Skip to playerSkip to main content
  • 5 months ago
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars' CEO, Chris Brownridge, offers an exclusive look at the first-ever gathering of all eight generations of the Rolls-Royce Phantom at the iconic Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. This historic event celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Phantom, which first launched in 1925. Brownridge calls the Phantom the "absolute pinnacle of Rolls-Royce," noting its status as the longest-standing nameplate in the entire automotive sector. He explains that Phantom has always been a blank canvas for the brand's bespoke craftsmanship and artistry. In fact, a growing demand for these custom creations has led Rolls-Royce to open private offices around the world, where designers work directly with clients to create their unique masterpieces.

The modern Phantom VIII Series II is a perfect example of the brand's philosophy: blending cutting-edge technology with a serene, minimalist user experience. Brownridge says clients want their car to feel like an "oasis," appreciating technology that's present but never overwhelming. The entire client experience is a core part of their business, starting from the moment a client walks into a showroom until they drive off in their new vehicle. Pebble Beach, which Brownridge describes as a "luxury week," is the perfect place for Rolls-Royce to showcase its brand and the complete luxury experience it delivers.

Read more on Forbes:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottyreiss/

For more from Scotty Reiss:
https://agirlsguidetocars.com/

Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1

Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:

https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript

Stay Connected
Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com

Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.
Transcript
00:00We are here at the world famous Pebble Beach Concorde d'Elegance and we have a very special
00:05opportunity today to see the first assemblage of all eight generations of the Rolls-Royce Phantom.
00:14With me here is the head of Rolls-Royce, Chris Brownridge. Nice to see you Chris.
00:18And to you. Thank you for spending some time with us. Tell us about the collection that we
00:22have here on the lawn at Pebble Beach. It is a showcase of the engineering excellence of
00:28Rolls-Royce combined with the superlative luxury. In 2025 we celebrate 100 years of Rolls-Royce Phantom.
00:36During that 100 years there have been eight different generations of this fantastic motor
00:40car and Phantom represents the absolute pinnacle of Rolls-Royce and the lineage is very clear. This
00:46is the longest standing nameplate in the whole automotive sector and Phantom is a remarkable
00:52motor car. If you've ever travelled in a Phantom, whether it's Phantom 1 through to Phantom 8,
00:57it's a memorable experience. Phantom has always been the perfect blank canvas for our bespoke
01:02craftsmanship and artistry. Rolls-Royce is a very successful business and our success continues to
01:08strengthen and strengthen. One of the trends which is very very clear and present for us
01:13is the growth and demand from our client base all over the world for more and more bespoke
01:19commissions of their Rolls-Royces. And to that end we've opened a number of private offices around the
01:25world where we have designers from Goodwood based in these private offices who can interact directly
01:30with our clients to create their remarkable masterpieces. We obviously work with our wonderful
01:35dealer network where we have 128 partners but when our clients want to break through the possibilities
01:40of a dealer commission that's where the private office comes to life and the demand through these
01:45private offices is growing year after year after year. One of the most important or fundamental facts to a
01:52house of luxury is we measure our success in terms of the value we create and what I mean by that is
01:57for our clients when we create a masterpiece like this for a client they really enjoy it and that's
02:02just creating value for them and of course the more complex these commissions are the greater the value
02:07we're creating for our business because in the last 12 months we've launched the Series 2 Cullinan,
02:13we've launched the Series 2 Ghost and just a couple of months ago we introduced the Black Badge Spectre which
02:18has been a huge success as well so there's an awful lot happening at Rolls-Royce.
02:25Our clients like an oasis this is what our research and their feedback directly to us tells us they
02:30want to feel calm in their motor car they don't want to be over faced with technology but they want
02:34to know that it's there and arguably I'd say in every Rolls-Royce there's always been cutting-edge
02:39technology but it's how you present it to the client so you make their Rolls-Royce a pleasure to drive
02:43they could just get into their car and drive it and enjoy it from the moment they start.
02:48We're very blessed to have a fantastic network of dealers all across the world we have 128 dealerships
02:54but we have the highest expectation of our dealerships and they have the highest expectation
02:58of us it's a very very strong partnership the reason that's very important to us is because the
03:04client experience is a core part of our product offer so it's not just the motor car it's the experience
03:09itself and so for every one of our dealers we expect every moment they spend together in
03:14the beautiful showroom environments to be one that the client really enjoys it's a place where
03:18clients feel comfortable and relaxed where they have conversations not processes every experience is
03:23curated and it's a very special moment from the second they walk in the door to the moment they
03:28drive off in their brand new Rolls-Royce.
03:32This is Phantom 8 Series 2 so this represents the latest and current incarnation of Phantom and when you
03:38look at the face of this motor car you know it's a Phantom from the presence of the Pantheon grille
03:43the presentation of the spirit of ecstasy and of course the dramatic monolithic design cues from
03:49the motor car it's a true thoroughbred. Behind me we've got every generation of Rolls-Royce Phantom
03:54that's a very special moment but Monterey is a very special event I'd argue it's probably the greatest
04:00car event in the world but more than that I think it's become like a luxury week and so it's a perfect
04:05place for Rolls-Royce to be so from my perspective to be here it's a great opportunity for us to
04:11spend more time with our clients and that's something that we really value at Rolls-Royce
04:15is what makes our brand particularly unique not just the beautiful motor cars we make but the
04:19experiences we deliver to our clients
Comments

Recommended