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
Source: BMW BLOG
