Rolls-Royce Phantom VI
wow.
In comparison to the Maybach in particular, and the Continental GT (not necessarily its most direct competitor, but certainly indicative of the direction VW is taking with Bentley corporate styling) ... this is just fantastically cool.
I dig the Continental GT, but this captures the classic air of Rolls so much better, IMO.
Your thoughts?
In comparison to the Maybach in particular, and the Continental GT (not necessarily its most direct competitor, but certainly indicative of the direction VW is taking with Bentley corporate styling) ... this is just fantastically cool.
I dig the Continental GT, but this captures the classic air of Rolls so much better, IMO.
Your thoughts?
Comments
Phantom Killer.
[ 01-12-2003: Message edited by: ShawnPatrickJoyce ]</p>
The Cadillac Sixten in the previous post is infinitely more desirable than the Phantom VI, and I have consistently disliked American cars. The Maybach is bland and strangely Japanese in how derivative its styling is. However, the Bentley Continental GT has grown on me enormously, but as you said, its not really a competitor here. $160,000 for the Bentley versus $250,000-$350,000 for the others.
[ 01-12-2003: Message edited by: Ari ]
[ 01-12-2003: Message edited by: Ari ]</p>
Just look at those rear doors with proper openings, so much more elegent for ladys. the Phantom just has class, the Maybach just looks crass.
[ 01-12-2003: Message edited by: Addison ]
[ 01-12-2003: Message edited by: Addison ]</p>
Personally, I don't really like any of these. They all look really stodgie. I think I prefer something as simple as a BMW 7 or an Audi A8. Or a Snoop Deville, but that's not out on the market yet.
:chill:
(
[ 01-12-2003: Message edited by: Splinemodel ]</p>
b) how wheels with automatically self-righting, magnetically aligned Rolls emblems, being a monstrous 24"... are anything close to cheap.
I agree that I'd probably prefer a 7 or something... but stodgy and classic is the raison d'etre of Rolls-Royce. And this car captures it perfectly.
The Maybach looks so similar to a bigger S-Class that it's sickening. The classic sentiment of this new Roller is the killer. It's retro, but no-holds-barrededly so. And that's what makes it so killer. It's retro, but without the annoying modern touches (a la the Lincoln LS interior in the Thunderbird) that kill the whole retro theme.
Plus, it's called Phantom. Hot diggedy.
<strong>^ That's the wrong price range though, Spline.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Yeah, I know how much a Rolls costs. It doesn't mean I think they're good cars, though. It's too fugly. The Retro concept is a waste of time, and it's a design travesty. Nothing should ever be "retro." I'd rather have a cheaper car that (1) looks better and (2) performs better.
And don't tell me this dumb Rolls is going to outperform something like an M7.
The rear hinged doors are the most remarkable thing on it, aesthetically, yet it looks much better on an early-1960s Lincoln Continental.
Classic Rolls-Royces were never truly ?retro?, they just kept using outdated styling, but then so many other postwar British cars did the same (perhaps due to longing for lost empires).
If you ask me, R-R was going downhill since the Cloud:
<strong>The Phantom VI is just square and bulky, it lacks the classic Rolls-Royce elegance (of which the Seraph had, well, some), the Maybach just looks silly, although they are probably both techincally good. The Cadillac concept looks positively good in comparison (and much better than the dogawful recent Cadillacs).
The rear hinged doors are the most remarkable thing on it, aesthetically, yet it looks much better on an early-1960s Lincoln Continental.
Classic Rolls-Royces were never truly ?retro?, they just kept using outdated styling, but then so many other postwar British cars did the same (perhaps due to longing for lost empires).
If you ask me, R-R was going downhill since the Cloud:
</strong><hr></blockquote>
Same opinion for me, i don't like this bulk and square design.
I prefer the A8 or the Mercedes S, even if they are cheaper. I don't like either the new BMW 7, the old one was much better in my opinion in a design point of vue.
