Rolls-Royce recently unveiled Wraith Kryptos Collection, an exclusive collection of 50 cars which have cryptic codes around the bodywork. Owners of these cars are invited to crack the codes and submit their findings via Rolls-Royce’s highly exclusive members’ club, the Whispers Application.
Only two people know the answers which are locked in a safe in the CEO’s office – the person who created the codes and the CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. Rolls-Royce doesn’t set a time limit on the challenge nor says what it will reward the person or persons who submit the right answer.
Having learnt that the public is also intrigued by this challenge but not everyone can buy one of the cars, Rolls-Royce has created an interactive online game with a similar theme. The carmaker stresses that the game – known as ‘The Kryptos Enigma‘ – is inspired by, but not linked to the cryptic codes on the cars. So owners who participate should not think they can have an easier way to discover the hidden messages.
The game, which requires the use of a mobilephone or tablet, has four levels, each getting progressively harder. Participants start off guiding an orb through a maze by tilting their mobile device in the direction they wish to travel, in a time-pressured challenge. Next, a series of questions will reveal just how keen the cryptographer player really is.
The third level will test the observation skills of the participant – only the most cunning will succeed! The final phase consists is designed to boggle and bewilder. This level is the reserve of the most agile and determined minds alone.
The first ten individuals from anywhere in the world to complete the game will receive their very own personalised Rolls-Royce treadplate. Terms and conditions apply and these can be viewed at this linkwhere the game also has its beginning with a QR code.
You have until to 12 noon British Summer Time on September 23rd, 2020 (7 pm Malaysian time) to submit your answers. Should you not succeed, we will disavow any knowledge of sending you on this mission. Good luck!
Anything that Rolls-Royce makes has to be the best possible, in keeping with the brand promise. To most of the world, that obsession often centres around its cars, but it equally applies to many other things like lifestyle accessories and even model cars. It even has a Clean Room at its manufacturing facility with the extremely high standards comparable to microchip manufacturing plants and in pharmaceutical and medical equipment production facilities.
Unprecedented levels of purity
Now, Rolls-Royce engineers have also come out with a cabin filtration technology that is said to live up to the brand image of superlative quality. Aiming to elevate the already high quality of air in their cars to unprecedented levels of purity, they have utilised the latest sensor and filtration technology. The micro environment is said to be the cleanest in any car today , further complementing the sense of oasis created by the design and material substance of its interior environments.
The importance of protecting the occupants in a Rolls-Royce from harmful carbon and pollen particles, as well as viruses and bacterial contaminants, is not something that has come to attention as a result of the current COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2015, all Rolls-Royce cars have been using state-of-the-art air filtration equipment for the cleanest possible environment.
For the new Ghost, which debuts in the fourth quarter of 2020, the new technology incorporates a full suite of hardware and software improvements, collectively known as the Micro Environment Purification System.
Super-fine Nanofleece mesh filter
Highly sensitive Impurity Detection Sensors have been introduced to detect ambient air quality, automatically switching fresh air intakes to Recirculation Mode if unacceptable levels of airborne contaminants are present. This channels all cabin air through a Nanofleece filter which is made of fibre that is a super-fine mesh with gaps of 150 nanometres.
To put this in perspective, a typical human red blood cell is 6,000 to 8,000 nanometres across. This means nearly all ultra-fine particles, viruses and bacteria in the cabin environment can be removed and in less than 2 minutes to provide pure, clean air.
Following the initial implementation of this technology, it will be possible in future for the occupants to remotely pre-condition the micro environment within their Rolls-Royce via an app in preparation for their arrival.
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.
To the uninitiated, these ciphers appear, on the surface at least, to be an alluring design purely for aesthetic purposes and devoid of any discernible pattern. However, for those who look closer, those few who hold the key, they will embark on an experience that leads to an ‘enlightening conclusion’, according to Rolls-Royce.
“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.
‘Black’ is mentioned a lot in the news these days and it’s become controversial in the social and political context. But not all black subjects are controversial and the Black Badge family of cars from Rolls-Royce are desirable products for those an emerging generation of super-luxury consumer.
Launched in 2016, the Black Badge cars for a permanent Bespoke range that, in the words of Torsten Muller-Otvos, CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, ‘reflects the desires of a distinct group of Rolls-Royce clients: men and women who take risks, break rules and build success on their own terms’.
