So Rolls-Royce can build your car to your entirely bespoke specification and pretty much do a B&Q Dulux job of the paintwork it too.
Rolls-Royce offer a more detailed insight into super rich ‘So what do you fancy Mr Billionaire?
ABOVE, PEBBLE BEACH PASTEL COLLECTION
CANVAS: GHOST, DAWN, WRAITH │MEDIUM: PAINT, TECHNICAL FIBRE
The Pastel Collection, showcased at Pebble Beach, drew upon a palette of colours from this year’s ‘wildflower super-bloom’ on California’s Monterey Peninsula. Three unique Black Badge commissions brought new colours to the Rolls-Royce Bespoke palette, reaffirming the notion that a Rolls-Royce Black Badge need not necessarily be black.
The Ghost Black Badge featured a Light Green Solid finish, a pastel shade representing the rebirth of flora on the peninsula after years of drought and fire. The black leather interior features a striking Serenity Green splash, highlighting the technical fibre of the fascia.
The Dawn Black Badge, in Coral Solid, showcases a stunning Bespoke finish only achieved after seven coats of paint and more than nine hours of hand-polishing in the Surface Finish Centre at the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood. The Coral colour carries over to the Aero Cowling, while the interior is finished in Artic White and Sunset, an illustration of northern California’s hills and valleys in bloom.
The third car is a Wraith Black Badge in Semaphore Yellow, a bright and sunny finish for the most powerful member of the Rolls-Royce family, complemented by a Selby Grey and Lemon interior.
SPECTACULAR BESPOKE COMMISSIONS AND COLLECTION CARS REAFFIRM ROLLS-ROYCE’S STATUS AS THE WORLD’S FOREMOST MANUFACTURER OF LUXURY PRODUCTS
2019 saw The Rolls-Royce Bespoke Collective, a team of engineers, designers and craftspeople residing at the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, England, create more Bespoke motor cars than ever before in the marque’s 116 year history. Unprecedented levels of creativity, craft and imagination have brought the unique visions of the marque’s global patrons to life. Almost every one of the record 5,152 motor cars created in 2019 was respectfully tailored by this Bespoke division.
Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, commented, “I am proud to say that the craftsmen and women of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars have surpassed themselves once again in creating an array of extraordinary motor cars, tailored to the requirements of some of the most influential and discerning individuals in the world. These motor cars become unique works of art and it is an extraordinary feat when you consider that each and every single one of these unique commissions has been created on one production line at the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, West Sussex – the skills of these individuals knows no bounds.”
What follows is an overview of some of the finest examples of Bespoke design and craftsmanship completed by the luxury house throughout 2019.
THE MILLION STITCH ROLLS-ROYCE
CANVAS: PHANTOM │MEDIUM: EMBROIDERY
A Stockholm-based entrepreneur with a passion for flowers challenged the Rolls-Royce Bespoke Collective to create a car that immersed its occupants in floral decadence. The result was the ‘Rose Phantom’: a vision made with a million embroidered stitches.
The starting point was a rose bred exclusively for Rolls-Royce by Harkness Roses. The Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, England is the only place in the world where this rose is grown.
The Peacock Blue exterior of the Rose Phantom is punctuated with a Charles Blue twinned-coachline that intertwines organically like the stem of a rose, combining to introduce the rose motif.
Inside, the marque’s fabled starlight headliner illuminates the floral scene, with roses interspersed with Peacock and Adonis Blue butterflies. As a centrepiece of the interior, Phantom’s Gallery is adorned by stems of embroidered roses climbing through the glass fronted fascia.
GHOST ZENITH COLLECTION
CANVAS: GHOST │MEDIUM: ENGRAVING, COMMEMORATIVE INGOT, PERFORATED LEATHER, EMBROIDERY
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars marked the close of 10 remarkable years of Ghost by creating a limited edition ‘Zenith Collection’. With just 50 Ghost Zeniths made, the car featured the highest levels of Bespoke ever seen in a Ghost Collection.
The Ghost Zenith drew references from 200EX, the experimental car that introduced the contemporary expression of the Ghost nameplate in 2009. This design was immortalized in a blueprint-inspired artwork, divided into 50 distinct parts, and engraved on the centre console of Ghost Zenith.
A commemorative ingot, made from the original Spirit of Ecstasy of 200EX, was set into the centre console of each of the cars. The Collection’s own Spirit of Ecstasy and clock are engraved with the Zenith name.
Inside, ambient lighting shines through perforated leather, while the rear seats feature embroidery inspired by the seat details of the original 1907 Silver Ghost. The Ghost Zenith Standard Wheelbase also features an extraordinary starlight headliner with a unique Shooting Star configuration. Light trails fire at random across the cabin roof, which consists of over 1,340 individual, hand-finished fibre-optic lights.
DIGITAL SOUL PHANTOM
CANVAS: PHANTOM │MEDIUM: ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING, GOLD PLATING, GOLD INLAYS
The Digital Soul Phantom is a study in contemporary artisanship; a fusion of human endeavour and computer-generated design. At the heart of this Carrara White with Smokey Quartz two-tone Phantom is a Gallery created by Product Designer Thorsten Franck. An individual’s characteristics are interpreted by an algorithm which translates the data into a swathe of 3D-printed stainless steel. This is then hand-polished and plated in 24-carat gold, resulting in a unique artwork that embodies jewellery, sculpture and architecture.
Gold detailing embellishes the interior of the motor car, with Gold inlays set by hand in Smoked Eucalyptus wood and gold-plated speaker grilles concluding the aesthetic.
I AM A HOROLOGIST IN ADDITION TO COLLECTING CARS, CAN WE INCLUDE SOME ASPECT OF WATCHES TOO?
For more details should you be interested in what you can have in your own Rolls -Royce or to explore purchasing a unique but pre-owned vehicle. The SVA recommends P&A Wood, one of the Worlds foremost dealers, servicing and restorers of Rolls Royce and Bentley cars based in Great Easton, Dunmow, Essex. The team down at P&A Wood are friendly and highly expert in this sector and for a personal exploration of your wishes contact Ryan Lugg on 01371 852000..