Although the RR isn't something that you drive. Its something that your hire someone else to drive for you. It must be a really good car to ride in considering its price tag.
<a href="http://homepage.mac.com/tacojohn/PhotoAlbum19.html"; target="_blank">Check out some pics from the show.</a>
I must say of all the cars the Aston Martin Vantage was the most attractive.
<strong>Same opinion for me, i don't like this bulk and square design.
I prefer the A8 or the Mercedes S, even if they are cheaper. I don't like either the new BMW 7, the old one was much better in my opinion in a design point of vue.</strong><hr></blockquote>
If I had to choose I'd take the A8, as any Benz without the brillant around the windows just looks ?cheap? to my eyes. The previous Bimmer Siebener with its somewhat discreetly classical line (for a luxury car it bears witness to taste, but the Bavarians bigshots may have thought flashing was the way to go) was definitely better looking than the new one, which seems to be shouting ?hey lookit me, I'm disgracious!?
A successfully unusual design is a tour de force (as was shown by Citroën with the DS) and is often likely to be awful (as shown recently by GM with the Pontiac Aztek, among others).
But then successful design is no guarantee against commercial failure, as the Studebaker Avanti or the Facel-Vega Excellence can testify.
<strong><a href="http://homepage.mac.com/tacojohn/PhotoAlbum19.html"; target="_blank">Check out some pics from the show.</a>
I must say of all the cars the Aston Martin Vantage was the most attractive.</strong><hr></blockquote>
The Aston-Martin Vainquish certainly has a better line than most of them (even more so if in a Vantage version), the Bentley GT is also aesthetically pleasant.
As far as big luxurious four-door cars are concerned, the größer VW platform (Audi A8 and VW Phaeton, upon which the Bentley GT is also based) seem the palatable one nowdays. They do lack the feel of Byzantine debauchery so pervasive in the 1950 to 1980 big Detroiters, which I had developed a taste for.
Whoever designed it kept just enough of the smooth British curves to clash horribly with the square, coarse, industrial slabs on the front of the car, and on the wheels. It's graceless and conflicted, and sterile.
If they were gunning for classic British design, they missed by leagues. Classic British design means curves, the latter-day bar-of-soap RRs and Bentleys notwithstanding.
The Cadillac looks much better - which is to say, it looks pretty good.
They're all completely ridiculous vehicles, but there will always be a market for those...
<strong>The Cadillac looks much better - which is to say, it looks pretty good.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Okay, the RR doesn't look great, but no way in Hell does the Cadillac look any better. In fact it looks much worse in my eyes. I could at least imagine myself being chauffered around in the RR.
My uncle had a 70s or 80s era Silver Shadow...I wonder if he still has it...
<strong>
The Aston-Martin Vainquish certainly has a better line than most of them (even more so if in a Vantage version), the Bentley GT is also aesthetically pleasant.
As far as big luxurious four-door cars are concerned, the größer VW platform (Audi A8 and VW Phaeton, upon which the Bentley GT is also based) seem the palatable one nowdays. They do lack the feel of Byzantine debauchery so pervasive in the 1950 to 1980 big Detroiters, which I had developed a taste for.</strong><hr></blockquote>
I must say that I'm in love the the new Audi A8 and VW Phaeton- mostly the Phaeton. I like to be different and a super luxury VW would be!
<strong> The front looks as though it were borrowed from a trailer truck.</strong><hr></blockquote>The front is just h o r r e n d o u s ly ugly. What were the designers on? Geeeeeez...
- T.I.
<strong>
Okay, the RR doesn't look great, but no way in Hell does the Cadillac look any better. In fact it looks much worse in my eyes. I could at least imagine myself being chauffered around in the RR.</strong><hr></blockquote>
That's probably because the Caddy is built on a Corvette platform, and there's no back seat.
I maintain that the Cad looks better simply by not looking like the fruit of an unholy union between a bland, late model Rolls and a Volvo truck. That's not to say it looks great, but it at least looks like the same designer was responsible for the whole thing.