While Rolls-Royce Cullinans, Dawns, Ghosts and Wraiths are a dime a dozen in Los Angeles, it’s still pretty rare to see a Phantom. It’s hard to think of a new car with more road presence then the current Phantom VIII generation, and that’s partially just because of the sheer size of the things. I don’t think people realize exactly how big the new Phantom is, and luckily I spotted one parked behind a Range Rover last night so you have a nice visual example.
Specifically, this new-gen Range Rover is one of the long-wheelbase models, while this Phantom is the short-wheelbase model. Yes, the Range Rover’s suspension is lowered, either through modification or by putting the car into an access mode, but even still it’s wild to see that the Phantom is nearly as tall. At 227.2 inches long, the “smaller” Phantom is 20.2 inches longer than the Range Rover LWB. That’s almost two feet! The SWB Phantom is also 15.3 inches longer than a Cadillac Escalade, and a couple tenths longer than the Escalade ESV.
Spend the $80,000 to upgrade to the Phantom Extended Wheelbase and the car is stretched to 235.8 inches long, with the wheelbase growing from 139.8 inches to 148.5 inches. To put that into perspective, a new Fiat 500e is only 143 inches long. Aside from the extra length, the only tell you’re looking at a Phantom EWB is the extra chrome strip that’s added to the base of the doors.
As you can tell from my photo, Phantoms are tall as hell, too. A Phantom SWB measures 64.8 inches tall while the EWB is four-tenths higher; an Escalade is 76.7 inches tall and a Range Rover is 73.6 inches tall, but they look even closer to the Rolls in person. The Phantom dwarfs other big luxury sedans like the Mercedes S-Class, which is only 59.4 inches tall. Compared to the honestly too small Rolls-Royce Cullinan SUV, a Phantom SWB is 7.4 inches lower but 16.9 inches longer.
One of the only cars that comes close to the Phantom’s sheer size is Rolls-Royce’s own Spectre. The electric coupe is 214.7 inches longer — so also longer than a Range Rover LWB — and it’s 61.4 inches tall. While that’s partially due to the battery pack under the floor, that height paired with the giant coach doors make the Spectre really easy to get in and out of, and provides it with a fantastic view out.
