Every Phantom comes with the glassed-off gallery and customers can commission work from their favorite artist, who then liaises with Rolls-Royce to incorporate the work. "If you have a preference for Jeff Koons, we will work with Jeff Koons," bespoke designer Alex Innes said. Rolls-Royce showed off several examples, including a landscape oil painting by Chinese artist Liang Yuanwei.
Giles Taylor, head of design for Rolls-Royce, said a key goal was to "reinterpret the motor cars' dashboard from being a dead expanse into a riveting focal point." Customers can also choose one of Rolls-Royce's own treatments in wood, silk, leather or metal for the space.
The Phantom's new aluminum spaceframe architecture is 30 percent more rigid than the outgoing BMW platform and was designed "to deliver a Rolls-Royce experience in terms of ride comfort, acoustic comfort, seat comfort, exterior presence and interior space," the company said. The car has 287 pounds of sound insulation and .2362 inches of double-layer glazing. As a result, it is 10 percent quieter inside the car at 60 mph, the company claims.
In the rear of the car, customers can choose individual seats with armrests, individual seats with a center console, a "lounge" seat or a new "sleeping" seat. The console includes a drinks cabinet with whiskey glasses and decanter, champagne flutes and cooling box.
The front console includes the familiar iDrive-style wheel to control functions on the dash screen, which rises from within the glassed-off gallery area when the vehicle is started. There is no touch function available. A 12.3-inch screen in front of the driver replaces traditional dials and delivers information such as navigation instructions.
Mueller-Oetvoes described the car as "the most up-to-date technology-driven Rolls-Royce ever," offering modern functions such as a Wi-Fi hot spot that were unavailable on the previous Phantom.