Rolls-Royce announces a ghostly exhibition

At the end of July, The Eight Great Phantoms will be gathering together in Mayfair, London.

With the first ever Rolls-Royce Phantom making its debut in 1925, the car holds the record for having the longest existing nameplate in motoring.

The Great Eight Phantoms exhibition is a testament to this long-standing record, and will bring together the most famous examples of all seven previous generations of the car.

In the first of eight reveals by the car company, Rolls-Royce will unveil which famous Phantoms will travel to London for the exhibition.

The first car to be unveiled is ‘The Fred Astaire Phantom I’ which has been loaned by the Pertersen Museum in Los Angeles.

The Phantom I was first produced in 1925, under the codename code-named Eastern Armoured Car. This suggested Rolls-Royce was intent on producing the kind of military vehicles used in the First World War, most famously by Lawrence of Arabia.

Sections of armour plate were left lying around the factory to confuse curious competitors.

The Phantom I was an instant success. The new 7.668-litre straight-six engine gave the car a fresh spring in its step.

When General Motors opened a testing ground in Michigan, it was discovered that no cars could manage even two laps of the four mile circuit at full throttle without damaging their engines big ends – where the piston attaches to the crankshaft.

However, Phantom I performed with consummate imperiousness and managed that, and more, at a steady 80mph without failure.

PR specialist Gill Pegram said: ‘Every Rolls-Royce Phantom is an exceptional car, but thanks to their pedigree, this particular collection will include some very singular cars indeed, all owned at some point by famous individuals, and having played their part in witnessing the making of world history.

‘This is such an uncommon pageant, it is no exaggeration to say we might never see the likes of it again.’

o To keep up-to-date with the reveal of The Great Eight Phantoms, people can search Twitter using the hashtag #GreatPhantoms.