Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe (2008) CAR review

Good to sit in, but good to drive?

Very good. Refinement levels are extraordinary – this is easily the quietest car we’ve ever tested, Phantom saloon excepted. Sitting in the Rolls-Royce at idle is like relaxing in a hermetically sealed vault. And that refinement never fades. It may have 2590kg to haul around but performance from the 6749cc V12 is never anything but silken, swift and silent. With 453bhp at 5350rpm and a hefty 531lb ft of torque at 3500rpm, the Phantom flows along with effortless ease, six-speed transmission slipping imperceptible between ratios. It may not bolt forward on wide throttle openings with the vigour to match twin-turbo specials like the Brooklands or Maybach but then the Phantom isn’t about gauche displays of power.

Does it fall to bits around corners?

Not a bit of it. Body control is extraordinary for something so large – you don’t exactly go hot hatch baiting in a Rolls-Royce, but on a winding A-road the Coupe flows along far more quickly and cleanly that you’d anticipate. Compared to the saloon, the Coupe gets uprated suspension and a tweaked steering set-up. It works very well – the car feeling surprisingly alert and keen to change direction despite its size and weight. Lovely brakes too. The ride quality is equally astounding. Even over the most acned surfaces the Coupe simply glides with an imperious serenity, it’s suspension silently insulating the cabin from intrusion.

It doesn’t exactly look massive in the back

Good point. For a car over five and a half metres long with a three metres plus wheelbase, packaging is almost comical. Sure, there’s ample of room aboard for four and their luggage, but accommodation is generous and no more. Maybach and Bentley rivals may have it licked for head, hip and elbow room, but there’s still something very special about travelling in the rear of the Coupe.