Lunaz Phantom V: The Ultimate in Zero-Emission Luxury
- Editor OGN Daily
- 33 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Like the back catalogues of the pop stars who rode around in Rolls-Royce Phantoms in their pomp, it’s been remastered.
This year, Rolls-Royce toasted 100 years of its Phantom limousine. But the original company will definitely not have envisioned that one day their beloved cars would be stripped down, re-built for 21st century luxury and tech - and be given a proprietary electric powertrain.
While Rolls-Royce is busy making Phantom VIIIs today on England's south coast in Goodwood, a start-up called Lunaz, based in Silverstone, has turned its attention to the Spirit of Ecstasy’s vintage classics from the 60s. The Lunaz team will find you an old Rolls, strip the whole thing down to the paint, and rebuild it with discreet modern technology and the latest in leather and marquetry, so what you’re left with is a 1960s motor that’s essentially brand new. And gorgeous.
It’s a process that takes between 24 and 36 months (about 5,500 hours). So far, Lunaz has built 15 Rolls and Bentleys on this platform, the technology for which took four years to develop. Despite its exorbitant price tag, there are an additional 25 currently in build, and six more are incoming.
All images courtesy of Lunaz
As well as restoring the car and putting in things like electric dampers, modern electric windows and windscreen wipers, USB ports and a discreet sat nav and reversing camera, Lunaz has placed a colossal battery pack under the bonnet. But, because the original V8 engine was so heavy, the completed car only weighs an additional 90kgs.
So, who’s in the market for this emission-free leviathan that’s 30 times the cost of a Tesla? Wildly wealthy people, obviously, with a penchant for classic lines and state-of-the-art tech, but may have been put off classic car ownership before because they don’t want to break down, belch fumes or cover their carefully manicured gravel driveways in grubby engine oil. The price for Lunaz Phantom V? Well, to coin an old phrase, if you have to ask, you can't afford it. But it's comfortably over a million pounds.