Appealing to new, younger generation of customers
Since being launched, demand for the Black Badge offering has been growing as the bold theme attracts new – and younger – customers to the marque. It appeals to the new generation of customers – or ‘clients’ as Rolls-Royce refers to them – who would consider the ‘silver badge’ Rolls-Royce too conventional and traditional. The approach is not new to Rolls-Royce as there have been offerings in the past which inverted the ‘silver badge’ to black as a means of creating uniqueness (apparently there was even a ‘red badge’ tried out at one time).
This ‘alter ego’ is codified by the mathematical symbol that represents a potential infinity, placed discreetly within the motor car’s interior. This marking, known also as the lemniscate, was applied to Sir Malcolm Campbell’s record-breaking Rolls-Royce-powered Blue Bird K3 hydroplane, denoting that it belonged to an insurance class reserved for boats with unlimited and therefore infinite engine power. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars selected this hallmark for its Black Badge cars to reflect its own unrelenting pursuit of power.
Full Black Badge range
Rolls-Royce debuted the Black Badge range with the Wraith and Ghost in 2016, followed by the Dawn in 2017. Today, the family is completed for the first time in Malaysia with the introduction of the Black Badge Cullinan by Rolls-Royce Kuala Lumpur (RRKL). It is rare for a distributor to have the full range but RRKL does, perhaps a reflection of its notable presence in the Rolls-Royce global network.
Introducing the Black Badge Cullinan SUV this afternoon, Anas Zawawi Khalid, Executive Director for Quill Motorcars Sdn Bhd, which operates RRKL, said: “We are seeing a distinct change in the Super-luxury arena within Malaysia. Increasingly, we are welcoming younger, adventurous Rolls-Royce customers alongside our more established clientele. We have refreshed our Black Badge range for 2020 and have already seen strong interest from customers who are looking for something very contemporary and bold.”
The Cullinan, which is the first SUV from Rolls-Royce, has been in the market for two years now. It may have been late into the luxury SUV market but then again, a SUV bearing the Spirit of Ecstasy on the bonnet has to be the best in every aspect – including off-road capability – so that would have taken the engineers a while to achieve. The end result is a vehicle that is ‘Effortless, Everywhere’ as the company describes the true ‘Rolls-Royce of SUVs’.
It doesn’t have to be black…
Black is, of course, the dominant theme of the Black Badge Cullinan and while most customers will choose this colour, Rolls-Royce also offers no less than other 44,000 colours to choose from. And if the colour cannot be found, the customer can provide a sample of a colour desired and it will be developed for his or her car.
If you prefer, you can also have your Black Badge Cullinan in white – or any of the 44,000 colour choices available.
Multiple layers of paint and lacquer are meticulously applied and hand-polished 10 times, the most comprehensive surface finish process ever applied to a solid paint colour. The depth and intensity of Black Badge Cullinan’s coachwork serves as the perfect canvas upon which to throw a contrasting hand-painted Coachline into stark relief.
Exclusive core elements
Core elements are in black or black chrome, including the Spirit of Ecstasy mascot (including its mounting plate). The ‘Double R’ badge on the front, flanks and aft invert to become silver-on-black, while chrome surfaces such as the front grille surround, side frame finishers, boot handle, boot trim, lower air inlet finisher and exhaust pipes are darkened. While they appear black, the vertical grille bars remain polished, reflecting the blackened surfaces that surround them to add a frisson of movement that hints at the motor car’s dynamic intent.
The overall effect artfully simplifies and enlarges SUV’s exterior design graphics, further dramatized by all-new 22-inch forged alloy wheels, reserved exclusively for Black Badge Cullinan.
The gloss black and polished design also creates the perfect stage for the marque’s first ever coloured brake caliper finished in high gloss red paint.
Incidentally, many of the core items on a Black Badge model are exclusive. They are not offered by as Bespoke items so customers cannot personalise their car to be like a Black Badge. If they want a Black Badge model, they have to buy the whole car but they can personalise it as much as they want too.
‘Amplified’ V12 engine
The Black Badge Cullinan isn’t just about the dark aesthetics. The boldness of the theme is supported by ‘amplification’ of the 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 engine. It was deemed unnecessary to make changes to the ample internal capacity but tuning adjustments have generated an extra 29 ps for a total output of 600 ps. The sense of a single, infinite gear has also been enhanced with the addition of a further 50 Nm of torque, bringing the total to a 900 Nm.
There’s also an entirely new exhaust system, announcing the vehicle’s arrival with a deep, authoritative basso profundo. It’s not the sort of sound that will disturb the neighbour’s baby but it will signal the presence of the Black Badge Cullinan.
