The name Rolls-Royce needs no introduction – as the beacon of luxury and refinement in the automotive realm, it continues to set the standards for unrivaled ride quality. Also because royalties and industry leaders need absolute silence to hear themselves think.
With the aim of creating “the most silent motor car in the world”, extremely meticulous measures have been implemented on the new eight generation Rolls-Royce Phantom including the incorporation of 6mm two-layer glazing all around the car, together with more than 130 kg of sound insulation and the largest ever cast aluminium joints in a body-in-white for better sound insulation.
Road noise is also dampened with employment of double skin alloy on areas within the floor and bulkhead of the aluminium spaceframe chassis construction – a feature unique to new Phantom. Taking things a step further, dense foam and felt layers are inserted between these skins for increased sound insulation – a method not witnessed before in the car industry.
On the inside of the Phantom, high absorption layers within the headliner, in the doors and boot cavity have further aid insulation and reduce reverberation. Rolls-Royce also worked closely with its tyre supplier to invent something called “Silent-Seal” tyres – featuring a specific foam layer placed inside the tyre to reduce overall tyre noise by 9db for effortless conversation in the vehicle’s cabin.
This contributes to approximately 10 per cent quieter than its predecessor at 100km/h. When Rolls-Royce’s acoustic test engineer first reviewed results road and vibration tests, the sound levels were so low they had to check their instruments were calibrated correctly.
With the focus on creating the most silent motor car in the world, the Phantom also benefits from a completely new 6.75-litre V12 engine which is now twin-turbocharged. This replaces the previous naturally-aspirated V12 engine, for higher low-end output at lower revs to ensure that silence.
Also as a result, the V12 powertrain produces a blinding 900 Nm of torque from as low as 1,700 rpm on top of 563 hp, delivering power through an 8-speed ZF gearbox.
The new Rolls-Royce also comes with something called the Flagbearer, a stereo camera system integrated in the windscreen to see the road ahead, adjusting its suspension proactively rather than reactively up to 100km/h.
With that, the new Rolls-Royce Phantom resets the benchmark not only as ‘the Best Car in the World’, but as the world’s leading luxury item.
