Rolls-Royce Phantom V Limousine (1959 – 1968) Review

In 1959, Rolls-Royce produced one of the largest cars ever to emerge from its Crewe factory, and used the occasion to launch its now-familiar 6.3-litre V8 engine. It was a suitably enormous car build for heads of state and the super-rich – tipping the scales at almost 3000kg. The Phantom V had a 3.6m wheelbase and the passenger space was suitably enormous – especially in the rear. Under the bonnet, the new pushrod V8 owed much to the engines built by Chrysler and GM in America – even down to the aluminium block and cylinder heads, which was fashionable in the USA at the time.

Power steering was standard – it needed to be – as was automatic transmission, while underneath the imposing bodywork was a lengthened version of the Silver Cloud's chassis. Coachwork options were offered, although most buyers went for the HJ Mulliner six-light styling, usually painted black. Performance was adequate for what was expected of the car, but fuel consumption was astronomical if the car was pushed. In 1968, it was replaced by the even more extravagant but visually similar 6.7-litre Phantom VI, and that car remained available well into the 1990s.