A decade ago on 1 January 2003, the new, BMW-owned Rolls-Royce Motor Cars officially started business, producing one Phantom a day. Now ten years on they have a lineup of six models and make up to 20 cars each day. It is probably a good time for reminiscing.

The very first Rolls Royce Phantom was delivered to its customer at one minute past midnight. Back then most people were skeptical about this car. They thought it would be a big BMW with no Rolls Royce magic in it. But RR proved them wrong. The Germans somehow managed to capture the essence of Rolls Royce and put it into a modern, technologically-advanced and reliable package. It was the best of both worlds.

The Phantom’s success resulted in a remarkable business expansion for RR. Today, with a product range spanning two model families (Phantom and Ghost) and six models, more than 1400 people employed at the Goodwood-based manufacturing plant and head office. In comparison, in 2003 they had only 400 employees.  In 2011, Rolls-Royce celebrated a second consecutive sales record and the best result in the company’s then 107-year history.

“Rolls-Royce is a great British manufacturing success story and I am very proud to celebrate 10 Years of Excellence,” said Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. “The renaissance of the world’s most famous automotive brand and the creation and development of the Home of Rolls-Royce has been an extraordinary and successful journey. I applaud the Rolls-Royce team at Goodwood and across the world for their passion and together we can look forward to the next ten years with great optimism.”