Why the Rolls-Royce Phantom Became the Daily Driver of Movie Stars — and Dictators

While performing in the Gershwins’ musical Funny Face in London in 1928, Fred Astaire bought a custom-bodied 1927 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Town Car. He was so impressed with the vehicle, he shipped it back to the States after the run, outfitted with a custom Louis Vuitton trunk for his tap shoes. Likewise, when Marlene Dietrich arrived in Hollywood from Germany in 1930, executives at Paramount greeted her with a green Phantom I convertible. The car even appeared in her Hollywood debut, Morocco, which earned Dietrich her only Oscar nomination.

Since its release in 1925 — 100 years and eight generations ago — the Rolls-Royce Phantom has maintained its position as the British ultra-luxury brand’s most expensive (and exclusive) model. Hailed for their seemingly effortless power, supple ride, technologically sophisticated gizmos and exquisite interior and exterior appointments, Phantoms have been the ultimate celebrity status symbol nearly since the nameplate’s release. This was partly by design.

“In the early days, Hollywood encouraged their stars to ride around in very expensive cars,” says Leslie Kendall, curator of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, “because it enhanced their celebrity and by extension, the celebrity of the studio.”

They weren’t necessarily the most demanding clients. The Phantom IV limousines of the 1950s were built solely for autocrats and rulers like the Shah of Iran, General Francisco Franco of Spain and Queen Elizabeth II of England. “To own a Phantom IV, you had to qualify as a head of state or of royal birth,” Kendall says. “That was the most elusive Phantom and the one that was off limits even to Hollywood.”

But as musicians became royalty in their own right, they ascended the leather throne. Big band leaders Duke Ellington and Count Basie traveled by Rolls-Royce, likely in a Phantom II or III. Elvis Presley customized a 1963 Phantom V with a telephone and a microphone in case inspiration struck. French songbird Édith Piaf was a Phantom fanatic, as were soul legends Sam Cooke and Al Green.

In 1964, John Lennon bought a Phantom V, commissioned a custom psychedelic paint job and outfitted it with a record and cassette player and external speakers. (As if seeking a cleanse, he purchased a second Phantom in 1968 in white-on-white.) Liberace covered one of his Rollses, a 1962 Phantom V convertible, in a disco ball of tiny mirrors; it co-starred in his endless Vegas residency.

Liberace’s flamboyant heir, Elton John, validated his success with a white Phantom VI. While being driven to a 1973 Manchester concert, he spotted a newer brown Phantom in a dealership, instructed his chauffeur to pull over, bought the car and rode in it to the event. Later, he outfitted it with a stereo so potent the back windshield required shatterproof reinforcements. He customized another, a 1962 Phantom V, with a disinhibited cotton candy livery, inside and out.

“If you bought one of these cars, you didn’t sneak it home at night and hide it in the garage. You paraded it,” says Kendall. “It is beyond conspicuous consumption.”

Phantom took a break in the ’90s as Rolls reorganized. But when Phantom VII was released in 2003, it immediately became a hip-hop icon. T-Pain, 2 Chainz, Big Boi, Fat Joe, Rick Ross and Pharrell Williams all bought in. Drake’s manager gifted him a Phantom that the rapper had rented “to keep up appearances.” And Jay-Z and Beyoncé purportedly commissioned a $28 million custom-bodied “Boat Tail” convertible, based on a Phantom VIII’s underpinnings.

The next-generation Phantom IX will be electrified, like all future Rollses. But that seems unlikely to dim its allure in Hollywood. “A Phantom will always be equal parts elegant and intimidating,” Kendall says. “So, you’re always going to have that turn-your-head-and-see-who’s-inside phenomenon. You can’t help but peek.”

This story appeared in the Oct. 15 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.