Highlighting its flagship model’s deep ties to music and pop culture, Rolls-Royce has recreated one of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s most enduring myths to celebrate the Phantom’s centenary.
Rolls-Royce has celebrated the Phantom’s 100-year anniversary by putting one in a swimming pool. Yes, you read that right – the British luxury marque actually put an example of its flagship model into a swimming pool. The reason? Well, to recreate one of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s most endearing legends and pay homage to this car’s association with the music industry.
Keith Moon celebrated his 21st birthday by taking one of his cars for a swim.
Rolls-Royce also looked back at memorable stories from music icons who have owned a Phantom. However, it’s the legend of The Who drummer Keith Moon that drove his Phantom into a swimming pool that arguably resonates the most. Although it is debated whether Moon actually drove a Phantom into a swimming pool on his 21st birthday, it has nonetheless left a lasting mark on the British automaker.
The Holiday Inn in Flint, Michigan was the site of one of the most notorious examples of extreme rock ’n’ roll behaviour in history.
The Who drummer Keith Moon had already left a trail of chaos on the road, diving into swimming pools from hotel rooftops and blowing up toilets with cherry bombs, but it was in Flint where his behaviour reached its peak.
Keith Moon: "Half-a-dozen cars were parked around this swimming pool. I ran out, jumped into the first car I came to, which was a brand new Lincoln Continental. It was parked on a slight hill, and when I took the handbrake off it started to roll, and it smashed straight through this pool-surround fence, and the whole Lincoln Continental went into the swimming pool – with me in it."
The company also highlighted the prominent figures who have owned Phantoms over the years. Iconic musicians who have owned Rolls-Royce Phantoms include Elton John, John Lennon, Duke Ellington, Édith Piaf, Liberace, and the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll himself, Elvis Presley. These artists, among many others, saw the Phantom as a symbol of success and a canvas for self-expression, with several of them creating unique Phantom models, such as Lennon’s psychedelic yellow 1964 Phantom V, Liberace’s 1961 Phantom V, which was covered in tiny mirrors, and Elvis’ Phantom that was fitted with a microphone.
