Still looks like my 300C, but half a million $$$$ more.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-27/rolls-royce-phantom-viii-specs-design-speed
Damn, that’s a beautiful car…I’m actually surprised it’s only half a million dollars
To me it’s ugly; but then again I’m no fan of Slab Sides styling.
The same reason I don’t care for Chrysler 300s and a certain era of Buick and Cadillac. Just personal opinion is all although I admit a cross-country drive in one of those would be fantastic as far as ride and comfort.
1 Like
Ah the curse of getting old, British Luxury Cars hit rheir styling peak in the 50s and 60s. Just my opinion, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
1 Like
I think the car is gorgeous. But it’s something I’d never buy even if I had the funds.
I’ve got to agree, the styling is old and boring. Looks like a 1960’s Lincoln. Don’t they have to replace the sheet metal dies at some point?
1 Like
My preferred type of styling. My personal physician recently bought one of these. It could explain why office visit costs are sky high…
yeah… a real steal
Compared to some of the custom jobs and other ridiculously high end luxury cars out there? I wouldn’t have been surprised if the price tag was >750k
It’s fun to look at, for the same reason I enjoy watching those PBS tv programs about antiques people bring in from their homes to be valued. The expert will say “Your slightly cracked vase would bring $1500 at auction!” The owner is gob smacked, he’s so happy. This is very pleasing to me too, I’m very happy to let the owner keep his vase, and I’ll keep the $1500 … lol …
And they conveniently make sure that they don’t show how much it actually sells for, which is usually way under what they say it will bring 
2 Likes
People don’t buy RR Phantoms to look at. Or to impress others. Or to drive. They buy them to be chauffeured around town in comfort and luxury. And for trips too short to take the helicopter.
People who like to drive themselves buy Bentleys. I’d love a Bentley. 
3 Likes
An older Bentley, like from the 1980s, probably isn’t overly expensive as a used car.
Right up until it needs maintenance or repair.
Naw, for a guy on a budget like mine to buy a used Bentley would be foolhearty. I cannot be a fool for a car. Only for a woman. 
1 Like
About 20 years ago a young man here bought a Bentley with a bad engine on the cheap. It was a very clean car. He dropped a Ford V-8 and AOD transmission into it and started running a chauffeur service with it; ferrying young people to proms, couples out for an evening on the town and so on. He was actually quite successful with it and operated that Bentley for about 10 years before retiring it and moving on to something else.
As for women, Lord. That’s a whole new ballgame for me.
Wasn’t it somewhat common at one point, to replace Jaguar engines with more reliable and cheaper Chevy small blocks . . . ?
There is a Bentley/ Rolls dealer 2 miles from my place of employment, I see these cars several times a month during road tests, I try to identify the driver but I wouldn’t recognize a ball player.
The Phantom stands out as a noble machine, a sedan the size of a pick-up truck. There is little resemblance between the Chrysler 300 and the Phantom, I have installed dozens of custom grills in 300’s, that doesn’t make it a Rolls or Bentley.
@db4690, there is a company in Dallas, TX that specializes in Jaguar conversions They use Chevrolet engines and transmissions and do a professional job of it. John’s Cars I think is the name.
A friend of mine who passed a few years ago had 2 XKEs out in his barn that he had converted. One was fitted with a Chevy 350 and the other with a Ford 6 cylinder.
Personally, I would have to draw the line at modding (or butchering…) an XKE. The XJ series fine; but not the XKEs.
Those would now be considered classic car conversions, late model Jaguars are not modified in great numbers.
A colleague of mine . . . who is literally a generation older than me . . . is somewhat familiar with such converter Jaguars. He spent years working in independent shops, servicing all sorts of different brands. He said the converter Jaguars were FAR more reliable than the bone stock ones. I have no reason to doubt him