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When the Rolls-Royce Phantom went on sale in 2003, it was a pretty big deal. After the whole VW/BMW battle over the R-R/Bentley empire, BMW emerged as the owner of Rolls. Soon after, the Phantom was shown, making a huge statement about the future of Rolls-Royce. A big car with even bigger shoes to fill, the Phantom used retro styling cues to update the brand and bring a whole new audience to the marque.
Flash forward four years and Rolls-Royce has managed to do pretty well with its "new" Rolls. With Bentley and Maybach as its only true competition, the big Roller has managed to hold its own. Still the car of choice among the ultra rich in many parts of America, Europe and Asia, in particular, R-R has managed to sell a whopping 3,000 Phantoms over the years.
Car number 3,000 was recently feted as a corporate milestone at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars of London. Mrs. Tchenguiz-Imerman, a London socialite, was the customer who commissioned lucky number 3,000 from Sales Manager Stephen Foulds, who happens to be the most successful Phantom seller in the world with more than 130 units sold. In a small ceremony, she accepted the keys to her Diamond Black Phantom from Rolls-Royce Chairman and Chief Executive, Ian Robertson. The Goodwood plant and the London dealership have been a big part of the legacy of Rolls-Royce, and so it was fitting that this milestone event involved those two institutions. A plaque inside the glovebox marks this particular car as lucky number 3,000.
[Source: Rolls Royce]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
ellerton @ Mar 9th 2007 2:41PM
That woman is broken...
3cubedminus3squared @ Mar 9th 2007 2:49PM
hey guys, I can't seem to be able to send you a news tip so I will put it in here: Looks like Aston Martin was sold.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/main.jhtml?xml=/motoring/2007/03/09/mnaston09.xml
Back on topic, I thought they would of sold more by now since rappers seem to buy these all the times (just watch MTV Cribs). But its still a pretty nice accomplishment.
fordman @ Mar 9th 2007 3:05PM
3 things:
1- I wonder how many men have been inside her
2- I wonder how many old men she has outlived
2- I wonder what that lingerie looks like under that fur coat
Mike M. @ Mar 9th 2007 3:13PM
That's Sue Ellen Mischke!!!
Michael Bakshi @ Mar 9th 2007 5:53PM
So, that's the new 60, huh?
BOB @ Mar 9th 2007 8:30PM
BRILLIANT MARKET PLACEMENT!!
Note huge sales. Note that the "correctly conservative" Maybach sold 298 cars in the US in 2005-2006.
"Mrs. Tchenguiz-Imerman, a London socialite"
-- Not knocking her, but in her fishnets and furs, she is the client that the present Rolls management was smart enough to go after. (If I read correctly, she is Iranian Jewish from a hugely successful family, married to a hugely successful South African Jewish businessman.)
I laugh at those who think Rolls is the bespoke carriage of the old moneyed and blue-blooded Anglican country set, in a mythical Edwardian England, and one joins that group somehow when purchasing a Rolls. Those days died long ago.
I see fairly young people (who look like oil money, not old money) driving these cars in Beverly Hills, whereas the previous Rolls customer was more like 70-something.
-- and again, I am NOT saying anything bad about the new money people, or anyone's ethnicity. Good for them for being able to create all that wealth! I am just smiling at how the supposedly Aristocratic car has been a glitzy car for decades, and BMW was smart enough to capitalize on the reality in a new, much younger, way.