"Most automakers do not proudly drive one of their vehicles into a pool of water. It doesn't matter if the vehicle is a budget subcompact or a one-of-a-kind supercar; when most cars and trucks head into a body of water, the results can range from disastrous to tragic. (There are some exceptions, like BYD's recent floating SUV.) And yet here we are in 2025, with Rolls-Royce bragging about driving a Phantom into a swimming pool. What's going on here?"
"The answer has to do with a particularly ornate part of rock music history involving The Who's Keith Moon. Well, "history" might not be the best choice of words here; "mythology" is probably a better fit, since there's still debate over whether these events actually happened. As Bryan Wawzenek wrote for Ultimate Classic Rock in 2017, Moon reportedly drove a vehicle - possibly a Rolls-Royce - into a hotel swimming pool while celebrating his birthday."
"As part of those celebrations, the marque is looking to remind drivers of its connection to the world of music, with an announcement linking Rolls-Royce to everyone from Pharrell Williams to Marlene Dietrich. Rolls-Royce travelled to the recently-renovated event space Tinside Lido to - well, "re-enacting" isn't quite accurate. But they did indeed submerge a phantom in the swimming pool there, an event that made for some eye-catching visuals."
Most automakers avoid driving vehicles into bodies of water because the results often range from disastrous to tragic. The Keith Moon mythology claims that Moon drove a car, possibly a Rolls-Royce, into a hotel swimming pool while celebrating his birthday, though bandmates reported different incidents and debate remains. Rolls-Royce celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Phantom by highlighting musical connections and staged a striking visual at Tinside Lido, submerging a Phantom in the pool. The marque clarified that it did not destroy an existing Phantom for the stunt and noted the Phantom's starting price exceeds $500,000.
Read at InsideHook
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