Rolls-Royce never misses an opportunity to build a special car whenever an anniversary comes up. It s been 60 years since the James Bond film Goldfinger came out. The third installment in the 007 movie franchise had a spectacular villain car. If you haven t seen the motion picture, Auric Goldfinger had a 1937 Phantom III Sedanca de Ville. Six decades later, the black-and-yellow movie car gets a modern-day equivalent.
Starting with a Phantom Extended, Rolls-Royce made a one-off with exactly the same yellow shade as the movie car. They achieved the two-tone finish by painting the upper body, above the signature coachline, in black. The 21-inch black wheels with a disc-like design and silver accents are also a throwback to Phantom III. A further visual nod to the classic car is noticeable at the front where the Spirit of Ecstasy figurine has solid gold inserts combined with a silver coat.
More gold can be found inside, where opulence prevails. The pièce de résistance is undoubtedly the illuminated solid 18-carat gold bar between the front seats. Instead of the usual boxy shape, it’s a scale model of the car. As if that wasn t flashy enough, the Phantom Goldfinger stands out with a gold finish for the air vents and speakers. The treadplates look like gold bars, and the VIN plaque is dipped in 24-carat gold as well. Fun fact RR went through the trouble of securing a vehicle identification number that ends in 007.
In the back, the picnic tables made from walnut have 22-carat gold inlays that are only 0.1 mm deep. It took RR six months and three prototypes to finalize the design. A closer look reveals a fictional map of Fort Knox with all the locations where Goldfinger plans to attack. Look up and the glitzy 719-star headliner shows the constellation as seen over the Furka Pass on July 11, 1964. That s where and when filming wrapped up in Switzerland.
Rolls-Royce claims that they have already delivered the car to a collector from the UK. It’s no coincidence that the Phantom Goldfinger wears the AU 1 license plate, as seen on the Phantom III Sedanca de Ville back in 1964.
It s worth noting that in Ian Fleming s 1959 Goldfinger novel, Auric Goldfinger drove a different Rolls-Royce, a Silver Ghost.
Source: Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce Phantom Goldfinger
1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III Sedanca de Ville
First published by https://www.bmwblog.com