After 13 years of production, Rolls-Royce replaces Phantom

After a 13-year run as the maker of ultra-luxury cars, Rolls-Royce is ready to replace the Phantom limousine which is worth 350,900-euro ($386,000). The renowned British car-manufacturing company founded by Charles Stewart Rolls and Sir Frederick Henry Royce, Rolls-Royce is set to start building vehicles with lighter aluminum frames.

The eighth generation of the Phantom will debut in 2018, including a planned sport utility vehicle that could be available that year. BMW gained control over the 112-year-old carmaker in 2000. Rolls Royce is now competing with other ultra-luxury producers such as Bentley by entering new model segments. Rolls-Royce, the market leader in making cars costing more than 200,000 euros, is also considering adding electric models.

Meanwhile the Coupe and Drophead Coupe variants won’t be renewed, the U.K. manufacturer said in a statement on Tuesday. A special collectors’ range of 50 cars, dubbed the Phantom Zenith, will mark the end of the Coupe versions this year and feature a special tailgate with seats for country picnics.
According to CEO of Rolls Royce, Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes, the new model will be a “contemporary and beautiful Phantom enhanced with cutting-edge technologies and design innovations.”

Rolls-Royce’s deliveries last year fell 6.8 percent to 3,785 vehicles after demand in China contracted 54 percent. That compares with deliveries of 1.9 million cars by the German parent’s namesake BMW marque.