The Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Bespoke department brings together a collective of designers, engineers and craftspeople to fulfil ambitious and personal visions
Most cars that leave the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, England, are bespoke. 2017 was the year that Rolls-Royce elevated its custom-made approach to unprecedented new levels. Elite Living Africa brings you examples of Bespoke design created by the luxury house over the past 12 months.
Sweptail
Rolls-Royce ‘Sweptail’ premiered in 2017, ‘Sweptail’ is a result of a collaboration between patron and artisan, ‘Sweptail’s’ bold design embraces the marque’s heritage as the world’s leading coachbuilder whilst reaffirming its pinnacle position in Bespoke personalisation.
This automotive equivalent of Haute Couture draws on the lineage of 1920s and 1930s Rolls-Royce motor cars. The client’s vision was for a coachbuilt two seater coupé featuring a large panoramic glass roof. The result is a contemporary masterpiece.
The grille, milled from solid aluminium, presents a distinct formality. The side profile of ‘Sweptail’ defines its stately character, whilst the rear taper of the motor car pays homage to the world of racing yachts, shaping a completely new perception of a dramatic Rolls-Royce coupé.The elegant and characterising rear culminates in the registration number 08, milled from ingots of aluminium and hand polished to a mirror finish.
New Phantom and ‘The Gallery’ – An Art Gallery on Wheels
New Rolls-Royce Phantom was unveiled to global critical acclaim in 2017. At the heart of the motor car’s design aesthetic is ‘The Gallery’, a contemporary and luxury reinterpretation of a motor car’s dashboard and instrument panel.
wo unique motor cars were created in honour of the 2017 Rolls-Royce Summer Studio, Porto Cervo, Sardinia. A Bespoke Dawn Drophead Coupé and a Wraith Black Badge were commissioned to encapsulate the essence of this beguiling island.
Unveiled in Dubai in 2017, the Bespoke ‘Spirit of Calligraphy’ Ghost draws its design inspiration from the ancient art of Arabic calligraphy. Words are harmoniously moulded into shapes, creating a unique effect where texts and images become one. Sir Henry Royce’s resonant words “Take the best that exists and make it better. When it does not exist, design it”, in their Arabic form are shaped into Rolls-Royce’s flying mascot, the Spirit of Ecstasy. The calligraphy motif, created by renowned artist Khaled Al Saai, features as a silver inlay on the centre panel and as embroidery on the rear centre seat, amidst an eye-catching array of Turchese, Black and Arctic White leathers.
The Ghost ‘Elegance’ was the first Rolls-Royce to be finished in a paint featuring diamonds. The flanks of the motor car are highlighted with Mugello Red and Black twin coachlines, reflected inside with black leather seats and accents in Mugello Red, carried through stitching on the doors and piping on the seats. The detailed fascia of smooth open-pore Tudor Oak veneer is also complemented with a Mugello Red single stitch along the top of the dashboard, and finished with a Bespoke clock.
Elegance
Commissioned for an individual collector, the Ghost ‘Elegance’ raised the bar of Bespoke by becoming the first Rolls-Royce to be finished in a paint infused with diamonds. The flanks of the motor car are highlighted with Mugello Red and Black twin coachlines, reflected inside with black leather seats and accents in Mugello Red, carried through stitching on the doors and piping on the seats. The detailed fascia of smooth open-pore Tudor Oak veneer is also complemented with a Mugello Red single stitch along the top of the dashboard, and finished with a Bespoke clock.
Dawn in Fuxia
In 2017, US collector Michael Fux was presented with his tenth Bespoke model from Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. Following a visit to Pebble Beach in 2016, where he collected a cluster of eye-catching fuchsia petals, he challenged the Bespoke team at Goodwood with a commission to bring a striking new colour to Dawn. Subsequently unveiled during The Quail automotive gathering in California, the vibrant ‘Dawn in Fuxia’ represents the addition of another unique hue to the Rolls-Royce Colour Collection, and is reserved exclusively for Mr. Fux to use. His most recent commission is his second Dawn, having collected the first – in one-off ‘Fux Blue’ – in 2016. Reminiscent of that car, the interior of ‘Dawn in Fuxia’ is trimmed in stunning Arctic White leather.
‘Dawn B50’ for Hotel Byblos
Rolls-Royce unveiled the ‘Dawn B50’ in 2017 in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Hotel Byblos in Saint-Tropez. The highly Bespoke and unique motor car inspired by the warmth and vibrancy of the Côte d'Azur. Commissioned by the Hotel Byblos as the automotive ‘Jewel of Saint-Tropez’, the Dawn B50 exudes two dominant exterior colours. The lustrous combination was developed exclusively to celebrate the hotel’s anniversary, along with bespoke door treadplates and a unique hand-painted coachline on each side bearing the ‘B50’ logo. The sophisticated interior takes inspiration from the intense Mediterranean sun, with vibrant tangerine tones that accentuate the dashboard and echo the stitching across the seat upholstery and floor mats.
Homage to a special Silver Dawn
The rare 1952 Silver Dawn Drophead Coupé, one of very few ever made. It was sold new to a customer in Canada, and in 2017 a commission for a new Dawn from the same country led to a beautiful homage to this particular car in its 65th anniversary year.
Finished in two-tone Midnight Sapphire and Jubilee Silver, the new Dawn closely emulates the original finishes of the 1952 motor car, with a Bespoke painted coachline, broken for the first time on a Rolls-Royce. Inside, Selby Grey and Navy leather are combined with Crossbanded Walnut Burr veneer, closely matched to the original. The finishing touches include a Bespoke clock with ‘1952’ lettering and a Spirit of Ecstasy veneer inlay.
Inspiration from South Korea
The ‘Bespoke Collection for Korea’ was presented at the British Embassy in Seoul, a showcase of aesthetic heritage of South Korea with a modern twist. The Ghost Seoul Edition is reflective of the country’s Taegukgi national flag, finished in bright Andalusian White with a twin coachline in Cobalto Blue and Mugello Red – along with a hand-painted Bespoke motif that captures the silhouette of the iconic Namsan Seoul Tower. Inside, the black leather is complemented by contrasting bands in Arctic White, as well as blue and red highlights for stitching and piping.
The ‘Wraith Busan Edition’ is inspired by the hues of the coastal city of the same name, with a two-tone exterior in Royal Blue and Jubilee Silver that conjures up the shimmer of the surrounding sea. The rear pillar motif echoes the delicate latticework of traditional Korean ‘hanok’ screen doors, and is also carried inside the car across the dashboard. Emulating the dusk sky across nearby mountain ranges, a single coachline in Blushing Pink draws attention to the shoulder line. The colour is also applied to the seat stitching, instrument panel and ‘RR’ headrest monograms inside, as the final flourish to the Selby Grey and Cobalto Blue upholstery.
