tip the scales at more than two tons, but not quite the 2,635 kg (5,809 lbs) the current Phantom prides itself on for the 2016 model year.
As far as the interior is concerned, the Phantom Mk2 (or the eighth generation if older models are taken into consideration) will get a dashboard layout that’ll consist of two large TFT displays: one acting as the instrument cluster, one for infotainment purposes. And finally, it will get the latest technology from BMW AG, including autonomous driving and gesture control.
Not much is known about the upcoming Phantom’s powertrain, yet all clues lead toward a twin-turbo V12 with obscene amounts of torque for effortless get-up-and-go. The CLAR-inspired platform can be easily modified to accommodate some sort of electrification. This is a long shot right now, but the 2018 Rolls-Royce Phantom could be offered in plug-in hybrid form as well.
The Rolls-Royce Cullinan SUV will definitely go the way of the PHEV, so why wouldn’t the Phantom follow in the footsteps of its sibling?
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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