In July 2020, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars unveiled the Wraith Kryptos Collection of 50 cars. As clients around the world begin to receive this highly limited model, they will also embark on decoding the mysterious messages found within the Bespoke elements of the motor car’s interior and exterior.
It’s a unique challenge created by Rolls-Royce Bespoke Designer, Katrin Lehmann, and only two people know what the secret code is – the designer and the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Torsten Muller-Otvos. The answer remains in a sealed envelope in the CEO’s safe.
“Wraith Kryptos is a Rolls-Royce Collection like no other. It is embedded with a cryptographic cipher and filled with mystery and intrigue. The first client to decrypt this code will receive a unique gift from Rolls-Royce in recognition of their extraordinary talent!” he explained.
The subtle clue
Designer Lehmann said that finding the ‘key’ is the first step in uncovering the mysterious code. It has now been revealed that the Spirit of Ecstasy, the figurine that graces the bonnet of every Rolls-Royce limousine, holds the key to uncovering this code. The word KRYPTOS is engraved in Rolls-Royce cipher around the base of the figurine, and with this information, clients will be able to embark on their cryptographic journey.
Mysterious messages inside and outside
With that subtle clue provided, the owners can embark on decoding the mysterious messages found within the Bespoke elements of the motor car’s interior and exterior. The seven deciphered characters around the figurine will aid clients on their journey of discovery as they begin to identify these letters on Wraith Kryptos’ complex fascia.
Similarly, the embroidery on the headrests translates as the double-R monogram, rendered in the cipher. The Bespoke team hopes that, together, these clues may provide a ‘way in’ that enables owners to attempt the puzzle.
Owner are invited to submit their efforts at cracking the code via the marque’s Whispers application for owners, from February 2021. The first to complete the puzzle will be awarded a unique and prestigious prize.
This afternoon, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars unveiled a new series of cars from its Bespoke Collective range which come with something unusual – cryptic messages are hidden behind a unique Rolls-Royce cipher! This new generation of Collection Car is one that will bring with it an intriguing, entertaining and exclusive challenge for the owners of the 50 units of Wraith that will be available.
“The brilliant and creative minds of our Rolls-Royce Bespoke Collective have excelled once again, creating an extraordinarily contemporary and compelling iteration of Wraith. The Wraith Kryptos Collection, on first glance, is a statement of dynamism. I look forward to seeing whether any of our clients will crack the code!” said Torsten Muller-Otvos, CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
“The name ‘Kryptos’ is derived from Ancient Greek, referring to something unseen, hidden and coded, mythical even. Ciphers can be traced through millennia, capturing the imagination of some of the world’s most brilliant minds,” said Rolls-Royce Bespoke Designer, Katrin Lehmann, who has a personal interest in the subject.
“As a designer, I’ve always been fascinated by the notion that you can communicate messages that are understood by only an elite few, using symbols, pictograms, and ciphers. Finding the key becomes integral to appreciating the full meaning of an item that can otherwise be viewed simply as a work of art,” she explained.
The cryptographic journey begins with the Spirit of Ecstasy on the bonnet of the car. An engraving with green enamel detailing introduces the Rolls-Royce cipher on the base of the enigmatic figurine. Below, recrafted bumper inserts draw the eye lower, subtly modifying both the gesture and posture of Wraith, giving this Collection an identity of its own.
The alluring colourway of the Collection hints at the car’s inner-most secrets. Delphic Grey, a Bespoke exterior hue consisting of a solid Anthracite base colour has a hidden effect – only in sunlight do the blue and green mica flakes appear.
This effect is accentuated by a hand-painted double coachline, the upper being painted in the newly developed Kryptos Green while the lower acts as a shadow in Dark Grey, both depicting clues relating to the interior code. Completing the exterior aesthetic are part polished wheels, with Orbit Grey coloured centres featuring a coloured pinstripe.
Inside, stepping over the illuminated treadplates, the cipher evolves deep into the fabric of the car. There is the accented Bespoke Kryptos Green leather hue, developed to incorporate a metallic effect, set against either Selby Grey or Anthracite.
In perhaps the most apparent clue, elements of the cipher are embroidered into Wraith’s headrests, where the customary ‘double-R’ emblem can so often be found. For the driver’s enjoyment, an intriguing screen print flows across the metal fascia, spanning the width of the interior.
Overhead is a beautifully elaborate, bi-coloured headliner depicting an in-motion data-stream inspired motif (owners who are fans of ‘The Matrix’ should love it). Illuminated door pockets continue this theme with Rolls-Royce woven leather and Kryptos Green threads to reveal an unexpected and subtle illumination that fades towards the base of the pocket. The centre tunnel is exquisitely stitched, repeating the horizontal lines of the door pockets, also hinting towards the driver-focused nature of this special car.
The owners of the cars will be invited to submit their efforts at cracking the code via the members-only Rolls-Royce Application, Whispers. The code is so secret that only two people in the company know the full resolution of the sequence – the designer and the CEO. The answer has been placed in a sealed envelope, in the safe of the CEO at the Rolls-Royce headquarters in England.
There are no clues as to what the message could be. It may be something profound but it is unlikely to be something frivolous, not with a Rolls-Royce. The company has not said what reward awaits the one who successfully deciphers the message.