Rolls-Royce introduces special edition Phantom to celebrate the Year of the Dragon 08/19/2011
Rolls-Royce is gaining popularity in China, and to further solidify its place in the Chinese market, the British automaker has unveiled the "Year of the Dragon" lineup of luxury sedans. Next year is the Year of the Dragon on the Chinese calendar, and to celebrate, Rolls-Royce will be appropriately decking out the Phantom.
The Bespoke division of Rolls-Royce, which handles all custom orders, was behind the design of the special edition model. The exterior of the Dragon Phantom will have gold, hand-painted dragons on both sides of the car that are inspired by the Forbidden City in Beijing, according to Motor Authority. Both dragons will face forward so they are symmetrical.
The interior will have golden dragons emblazoned on the headrests. They will be hand-embroidered on the driver's choice of tan, white, black or golden sand leather, Top Speed reports. The dragon will also be featured on the passenger side of the dash, and the door sills will have LED illuminated treadplates that read "Year of the Dragon 2012."
TopSpeed states that the recent expansion of the Bespoke division has allowed Rolls-Royce more freedom to explore the world of special edition vehicles. And with the Phantom's 90th anniversary just four years away, there is a good chance that the British car company will do something special to mark the occasion.
The first edition of the luxury sedan was built in 1925 to replace the Silver Ghost. The New Phantom, as it was known then, is now more commonly called the Phantom I. The car was equipped with a new pushrod-driven overhead valve, straight-six 7.7-liter engine that was the height of power for its time, according to iChauffer.co.uk. The latest production run of the Phantom began in 2003, and is the seventh series that Rolls Royce has produced.