Rolls Royce celebrates 60 years of arguably Sean Connery’s best James Bond film (calm down, From Russia with Love die) with a special one-off Phantom Extended.
The bespoke sedan is, unsurprisingly, called the Rolls Royce Phantom Goldfingerand is inspired by the 1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III Sedanca de Ville of villain Auric Goldfinger in the title film Goldfinger.
The Phantom Goldfinger took Rolls-Royce three years to develop and is a treat for any fan of the third James Bond film, packed with subtle and not-so-subtle references to the film.
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It’s being delivered to a “major Rolls-Royce customer and collector based in England” who we can only assume isn’t a supervillain himself.
The exterior is finished in a yellow color that ‘just matches’ Auric Goldfinger’s vintage Rolls, with a wraparound black finish that gives the Phantom a two-tone effect.
The 21-inch wheels are finished in black with silver ‘floating hubcaps’, again inspired by the 1937 vehicle.
In a particularly esoteric touch, the Spirit of Ecstasy is designed to have a ‘gold revealing’ effect, as a nod to Mr Goldfinger’s smuggling of gold in the body panels of his Phantom III.
Rolls-Royce achieved this by plating a silver Spirit of Ecstasy with 18-karat gold, to give it the effect of the reverse: solid gold hidden with a silver layer.
The Phantom Goldfinger also carries AU 1 license plates, a reference not only to the car from the film, but also to the chemical symbol for gold on the periodic table of elements.
Inside, a bevy of Easter eggs are scattered throughout the cabin, which is finished in Navy leather with Royal Walnut veneer to give the gold finish maximum visual impact.
We hope this owner loves gold as much as the character played by Gert Fröbe, because there’s a lot of it in the interior – especially an illuminated solid 18-carat gold bar in the shape of a Phantom, located in the center console in a “hidden safe”.
Other accents include a gold finish for the bottom of the front and rear center consoles and the inside of the glovebox, as well as the air vents, speaker grilles and ‘organ stops’ throughout the car.
The running boards are also gold-plated and embossed in the same font developed for the film, while the seats feature gold stitching, gold-colored ‘bullets’ to cover the seat piping and gold RR monograms on the headrests.
There’s a 24-carat gold-plated VIN plaque with a specially acquired VIN ending in 007 – you know, the secret agent who sent the bad guy to his death (no spoiler warning here, you’ve had 60 years to watch the movie to look at! )
One of Auric Goldfinger’s most memorable quotes is embossed on the inside of the glove compartment – no, not “No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!” but rather, ‘This is gold, Mr. Bond. All my life I have been in love with its color, its brilliance and its divine weight.”
The Royal Walnut Picnic Tables can help you plan your attack on Fort Knox (not really), featuring a 22-carat gold inlay measuring just 0.1mm deep with a map of the bullion storehouse, showing locations like Bullion Boulevard.
The analogue clock on the dashboard is inspired by James Bond’s iconic ‘gun barrel’ sequence used in every 007 film since the first Dr. No.
Pop the trunk and you’ll see Mr Goldfinger’s gold-plated putter has been recreated and mounted to the underside of the trunk lid, with an ‘AG’ monogram inspired by the engraving of the villain’s signet ring.
Rolls-Royce has also fitted an item in the boot inspired by the 007-issued Q Branch tracking device, but instead of telling MI6 the owner’s location, it projects the 007 logo onto the boot floor carpet.
Some interior accents are so subtle that you have to be a real James Bond nerd to get them.
Each of the Phantom’s four umbrellas, set into the doors, has a harlequin finish as seen on the umbrella in the Stoke Park golf course scene in Goldfinger.
The Starlight Headliner reflects the constellations as they were positioned on July 11, 1964, the last day of filming the Furka Pass scene in Switzerland, where 007 and Tilly Masterson separately pursue Goldfinger.
A clearer nod to this scene can be found on the isoline map on the dashboard, which shows the contours of this iconic road.
The stainless steel used for this piece was darkened using a method called physical vapor deposition, in which contour lines and height figures are engraved into the dark substrate to expose the bright metal beneath.
This feature alone required a year of development, with ten complete prototypes developed by Rolls-Royce’s Bespoke Collective to perfect the design.
Goldfinger’s 60th anniversary didn’t just inspire Rolls-Royce to create a tribute vehicle.
Aston Martin has also unveiled a bespoke Goldfinger version of its DB12, although you’re much more likely to get your hands on one as the company is building 60 units.
The grand tourer also features several 18-carat gold interior decorations and subtle Easter eggs, although there’s no illuminated map of the stars as they appeared during the final day of Swiss filming. Rats.
Click on an image to view the full gallery, including photos of the car on the Furka Pass.
MORE: Aston Martin doesn’t expect you to talk, it expects you to… buy its DB12 Goldfinger
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