Story: Alex Bernstein
Photography: Scott Dukes
When you make it big and your shop is known for pushing out sick rides at an almost unreachable rate, it takes something huge to move up another notch on the totem pole. Jack and George Keshishyan, presidents of Platinum Motorsport, have reached that level. It all started when a customer swung by the Los Angeles facility with his ’07 Rolls-Royce Phantom and told them he wanted something original, to stand out in the sea of SoCal exotics and luxury whips.
Platinum is no stranger to unique paint jobs on high-dollar cars. Hell, they’ve already done a handful of Phantoms in matte paint, which, originally, was a crazy concept in itself. A full respray on a $300,000-plus car? No problem! But this was a different case. This was a full Mansory build, the first one ever to be completed in the country.
The build decisions were based off of the goal, which was to grab looks. “It was one of those things that, if you saw it driving by, [the paint] would catch your attention the most,” Jack says. “That’s why we came up with the red. We were like, ‘Fuck it, if we’re gonna do something different, let’s just go all the way.’”
And so they did. But being different, in this case, meant tapping a company so clouded by exclusivity that the thought of even utilizing their parts was a pipe dream: They wanted Mansory. “They’ve never actually had anyone request to buy the kit, so it was kind of interesting. But they know who we are and what we do, so it worked out,” explains Jack. Unfortunately, though, no matter how many stacks you drop on a body kit or how prestigious the name is behind it, fitting it isn’t just a bolt-on process.
“What you’re paying for is the specific design and the name; they’ve built that very well over the years,” Jack states. “But just because you pay top dollar doesn’t mean it looks amazing right away; you still have to do the fitment work, like any other kit.”
That’s really the difference with this build, though. Not only did Platinum completely disassemble such a pricey ride, but they replaced bumpers, cut and molded panels and literally rebuilt the car from bare bones to a rolling throne.
Ferrari’s classic Rosso Corsa paint stands out enough in factory form. And not only was the paint acquired, but the clearing application was modified for a matte finish that shows the car’s sharp lines perfectly, transforming a once subtle cruiser to a now instant spine snapper. It’s a love-it-or-hate-it kind of thing.
As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. And in this case, if you’ve got the means to swing a Rolls, toss another 150 Gs to Platinum Motorsport for a one-off result. Maybe the color is too flashy, perhaps the Mansory Conquistador 22s ain’t your style, but at the end of the day, the goal was accomplished—and this Phantom is straight menacing.
Spec The Technique:
Performance: Stock V12 Twin Turbo; Mansory Cat Back exhaust system; Platinum Motorsport Stage 1 lowering module
Interior: Special factory interior package with $15,000 rear captain’s seats option
Exterior: Complete Mansory body kit (front/rear bumpers, fenders, rockers, trunk spoiler, LED front bumper lights and rocker spotlights, indicator mirrors); all factory and Mansory chrome trim powder-coated semi-matte black; full respray in matte Rosso Corsa Ferrari paint
Ice: Factory premium sound system
Wheels/Tires: 22-inch Mansory Conquistadors, powder-coated semi-matte black; Continental Cross Contact tires