The drivetrain, ZF 8-speed gear box and both front and rear steered axles work collaboratively to adjust the levels of engagement depending on throttle and steering inputs. Changes to suspension components and settings add to the suite of dynamic technologies that ensure an appropriate balance between dynamism and refinement.
To bolster confidence, the braking bite point has been raised and pedal travel decreased. Redesigned brake disc ventilation also allows consistency in these changes while braking at elevated temperatures.
Whatever the customer wants…
It is unlikely that any two Black Badge Cullinans will have similarly equipped interiors. Apart from a near-infinitely configurable interior colour palette, just about anything a customer wants to install can be done provided it does not compromise safety. For those who prefer to leave it to the professionals, the Colour and Trim designers have created a bold new leather colour, Forge Yellow, to offer as part of the brand’s curated collection.
One increasingly popular feature is the Starlight Headliner and its presence in Black Badge Cullinan intensifies the cabin’s ambience by casting a low light over the whole cabin. Presented in fine Black leather, handwoven with 1,344 fibre-optic lights in the ceiling, it can show the sky at night with 8 brilliant white shooting stars that dart at random around the ceiling. Or the customer can specify a personal design and the tiny lights can be arranged to show it.
A person who is ready to buy a Rolls-Royce is unlikely to be overly concerned about its price but for those who are interested to know, the price of a Cullinan in Malaysia at the time of its launch in January 2019 started at RM1.8 million (without tax). A Black Badge version would be considerably more although the present exemption of 5% of Sales Tax has also brought it down. According to Encik Anas, the Sales Tax exemption – which has obviously meant significant savings for a buyer – has encouraged more people to ‘come through the door’ and discuss a purchase.
The customers, he revealed, are as young as in the early 30s, while the global average is in the 40s. In any case, Rolls-Royce is seeing its clientele becoming younger and has therefore responded with offerings like the Black Badge range.
The full Black Badge family, available in Malaysia.
“This remarkable motor car is creating tremendous amounts of interest amongst younger, affluent customers who are new to Rolls-Royce but who value adventure and freedom of travel without compromise,” he said, adding that RRKL is seeing an increasing number of customers from East Malaysia. As for aftersales support, RRKL has been progressively enhancing its service centre and its practices and services are optimised.
Sir Henry Royce once said: “Small things make perfection, but perfection is no small thing.” This has clearly applied to the motorcars of the brand for decades and even when scaled down, perfection is still a must.
As daily driving pleasures have been curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some other of life’s little luxuries have come to the fore. An authentic 1:8 scale replica of a full-sized Cullinan, the first Rolls-Royce SUV, is now available. Reproduced with absolute perfection, each is more than a mere model. Every miniature Cullinan is individually and painstakingly crafted by hand, to the client’s specification, from over 1,000 individual components. This process can take up to 450 hours – over half of the time required to build a full-sized Cullinan.
The replica is then hand-painted using Rolls-Royce colour-matched paint, hand-polished to the marque’s exacting specification; the coachline is even applied using a fine brush, just as it is on the original.
Customers may choose from a palette of around 40,000 ‘standard’ colours, or replicate their own personal Bespoke finish. The fully-functioning exterior lights are operated by a Cullinan-branded remote control, while under the bonnet is a perfect likeness of the iconic 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 engine.
On opening the coach doors, illuminated treadplates are revealed, leading to an interior designed and executed with the materials, skill and attention to detail lavished on Cullinan itself. From the headrest embroidery and wood finishes to seat piping and stitching, these Bespoke creations allow owners to recreate their full-size vehicle with astonishing accuracy, or even envision future Cullinans to add to their collection.
Presented in a display case at almost a metre in length, the replica is set on a gloss-black base mounted on a plinth allowing it to be appreciated from all angles. The Perspex window can be removed enabling the minutiae of the doors, luggage compartment and engine bay to be viewed in detail.
“This scale replica brings a new dimension to Cullinan’s Effortless, Everywhere philosophy. Our super-luxury SUV is now as perfectly at ease in the serene surroundings of its owner’s residence as it is in the most challenging and hostile terrain on Earth.” Said Torsten Muller-Otvos, Chief Executive, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
“It demonstrates, and reminds us as a company, that Inspiring Greatness applies at every scale. It is not just about the big things: we seek and achieve greatness in everything we do, down to the smallest item and minutest detail,” he added.
The full-sized Cullinan is priced from RM1.8 million (before including tax).
