Rolls-Royce, the fortuitous partnership between Charles Rolls and Frederick Royce introduced the world to a standard of automobile excellence, reliability and luxury that has rarely been equaled. Rolls was the son of a baron and enthusiastic automobile fan practically from before the birth of the first Ford Model T. Royce was a manufacturer of electrical equipment who began building cars in 1904. Thoroughly smitten by Royce's engineering, Rolls knew he could sell them.

The first Rolls-Royce Phantom did not roll into history until 1925, where its straight 6 engine, which boasted a pushrod-driven overhead valve, made it one of the most powerful cars of its time. Only 3,512 Phantoms were manufactured, the majority of them in the United Kingdom.

The Phantom II brought the series one more step into the future with the addition of four-wheel servo-assisted brakes, front end suspension with semi-elliptical springs and a 4-speed manual transmission. A lighter version called the Phantom II Continental was offered during this time, with 125 of the 278 being designed for left-handed driving.

As war loomed in 1939, only 727 Phantom IIIs were manufactured, all of which contained front-end independent coil spring suspension and a V-12 that was all aluminum.

In the 1950's Rolls-Royce was synonymous with exclusive. The very first Rolls-Royce Phantom IV was presented to Queen Elizabeth, with the other 17 made going to various other heads of state, including Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi of Iran and General Francisco Franco of Spain.

From the end of the 1950s well into the 1960s, Rolls-Royce continued its reputations for both excellence and exclusivity. Only 516 Phantom Vs were available for purchase. John Lennon's custom psychedelic paint job made his among the most valuable pieces of rock 'n' roll memorabilia in existence.

The Rolls-Royce Phantom VI was manufactured by Mulliner Park Ward between 1968 and 1991. It was the last Rolls-Royce automobile made with a separate chassis and it introduced rear-hinged rear doors. There were a scant 375 produced.

The last of the Rolls-Royce Phantom series is not considered a true Phantom. Under the ownership of BMW, this series continues the separate chassis and hinged rear doors and looks exactly as one would expect a Rolls-Royce to look. BMW has decided not to manufacture more than 10,000 Rolls-Royces and as of March of 2007, they were one-third of the way to reaching that limit.