Rolls-Royce Phantom Goldfinger, the masterful creation celebrating 60 years of the James Bond film

In the James Bond film saga we almost automatically associate Aston Martin as the main brand, since it is the favourite of Agent 007. However, in films that blend action and glamour and whose protagonist is British, another of the main and most renowned British brands could not be missing, namely Rolls-Royce.

In this film franchise, Rolls-Royce has appeared on twelve occasions, including the legendary Goldfinger from 1964, with Sean Connery playing Agent 007. This film, one of the most noteworthy in the series, celebrates its sixtieth anniversary this year. In it, the villain’s vehicle (Auric Goldfinger, played by Gert Fröbe) is none other than a Rolls-Royce Phantom III Sedanca de Ville from 1937, and the brand pays tribute to it, with nods to scenes from the film included, through this Phantom Goldfinger, which will be delivered to an important British client and collector of Rolls-Royce.

The unique exterior of this Rolls-Royce Phantom Goldfinger undoubtedly recalls the Phantom III Sedanca de Ville featured in the film, with a two-tone paint scheme that perfectly recreates the yellow tone of the 1937 original, combined with the black covering the bonnet, roof, boot and rear bumper. The 21-inch wheels are also finished in black and feature silver details, another nod to the Phantom III’s wheels. The first concrete reference to the film is found in the Spirit of Ecstasy, created in solid silver with strategically placed 18-carat gold inlays, appearing as if it were hidden, since Auric Goldfinger smuggled gold concealed in the door panels of his Rolls-Royce.

Moving now to the interior of the Phantom Goldfinger, we see that it is finished in Navy leather and Royal Walnut veneer, both elements chosen specifically to deliberately highlight the golden details such as the stitching and the “RR” letters on the headrests. From here on we find further references to the film, such as its Starlight roof, in which 719 “stars” recreate, in a subtle golden tone, how the constellations were positioned on the last day of filming, 11 July 1964, of the legendary scene at the Swiss Furka Pass.

As a reference to Auric Goldfinger’s obsession with gold, there are numerous details throughout the cabin that have been coated in 18- and 24-carat gold, such as the ventilation grilles, the VIN plate with an identification number that could be specifically chosen and ends in 007, the speakers, the centre console and, look closely at this, a kind of hidden vault between the front seats designed to conceal a gold bar in the shape of the Phantom “Speedform”, which is simply a miniature representation of the car’s design. On the inside of the glovebox lid is also engraved a quote from Auric Goldfinger.

Once again, a reference to the Furka Pass appears in the three-dimensional front plating that shows the contours of this Swiss pass, created from stainless steel subjected to a darkening process called physical vapour deposition, a painstaking piece of work that took a year to produce ten prototypes, from which the final design was drawn. Another map is found on the tables, this time of Fort Knox, the gold bullion depository where the gold reserves of the United States are stored, created through a inlay only 0.1 mm deep and plated in 22-carat gold, a task that took six months to complete.

To find the last references to the film, we have to go to the rear. When the boot is opened, the 007 logo is projected onto the floor of the boot itself, a device inspired by an electronic tracking gadget that James Bond installs in Goldfinger’s Phantom. Once the boot is opened, on the inside of the door, there is a replica of the golf club used by Goldfinger when he challenges Bond to a round at their first meeting, also including the initials “AG”, the same as on Goldfinger’s ring. Umbrellas have also been fitted in the same colours as those carried by Oddjob, Goldfinger’s henchman, in one scene and, to finish, it has been arranged for it to carry the same British registration plate “AU 1” as the Phantom III in the film.