There are already scale models of the Cullinan being sold online but none would come anywhere close to the quality of this one made by Rolls-Royce. And certainly nowhere near the price which is believed to be around £14,500 (about RM74,500)!
Parents who have run out of ideas to keep their children occupied in this #stayathome time may like to consider encouraging them to enter the ‘Young Designer Competition’ that is being run by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. The competition is an extension of an event which is run annually at the Rolls-Royce employees’ Family Day Celebration in England and is now open to a worldwide audience.
For this competition, Rolls-Royce is calling on aspiring designers up to the age of 16 to design their dream Rolls-Royce of the future. The competition enables designers of the future to let their imaginations and creativity run free, even while they remain bound to their homes.
The carmaker hopes to ‘stimulate design talent, inspire greatness and provide a welcome distraction from self-isolation and social-distancing measures being adopted by many countries around the globe.
The marque’s Design team will judge all entries and select an overall winner, who will receive a rendered illustration of their design – a true once-in-a-lifetime, money-can’t-buy prize – as well as a chauffeur-driven journey in a Rolls-Royce Phantom for their first day back to school, with their best friend. Runners-up will receive a hand-signed certificate from Torsten Muller-Otvos, CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
Electric cars which can be assembled from kits supplied by Greenpower.
Two additional prizes will be awarded to one lucky UK entrant: Travel to school in style in a chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce once the UK’s own coronavirus countermeasures draw to an end. A new Greenpower electric car kit will also be donated to the recipients’ school, thereby enabling participation in the Greenpower Challenge – the UK’s number-one motorsport competition for schools across Britain.
Let’s see our young Malaysians take on the challenge! Entries need to be submitted by May 18, 2020 and for more information on the competition, go to rolls-royceyoungdesignercompetition.com.
We’re now starting the ‘Twenties’ and in another era, there was a period known as the ‘Roaring Twenties’. This was the 1920, a time after World War I when there was economic growth which led to societies (mainly in America and Europe) experiencing social change and a more liberal attitude. The auto industry offered more flamboyant cars to customers who wanted change.
Rolls-Royce has now created its first Collection Car of the new decade – the Dawn Silver Bullet Collection – which relates to decadence, to frivolity, to heady heydays and irreverence of that era. The Dawn, like a silver bullet, embodies the spirit of the Roaring Twenties.
Drawing inspiration from the fabled roadsters of the 1920s – rare, glamorous machines forever associated with bright young things and rakish Hollywood rebels – the Dawn Silver Bullet Collection captures the carefree attitude of those far-off days in a bold, contemporary expression designed for today’s non-conformists and pleasure-seekers. Seductive and effortlessly cool, this Collection is limited to just 50 cars worldwide.
The Dawn Silver Bullet Collection is a powerful, artfully tailored addition to the Rolls-Royce Collection Car ensemble. It uses an ultra metallic finish in silver, a shade found frequently in the marque’s enigmatic history on special cars such as the Silver Dawn, Silver King, Silver Silence and Silver Spectre.
The hero of the Collection is undoubtedly the Aero Cowling, which shifts the persona of the car’s high-shouldered silhouette, heightening the sense of speed and purpose. The rakish silver centre spine brings the bodywork into the cabin, giving it the intimate, connected feel of a true two-seater. A vapour-blasted titanium finisher completes the Aero Cowling windbreak and proudly displays the Silver Bullet name and silhouette.
The Dawn Silver Bullet Collection features dark exterior detailing: dark headlights and a new dark front bumper finisher, providing a dominant and determined expression in heighted contrast to the silver hue. The part-polished wheels offer a translucent shadow finish with a single silver pinstripe.
Inside, the Dawn Silver Bullet Collection is alluringly tactile, resplendent in materials and craftsmanship of our own time. A unique open-pore carbonfibre fascia greets the driver and companion in a contemporary, dashing fashion. A quilted transmission tunnel, with design cues taken from the quintessentially rebellious fashion accessory, the leather jacket, runs through the centre of the cabin in a tailored fashion.
With this in mind, Rolls-Royce will curate a series of ‘Silver Bullet Drives’, epic road-trips for owners of this contemporary collection, made available via Whispers, Rolls-Royce’s exclusive, digital home for its clients around the world.
While most other carmakers are still collecting and finalising their 2019 sales data, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has already finished its homework and can announce that its total sales for the year have no equal in the company’s 116-year history.
