Dealer mistake in Japan leads to rare extended wheelbase Rolls-Royce Phantom being sold for the deal of a lifetime
Published on May 02, 2026 at 7:57 AM (UTC+4)
by Henry Kelsall
Last updated on May 02, 2026 at 7:57 AM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Mason Jones
One automotive enthusiast got the deal of a lifetime thanks to a dealer mistake in Japan, which led to a rare and unexpected extended wheelbase (EWB) Rolls-Royce Phantom.
Speaking to VINwiki and Supercar Blondie, Breck Kennedy explained how he came to own this amazing car, which has also featured on his Instagram page.
The deal for this car came from a friend, and it was a bit out of the blue, as at the time, Kennedy wasn’t even looking at buying a Phantom.
It had been exported to Japan, but thankfully, getting it back into America was easy enough.
This is how Kennedy got his extended wheelbase Rolls-Royce Phantom
The deal came after a friend texted him about buying a Phantom luxury car.
“I found it through one of my close friends, as his cousin exports cars from Japan for a living, and he bought the car from another client who backed out,” Kennedy told Supercar Blondie.
“My friend called me and asked if I wanted to buy it with him,” he added.
“It was a US car originally, so it could easily be exported back into the United States,” he also said to VINwiki.
Some digging around and research into the VIN revealed it was an extended wheelbase car.
Only around 10,000 or so of these had been produced in total.
It turns out that the dealership Luke had bought the car from did not know about its extended wheelbase.
So he had paid regular money for a special version of the Phantom.
That also meant Kennedy was set to pay the standard-model price for the extended wheelbase.
“The car was not advertised as an EWB model (which it is),” he also told Supercar Blondie.
“As a result, it was priced like a standard wheelbase model, which is 20-30 percent lower than a typical EWB,” he added.
What did they do with the deal of a lifetime?
The import process proved to be a bit stressful for Kennedy and his friend.
For example, it took a month for the car to be dropped off at the port, due to the Christmas holidays.
In the end, it took over three months for them to get their hands on this deal of a lifetime Rolls-Royce Phantom.
“Because the car had been sitting for a few weeks, it was as dead as a door nail,” said Kennedy.
The batteries had run flat, and getting the car fired up again proved to be a nightmare.
We asked Kennedy to give us an update on the car since they got it back home.
“After picking the car up, we immediately started driving it and drove it over 1,200 miles back to the area where we live,” he told us.
“We are currently getting the car fully serviced. Being a 19-year-old hand-built car that we had not seen with our own eyes, we were planning on having an in-depth service carried out,” he added.
Kennedy also revealed what he planned to do with the car following its service.
“After the service is complete, we plan on enjoying it this spring/summer, taking it to a few car shows, events, and driving it around as a normal car,” he told us.
“I don’t plan on keeping it for a long time.
“But in the immediate future, I look forward to enjoying it,” he concluded.
Despite the issues after first inspecting the car, this Rolls-Royce Phantom truly feels like the deal of a lifetime.
A history of Rolls-Royce
1904 – Charles Rolls and Henry Royce meet and agree to build cars together
1906 – The company Rolls-Royce Limited is officially established
1914 – The company expands into manufacturing aircraft engines during World War I
1931 – Rolls-Royce acquires its major competitor Bentley Motors
1971 – Facing financial collapse, the company is nationalized by the British government
1973 – The automotive division separates to become Rolls-Royce Motors
1987 – The aerospace division, Rolls-Royce plc, is returned to the private sector
1998 – BMW successfully acquires the rights to the Rolls-Royce automotive brand name
2003 – The new BMW-owned company begins building cars at the Goodwood plant
Henry joined the Supercar Blondie team in February 2025, and since then has covered a wide array of topics ranging from EVs, American barn finds, and the odd Cold War jet. He’s combined his passion for cars with his keen interest in motorsport and his side hustle as a volunteer steam locomotive fireman at a heritage steam railway.
