The stunning Rolls-Royce Phantom II debuts in India

Rolls-Royce, a name synonymous to prestige, elegance, style, class and royal, presented their Phantom Series II in an exclusive media event held at the Grand Hyatt in Mumbai on Friday.

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The price tag that this new generation Phantom carries is Rs 4.50 crore.

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The prices for the Phantom, Phantom Extended Wheelbase, Phantom Coupe and the Drophead Coupe of the same family will also be dependent on the client specification.

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The new Series II though sees some cosmetic changes in technology, it does retain the basics of the Phantom family.

The Rolls-Royce Phantom Series II made its debut in the presence of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars general manager for emerging markets Asia, Herfried Hasenoehrl and Hal Serudin who is the corporate communications manager, Asia-Pacific, along with director, sales & marketing, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Mumbai, Sharad Kachalia.

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"The Indian market continues to prove its appetite for luxury products. There is sustained demand from the country's discerning client base, who appreciate the timeless design of Phantom Series II," said Herfried Hasenoehrl.

"The excellence in engineering, and the opportunity to commission a Phantom as a blank canvas for the Rolls-Royce bespoke programme, have proven to be significant factors in this model's success in India," he added.

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The first series was launched in 2003 after the BMW Group took the Rolls-Royce marque under its ownership.

In 2011, Rolls-Royce delivered 3,538 cars to customers across the world which was the highest annual sales in the history of Rolls-Royce, a 108 years long history.

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With Bespoke content that makes each Royce a unique one, the brand carved a position for itself in the ultra luxury segment of the auto market.

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The Phantom as well allows the same with 44,000 external paint hues to choose from along with option between wood finish, leather, colours etc.

The Phantom II has a new front with re-styled bumpers and rectangular light apertures with new fully LED headlamps.

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These headlamps will come as a standard for the Phantom Series II and will deliver whiter light which will give the driver a better visibility.

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There will also be new technologies which will help better control lighting. One such technology is the Curve light functionality.

With this one can electronically control reflectors and focus the beams.

The Adaptive headlamps change the cone of light projected onto a road responding to different driving speeds.

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There is a new restyled rear bumper as well.

The car, measuring nearly 20 feet bumper to bumper, will run on 21inch wheels which will have an option of being painted, part-polished or polished.

Keeping the drivetrain same, the Phantom Series II has the V12 6.75-litre engine with a new 8-speed automatic transmission instead of the 6-speed.

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This has been sourced from the BMW and has resulted to a 10 per cent improvement in fuel consumption.

The mill delivers a power of 453bhp and a torque of 719.9Nm. The CO2 emissions have also fallen from 388 to 347g/km.

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There will be new technologies to assist the driver.

These would include a modern user interface which uses a re-designed multi-media controller and a new and updated satellite navigation system, all information from which is presented on the 8.8inch control centre display.

This display will have 8 programmable bookmarks which will allow the driver to access the key functions easily.

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It seems that Rolls-Royce doesn't want to waste any time as with Maybach out of the market, the competition in the super luxury segment is to get tougher.

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Bentley Mulsanne is said to be the main competitor for the Phantom Series II.

It is tagged at a price of Rs. 2.69 crore in India. Bentley's vehicle comes with a 6.8-litre TwinTurbo V8 engine which delivers a power of 512bhp.

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Every part of the Phantom experience should be effortless, so new driver assistance technologies and a modern user interface with re-designed multi-media controller, have been designed for Phantom Series II.

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The new satellite navigation system has been fully updated.

Information, maps and video content is presented on Phantom's larger 8.8-inch control centre display, a feature underlined by eight programmable bookmarks presenting access to key functions at a driver's fingertips.

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Front, rear and top-view camera systems further augment ease of manoeuvring.

When reverse parking, for example, rear path prediction automatically deploys on the screen.

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History

Rolls-Royce Phantom Series I was launched on 1 January 2003, following a five-year development phase, under new ownership of the BMW Group.

In addition to bringing a flagship Rolls-Royce to life, the company also built its state-of-the-art headquarters and production site on the historic Goodwood estate, in the heart of the English countryside.

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This unprecedented achievement was all the more impressive for a brand that shouldered a weight of expectation that came with the famous Rolls-Royce name and Spirit of Ecstasy as its mascot of excellence.

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In 2005, Rolls-Royce launched Extended Wheelbase to join Phantom Saloon.

This was followed by the presentation of unforgettable open-top motoring courtesy of Phantom Drophead Coupe in 2007 and the ultimate grand tourer - Phantom Coupe - which debuted in 2008.

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The Phantom family was joined by the award-winning, less formal Ghost range featuring Ghost Standard Wheelbase and Ghost Extended Wheelbase.

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Phantom's iconic appeal and position as a luxury good without equal has seen its sales increase through the years, along with Ghost.

In 2011, Rolls-Royce delivered 3,538 cars to customers worldwide, up 31 per cent on the previous year's total of 2,711.

This represented the highest annual sales in the 108-year history of Rolls-Royce, the previous best being 3,347 cars sold in 1978.

Sales growth was reported across all regions with Bespoke content at highest-ever levels, reaffirming the brand's position at the pinnacle of the ultra luxury segment.