Rowan Atkinson shares Rolls-Royce Phantom he used for movie had something unique that no other car had
Published on Jul 13, 2025 at 10:44 PM (UTC+4)
by Keelin McNamara
Last updated on Jul 10, 2025 at 8:45 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
Rowan Atkinson is one of Britain’s most beloved and revered comedians and actors, and a big fan of a Rolls-Royce Phantom.
He is also one of the biggest gearheads of any celebrity, ever.
The actor once made an appearance on Top Gear to promote the film, Johnny English Reborn.
And he shared a remarkable detail about the Rolls-Royce Phantom he used in the movie.
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Rowan Atkinson pays Top Gear a visit
Back in 2011, Rowan Atkinson was in the throes of promoting his latest film.
Apart from legendary roles such as Mr Bean and Edmund Blackadder, Atkinson is famous for playing Johnny English.
The Johnny English character is essentially a tongue-in-cheek take on an incompetent MI6 spy.
Think James Bond, but with a lot more hilarity and things going wrong.
2011 saw Atkinson head to the Top Gear studio to promote the movie.
He was set to be the ‘Star in a Reasonably Priced Car‘ segment.
Discussion soon turned to the new film – and in particular, the Rolls-Royce Phantom that starred in it.
During the interview, Atkinson revealed something fascinating.
“I wanted to give our car some unique little thing…something which no other Phantom had.”
The actor went on to describe the incredible story of the engine in his Rolls-Royce Phantom.
Petrolhead’s passion leads to mammoth engine seeing the light of day
“When BMW bought the rights to the Rolls-Royce name, they had the opportunity to create the ultimate luxury car.”
Atkinson notes that they also had the opportunity to create ‘the ultimate engine.’
So, unbelievably, BMW made three or four units of an incredible nine-litre V16 engine.
These were, according to Atkinson, ‘tested and brought up to speed, producing unbelievable power and torque figures.’
But they were ultimately stored away in a Rolls-Royce warehouse and were never used.
Atkinson then decided to get in contact with Rolls-Royce to see if they would allow him to use one of the engines for the film.
And, incredibly, they did! They put a nine-litre V16 BMW engine into Johnny English’s Rolls-Royce Phantom.
The reason the engine fit so well is because that generation of Phantom was designed for that engine.
It’s a truly incredible story of how a petrolhead’s love of cars saw a beastly engine see the light of day.
We tip our caps to the actor for this one.
Keelin McNamara is a content writer at Supercar Blondie from Ireland, covering cars, technology, and lifestyle. Despite being a Law graduate, he discovered his passion for journalism during the COVID-19 pandemic, and has worked in the industry ever since. Outside of work, he is an avid MotoGP fan, and is a self-confessed addict of the sport.
