Rolls-Royce Phantom - British, or German?

Aston Martin · 08-05-03, 11:41 PM

I'd say German, on account of the number of parts (engine, gearbox, suspension, I-Drive, German leather etc.) that come from B.M.W. What does everyone else think?

thepolarfoxqx · 08-06-03, 05:33 AM

are you positive that is german leather, I thought Rolls Royce prided themselves on using only the finest connolly leather? Anyhow, rolls says their interior materials the best in any car, I wouldn't doubt their claim.

Sure the engine is german, but it has been for some time. The germans do make the world's finest engines, this one doesn't dissapoint. The i-drive was a mistake and stab at the heart of rolls' british character.

the german tranny can't be held against it. Let's face it, the #1 and #2 best automatic transmission producer are in germany, ZF and Mercedes Benz, Jaguar, Volvo, Aston, all of the european manufacturers have used ZF or Merc boxes for years.

Even that POS the ZF 22HP4, which went into everything and anything was state of the art in its day, and universal in european cars, even though flooring the gas in park did severe damage to it.

It is car with a british skin and a british heart, but the blood, muscles,and nerves are german.

Aston Martin · 08-06-03, 05:08 PM

Not 100% sure, but I know I heard that somewhere. They do make fine engines, but where's the fun in every car having the same engine? There'd be no difference in character. What they should have done is develop an all-new Rolls' engine which could be adapted to future Rolls', and possibly sold to other manufacturers.
I always saw the engine as the heart of a car, and the rest as the soul. So, that makes the heart German, and about 60% of the soul too. I really did want to like the new Phantom, but it's just way too German.

thepolarfoxqx · 08-06-03, 05:25 PM

develop a whole new line of engines just for rolls? do you honestly believe you could make them bigger than the specially built and tuned 6.75L BMW V12? I really doubt it, that engine is phenomenal. It would be no different than BMW selling rolls the rights to one of their old engines and rolls building it themselves. I see it as good. The british give great character to cars, but I will take the german's engineering every day of the week.

GIR · 08-06-03, 07:06 PM

I'm 100% sure that Rolls Royce only uses British leather because they produce the leather themselves. The skins are from cows that have been grazing in the open not on a field with wires around them, else you get holes in the skin.

They wash, color, steam, stich, etc. the leather themselves. Even though the engine is from BMW, it goes through the same quality checks as Rolls engines did. Rolls still does produce engine's thoug, except not for cars but for planes.

Aston Martin · 08-06-03, 07:27 PM

Rolls-Royce motors is a very different company to the car manufacturer. Well, maybe I'm mistaken about the leather then, but I'm sure I heard somewhere that it was German.
Do I honestly believe Rolls could make an engine bigger and better than B.M.W? It's possible. Not likely, but possible. Besides, I think you rather miss the point I'm making. Say for example the Miura - great engine, but it's well surpassed by the new engine in the Gallardo. However, the Miura is still the best. It's got Italian blood through and through. If you look at all the cars considered you be the best the in the world past and present, you'll notice one thing - not one of them is perfect. That's where the character stems from; the love of the car, faults-and-all. So perhaps if Rolls had an in-house engine it wouldn't be as good as the B.M.W V12, but it'd add a new measure of Rolls' character that isn't available with the B.M.W engine. With everyone now expecting perfection from even the dumpiest of cars, the real truth has become over-shadowed - in the strive for perfection, the very heart and soul of special companies such as Rolls' and Bentley has been lost. After all, isn't that what people pay a quarter of a million pounds for?
Don't get me wrong, the Phantom is a really great car, but it's not a Rolls-Royce.

LateNightCable · 08-06-03, 09:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aston Martin

If you look at all the cars considered you be the best the in the world past and present, you'll notice one thing - not one of them is perfect. That's where the character stems from; the love of the car, faults-and-all. With everyone now expecting perfection from even the dumpiest of cars, the real truth has become over-shadowed - in the strive for perfection, the very heart and soul of special companies such as Rolls' and Bentley has been lost.

I agree with that statement entirely, typo and all. Because it's the absolute truth.

I don't know about now, but in the past, and as far as Bentley goes, the present; the hides come from Scandanavian cows.

Aston Martin · 08-07-03, 12:21 AM

[/quote]

I agree with that statement entirely, typo and all. Because it's the absolute truth.

I don't know about now, but in the past, and as far as Bentley goes, the present; the hides come from Scandanavian cows.[/quote]

No one's perfect, typo and all.

Finally though, someone who agrees.

thepolarfoxqx · 08-07-03, 06:16 AM

the suicide style doors don't even give it britishness? it is the only production car with that, a through back from the grand days of motoring. When rolls was in their heyday, theirs were the best engines built, and now they get the best engines built put in them. I think decision making and production should be left to rolls in england, i'd like to see them use a rolls tuned BMW V12.

So what if the cows are in scandanavia or england, bavaria, it is how they are tanned that makes all the difference, as long as the seats still smell jaguar sweet inside instead of bmw sour, i'm fine with them.

LateNightCable · 08-07-03, 05:22 PM

Rolls really does deserve their very own engine, and very own everything else.

Scandanavian hides make a difference in that, since it's a colder climate, there is minimal scarring due to bug bites. Hey, when your at this level, you consider everything.