A total of 5,152 cars and SUVs were delivered to customers in over 50 countries around the world, an increase of 25% on the previous high set in 2018. With these historic results, Rolls-Royce continues to make a meaningful contribution to the overall performance of its shareholder, the BMW Group.
Commenting on the results, Torsten Muller-Otvos, CEO, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, said: “This performance is of an altogether different magnitude to any previous year’s sales success. While we celebrate these remarkable results, we are conscious of our key promise to our customers, to keep our brand rare and exclusive. We are pleased and proud to have delivered growth of 25% in 2019. Worldwide demand last year for our Cullinan SUV has driven this success and is expected to stabilise in 2020. It is a ringing testament to the quality and integrity of our products, the faith and passion of our customers and, above all, the skill, dedication and determination of our exceptional team at the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood and around the world and our dedicated global dealer network.”
Sales growth worldwide
Sales grew across all regions during the year, driven by strong customer demand for all the models. The company reported significant sales growth in every one of its key global markets, with North America retaining top status (around a third of global sales), followed by China and Europe (including UK).
Individual countries that achieved record sales results included Russia, Singapore, Japan, Australia, Qatar and Korea. The deliveries were made through a global network of 135 dealerships.
A Rolls-Royce showroom in the Philippines.
The Phantom retained its rightful place as the company’s pinnacle product, with the Dawn and Wraith continuing to dominate their respective sectors. The new Cullinan SUV gave Rolls-Royce its largest advance order book and fastest post launch sales growth of any model in the company’s history. The super-luxury SUV has become the fastest-selling new Rolls-Royce model to date.
Rolls-Royce Cullinan
Farewell to the Ghost
2019 marked the end of Ghost production 11 years after its launch at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. The most popular Rolls-Royce model of the Goodwood era, it attracted a new audience of younger, often self-made, entrepreneurial customers to the brand. Over its 11-year lifecycle, it became the biggest-selling Rolls-Royce not just of the Goodwood era, but in the entire history of the marque.
Rolls-Royce Ghost
The success of the Ghost placed Rolls-Royce in a position to scale up its production and make the massive investments that have led to it becoming the truly global brand it is today. After 5 years of development, a successor is due for launch in mid-2020 with market availability from the fourth quarter.
Bespoke keeps growing
Global demand for Rolls-Royce Bespoke reached a new peak in 2019. The Bespoke Collective comprises several hundred creative designers, engineers and craftspeople. These highly talented men and women take enormous pride in fulfilling unprecedented levels of customer requests for Bespoke personalisation and delivering on beautiful individual commissions. In 2019, they worked on some of the most spectacular Collection Cars ever created in the history of the brand.
A Rolls-Royce draws attention not only by its prestigious presence but also by the wealth of details around the car. Every model has been meticulously crafted and the most familiar elements have always been the Spirit of Ecstasy, Pantheon Grille and ‘Double R’ monogram. Unless the windows are heavily tinted (or the curtains drawn), passers-by can also admire the opulence which the occupants enjoy from the many luxurious appointments.
However, one feature which is not readily visible (especially in the daytime) to those on the outside but is spectacular in presentation is the Starlight Headliner. Now a part of Rolls-Royce iconography, the Starlight Headliner, in the spirit of the marque’s dedication to fulfilling the wishes of its patrons, began as a Bespoke request.
This came from a Rolls-Royce client who was suffering from photophobia (an extreme sensitivity to light) and was only able to enjoy reading his daily newspaper under the starlight on his rural ranch. He therefore requested that they develop a similar ambience within his Rolls-Royce.
As virtually nothing is impossible to the specialists at the Bespoke division (and it has been proven on many occasions), the Bespoke Collective of designers, engineers and craftspeople came up with a way to replicate stars on the ceiling of the cabin. They embedded no less than 800 stars, creating a star-filled night sky which gave just the right level of illumination the client needed, allowing him to read while travelling.
The client took delivery of his Phantom in 2006 and gave Rolls-Royce permission not only to publicise the Starlight Headliner but also offer the same feature to other customers. Thus was born the option of the Starlight Headliner which has been refined over the past 13 years. It can extend to the entire length of the roof and the intensity of light emitted by each star varied to better reflect the night sky.
The design for the Starlight Headliner is unique to each customer.
The constellation of each Starlight Headliner is completely unique to the customer. One customer requested that the lights be configured to represent the Ursa Major and Minor constellations while another customer wanted the Rolls-Royce monogram to illuminate separately from the rest of the stars. Some may like to have their loved one’s constellation twinkling from above. Whatever the customer wants, the Bespoke Collective will make sure he or she will have it.
