Rolls-Royce Phantom 2008 News

Europeans tore themselves away from exotic supercars to catch a close-up glimpse of the Nano, a tiny, basic and extremely cheap runabout which promises to turn the motoring world on its head.

In a new sales record for Australia, 17 cars were sold last year - netting the company in the region of $17 million.Sticker prices for the exclusive cars start at $915,000 for a base model Phantom, and rise to $1.2 million for a drophead coupe.Australia recorded 12 sales for the whole of 2006.The strong demand pushed sales growth to 10.4 per cent in the Asia Pacific region.Australia is the third-largest market in the region for the BMW subsidiary, following China and Japan.Sales in China grew by about 70 per cent, while sales to the Arab Emirates increased by about 50 per cent.Worldwide, Rolls-Royce sales increased by 25 per cent, with 1010 cars sold in 2007.North America remained the biggest single market for the luxury vehicles and accounted for 40 per cent of last year's total sales.Porsche also enjoyed a good year during 2007.The company's sale of 1380 cars included 47 sold in December alone.Just 20 sales were made in the same month in 2006, with a total of 1154 sales.Close to record sales were recorded across the automotive industry in general in Australia last year. Why do you think Rolls-Royce sales have jumped? Are we getting richer? 

Twenty five of the Bespoke cars, called Phantom Black, have been hand built at Goodwood in England. They feature lustrous metallic "Diamond Black" paintwork, 21-inch alloy wheels and visible tail pipes. Under the bonnet the 6.75 litre V12 engine has gloss black inlet manifolds, chrome plated top covers and new black Rolls-Royce badges. The company boasts the motor is almost silent while pumping out 337kW and can sprint from 0-100km/h in 5.7sec with a limited top speed of 239km/h. It might be bling outside and muscle under the bonnet, but inside, it is still all gentlemen's club with soft black leather upholstery edged with "Seashell" piping, black ash wood veneer and silver pinstripe on the door capping. However, the steering wheel has a slightly thicker rim, hinting at its sporting dynamics. All 25 Phantom Blacks have been snapped up. Who knows; they could feature in the next hip hop video.