An iconic movie car celebrates its 60th anniversary.
An undeniable, quintessential standard of automotive luxury, Rolls-Royce has enjoyed the status of a pop culture icon for most of its century-long history. Rolls-Royce has been featured a dozen times in the decades of James Bond films, which are known for highlighting unique luxury cars, fashion, tech, and gadgets. However, one Rolls-Royce that made a 007 cinematic appearance stands out in particular as the most iconic, and that is the Rolls-Royce Phantom, which featured in Goldfinger in 1964.
60 years have passed since the premiere of Goldfinger, one of the most iconic James Bond films, on September 17, 1964, and the 1937 Phantom plays a pivotal role in the film as the villain, Auric Goldfinger’s car. It was used in the film to smuggle two tons of gold from England to Switzerland in a unique way. The car’s body was made of gold and melted down with the original body replaced to repeat the journey.
The car, the Rolls-Royce Phantom III, was up to the challenge of taking on alpine roads with its 165-horsepower, 7.3-liter engine, the first V12 engine that Rolls-Royce ever used. The car was the last Rolls-Royce to be developed by Henry Royce before he died in 1933. The car itself was originally commissioned for an American who settled in England. It was originally finished in all black with a white coach line but was then given its recognizable yellow and black color scheme for the Goldfinger film. After 60 years, the iconic Goldfinger Phantom remains one of the most iconic Rolls-Royces in pop culture and one of the most iconic cars in the James Bond franchise.
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