Typically, it takes nine hours to craft, but a personalized pattern needs its own template, which can take more than 17 hours to complete. Two Rolls-Royce craftspeople marry their skills to create this extraordinary feature. It’s the perfect alliance of traditional craftsmanship and modern-day technology.
The Starlight Headliner’s unique effect is achieved by fitting delicate fiberoptic strands at varying depths and at different angles – to cause light to escape in multiple directions and at different intensities. First, the leather is perforated with 1,400 to 1,600 holes, each carefully counted. Fibreoptic threads, which are hand-trimmed at different angles to achieve a twinkling effect, are set into these holes by hand. The craftsperson then ensures that the fibres are perfectly seated on the visible leather surface, ready to shine.
Customers can order the Starlight Headliner as an option for their Rolls-Royce and the additional cost depends on the requirements and the model. For a Phantom, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars KL says that the price would start from RM65,000.
It’s often said that Henry Ford told customers that his Model T was available ‘in any colour as long as it’s black’ and he had valid reasons. The man who put the world on wheels by using mass production processes was obsessed with reducing the time it took to complete a car and by limiting colour choices, it was possible to simplify and speed up assembly. Black paint seemed to dry the fastest too. But that was in the early part of the 20th century when just having a car was already special.
In the 21st century, car-buyers have more colour choices and in the upper strata of the market, they can also customise their cars – in the same way as some of the cars in the early 20th century because they were handbuilt to order. While the majority of car-buyers will accept whatever specifications are offered – but can still choose the colours – those who want something exclusive have many options and services to give them whatever they want.
The challenges from customers
The Bespoke Division at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars offers such services and the company reports that demand for its services has kept growing in recent years. Its designers, craftspeople and engineers are constantly challenged by customers who present unique requirements for their Rolls-Royce. Like the Stockholm-based entrepreneur with an extraordinary passion for flowers.
The customer, with a wife and two of four children named after flowers, challenged the Rolls-Royce Bespoke Collective to envision a car that immerses its occupants in a beguiling floral scene. The result is the Rose Phantom – a sanctuary of true luxury, a vision of flowers, created with a million embroidered stitches.
Inspired by a rose garden
The Rose Garden at the Rolls-Royce headquarters and factory served as the primary point of inspiration for Ieuan Hatherall, a Bespoke Designer for Rolls-Royce. This Rose Garden is the only place in the world that the Phantom Rose is grown. Bred exclusively for Rolls-Royce by British Rose Breeder Philip Harkness of Harkness Roses, the Phantom Rose grows in the courtyard of the marque’s Global Centre of Luxury Manufacturing Excellence at Goodwood in West Sussex, England.
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, an indication of both the colours and the treatment within. The wheels echo the design and are embellished with a twinned pinstripe, also in Charles Blue.
The rose garden within
On opening the coach doors, one first encounters the embroidery on the inside of the rear doors, but it is not until entering the rear cabin that one fully encounters the extraordinary extent of the satin stitch creation. The Phantom Rose is illustrated in varying stages of maturity, from bud to full bloom, in an asymmetrical design that appears to grow across the roof lining, from the rear of the car. The marque’s fabled starlight headliner illuminates the scene as the roses are interspersed with individually placed fibreoptic lights.
In the rear compartment, Serenity Seating with a soft calf rest cushion adopts the inverted colourway of the exterior as sumptuous Charles Blue leather is accented with Peacock Blue piping. From here, one can admire Phantom’s Gallery, created as a centrepiece of the interior. Stems of embroidered roses climb through the glass fronted fascia, providing a spectacle for the occupants.
At the request of the patron, colour has been introduced in the form of Peacock and Adonis Blue butterflies, imbuing movement to the elegant motif. The family members also played a creative role with his wife designing the umbrellas while his daughter, Magnolia, defined the exterior hue of this Phantom.
Commenting on the work of the Bespoke Collective, Torsten Müller Otvos, Chief Executive of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, said: “The Rose Phantom is a stunning iteration of a contemporary Rolls-Royce. Our extraordinary craftspeople at the Home of Rolls-Royce have achieved, with this car, something which can only be described as sublime. The work of our Bespoke Collective is the best in the world. When I look at creations like this car, it is with a sense of pride that I know that these skills could not be replicated anywhere else in the world. This is undoubtedly one of the greatest Rolls-Royce Phantoms of its generation.”
