Rolls-Royce Celebrates 100 Years of Phantom by Placing It in a Pool

Rolls-Royce first unveiled the Phantom in 1925, and a century later, the marque is still crafting its ultimate expression of automotive luxury. The latest generation, the Phantom VIII, debuted in 2017, and to mark this milestone, Rolls-Royce staged an audacious tribute: placing one in a swimming pool.

The scene was Tinside Lido, the historic Art Deco public pool in Plymouth, England. Built in 1935 and famously photographed with the Beatles in 1967 during the filming of Magical Mystery Tour, the Lido has its own storied past.

After years of disrepair, it was restored and reopened in 2005, making it a fitting backdrop for the Phantom’s centenary celebration.

To bring the stunt to life, Rolls-Royce used a retired Phantom VIII prototype destined for recycling. The car was first loaded onto a boat, steered poolside, and then lifted by crane onto a platform floating in the water, creating the striking illusion that the car was peacefully floating, as effortlessly as a human might. Photographers and videographers were on hand to immortalise the scene, ensuring that this tribute would endure, and perhaps even outlast the myths that inspired it.

The inspiration? A legendary, if apocryphal, story from 1972.

Keith Moon, the drummer of the Who, is said to have driven a Rolls-Royce into a Holiday Inn pool in Flint, Michigan. In reality, the vehicle was probably a Lincoln Continental that rolled in due to a handbrake mishap, or, more likely, there was no car at all, just the chaos of a rock star-fuelled night involving fire extinguishers, a food fight, and general mayhem.

As Moon’s biography recounts, the night ended only when police arrived with guns drawn.

For generations, the myth mattered more than the fact. It cemented the Phantom as a symbol not only of refined luxury but of audacious, larger-than-life personalities. Rolls-Royce embraced this legend, echoing the brand’s longstanding connection to music and celebrity.

“From the Golden Age of Hollywood to the rise of hip-hop, over the last 100 years, music artists have used Phantom to project their identity and challenge convention,” said Chris Brownridge, CEO of Rolls-Royce. “Their motor cars often became icons in their own right, with a lasting place in the history of modern music. This enduring connection reminds us that Rolls-Royce and the extraordinary people who are part of the marque’s story are united by one ambition: to make their presence felt.”

The Phantom has long been a favourite among the world’s elite. John Lennon famously commissioned a yellow Phantom V adorned with psychedelic flowers and swirls, now on display at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria, Canada. Elton John’s white Phantom VI, purchased impulsively en route to a Manchester concert in 1973, was later customised with black paintwork, a luxurious leather interior, tinted windows, a television, a video player, a fax machine, and a bespoke audio system so powerful that the rear windscreen needed reinforcement. Other luminaries, from Marlene Dietrich to Elvis Presley and Liberace, have similarly embraced the marque, often with their own flair.

For its 100th anniversary, Rolls-Royce has celebrated not just a car, but a century of culture, legend, and personality, reminding the world that the Phantom has always been more than transportation; it is a statement, a spectacle, and above all, an enduring icon.