Rolls-Royce has sent the Phantom into a swimming pool to celebrate the car's association with the music industry
Rolls-Royce literally drowned the Phantom in a swimming pool and it's not the result of artificial intelligence. The British brand staged a spectacular performance in honour of its flagship model's connection to the music industry.
Here's What We Know
The Tinside Lido pool in Plymouth was not a production car, but a decommissioned Phantom prototype with an extended wheelbase (5,982mm). In order not to sink the car completely, it was carefully placed on a special platform, so that the water rose only slightly above the wheels.
The idea of sending the car into the pool is a reference to the legend of Keith Moon, the drummer of The Who, who allegedly drove Phantom into the pool on his 21st birthday in the 1970s. The musician himself later said it was a Lincoln Continental, and witnesses admitted they couldn't remember much. Anyway, it was this story that inspired Rolls-Royce to repeat the stunt.
The choice of venue was also symbolic: the Tinside Lido pool is known from a 1967 Beatles photograph. In the same year, John Lennon repainted his Phantom yellow and decorated the body with psychedelic patterns.
Rolls-Royce's flagship is indeed closely associated with music. Duke Ellington, Edith Piaf, Sam Cooke, Elvis Presley and Elton John have all appeared behind the wheel or on the back seat of a Phantom. Nowadays the model is actively used in music videos and on album covers - it was chosen by Pharrell Williams, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent and Lil Wayne.
By the way, Oasis in 1997 "borrowed" the same myth about Keith Moon: for the cover of Be Here Now album they immersed classic Phantom in the pool. It cost about £100,000 for one photo shoot - today it's equivalent to about £200,000 ($270,000).
Source: Carscoops
