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In 1937, a Rolls-Royce engine equipped Bluebird K3 powerboat took the world water speed record for Sir Malcolm Campbell, recording a speed of 129.5mph. In celebration of the historic achievement, the British luxury marque has created an extremely limited number of Waterspeed edition Phantoms.
What makes the Rolls-Royce Waterspeed Phantoms so great?
Rolls-Royce plan on manufacturing just 35 of the Waterspeed special edition models, each featuring a number of bespoke touches that cannot be found on any other Rolls-Royce.
These features include a specially developed 'Maggiore Blue' exterior paint that is inspired by Bluebird's colour scheme which finishes the exterior. As it is a Rolls-Royce, no fewer than nine coats of paint are applied before it's hand-sanded and lacquered.
The most notable feature on the models is the brushed steel finish to the rear bulkhead, traditionally offered in polished teak and can be seen when the Phantom's top is dropped. Each piece of steel is hand beaten for a further ten hours to achieve its flawless finish.
Extra details also include enormous 11 spoke rims, Bluebird motifs inside and the liberal use of Abachi wood for the first time in the company's history, cut at an angle to “echo the wake left by a boat moving at speed.”
What about inside the Rolls-Royce Waterspeed Phantoms?
Inside, the new Waterspeed edition Phantom gains a set of hand-crafted clocks on the dash, including a 'power reserve' dial that mimics that of Sir Malcolm Campbell's Bluebird craft. As the driver accelerates, the hand swoops backwards towards a yellow and blue zone, indicating the engine is heading towards maximum revolutions.
On top of this, as with the manufacturer's Aviator Collection unveiled in 2012, the glovebox interior has been used to further emphasise Rolls-Royce’s historical connections, with a hand-embroidered panel detailing the record achieved by Campbell across three years at Lake Maggiore, Lake Hallwil and Coniston Water.
Powering the Waterspeed will be the same 6.75-litre V12 featured in the standard Phantom, offering 453bhp and 720Nm of torque. This should see it hit 0-62mph in 5.8 seconds, on its way to a top speed of 149mph.
Given the added exclusivity, the Rolls-Royce Waterspeed Phantom Collection model costs £435,000 and all but two models have already been sold.