It is quite remarkable how a brand that defines luxury, craftsmanship and individualization at a consistently high level, yet always finds new ways and challenges to raise its own level to even more demanding spheres. But with the launch of its latest special edition model, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has once again achieved such a remarkable feat – with the creation of an artwork, in the truest sense of the word. To mark the brand’s 120th anniversary, Rolls-Royce is paying homage to its timeless muse, the Spirit of Ecstasy, with a unique Private Collection under the name Phantom Scintilla. Limited to just ten examples worldwide, the special edition celebrates the ethereal beauty, grace and legacy of the iconic sculpture that famously adorns the hood of all models. In Goodwood, the »Home of Rolls-Royce«, Chapter was able to take a first look at the painstakingly handcrafted automotive work of art and gain exciting insights into the challenging development process in conversation with the designers responsible.
Over 2,500 people work for the traditional luxury brand Rolls-Royce in the tranquil town of Goodwood in West Sussex, southern England. In addition to the global headquarters, the Centre of Luxury Manufacturing Excellence is also located here – the only place in the world where Rolls-Royce automobiles are designed, engineered and painstakingly built by hand. And the latter really must be interpreted very literally and in the strictest sense here. Because anyone walking through the spacious halls with their perfectly synchronized and precisely orchestrated work processes will look in vain for the industrial robots and automation solutions that are otherwise common in automobile production, despite the state-of-the-art technology. The marketing phrase »love of craftsmanship«, so often used by too many brands, is actually practiced and lovingly cultivated here down to the smallest detail: Be it the company’s own »humidor rooms«, in which a wide variety of wood veneers are individually stored for a long time in meticulously controlled temperature and humidity conditions so that the woods can breathe and become supple for interior processing. Or the highly demanding production processes of the Starlight Headliners effect, for which up to 1,600 individual LED lights are carefully and with the greatest precision worked by hand by experienced craftsmen into the leather of the headliner, which has previously been perforated in the same individual pattern.
However, the impressive production quality that is already a demanding standard for classic Rolls-Royce models is clearly surpassed by the highly exclusive Bespoke creations and Private Collections in terms of depth of detail, craftsmanship and ingenuity: The automotive masterpieces and coveted collector’s items, most of which are limited to a handful of examples, are offered exclusively to super-luxury customers of the traditional British car manufacturer via private offices and are sometimes also developed in close collaboration with those VIP customers. And it goes without saying that the unveiling of a special collection, usually based on years of development work, is an important moment for the brand in many respects, as Chris Brownridge, Chief Executive Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, emphasizes: »The unveiling of a Private Collection is always a landmark moment. These rare and collectible motor cars illustrate the boundless ingenuity and skill of the creatives and craftspeople at the Home of Rolls-Royce, and stimulate ideas among our clients for their own commissions. They also affirm Rolls-Royce’s status as an authentic luxury house. We do not simply build motor cars – we create rare, complex and exquisitely crafted super-luxury products that are highly prized by collectors today and will be cherished long into the future.«
In this spirit, there could hardly be a more fitting setting for the Phantom Scintilla than the Californian over-the-top luxury car event The Quail, which opens up a parallel world for automobile enthusiasts and high-end car manufacturers every August.
The design of the vehicle, which is limited to just ten examples, pays homage to the Spirit of Ecstasy – that iconic Rolls-Royce bonnet statue for which the term »mascot« almost sounds like an unworthy insult.
Its origins date back to 1910, when the then Rolls-Royce Managing Director Claude Johnson commissioned the sculptor and illustrator Charles Sykes to design a figure that would embody the essence of Rolls-Royce. He suggested the ancient Greek sculpture Nike of Samothrace, which captures the moment of take-off of a winged goddess, as a basis. Charles Sykes, however, ultimately opted for a more delicate, ethereal figure that would better express the grace, calm and subtle power of the brand. In creating the Phantom Scintilla, the Rolls-Royce Bespoke Design team has now revisited some of Johnson’s original inspirations, incorporating materials and subtle references to the Nike of Samothrace into the design.
The exterior appearance of the Phantom Scintilla already pays homage to this history: The upper body is finished in Andalusian White, the lower body in Thracian Blue, inspired by the colors of the sea around the island of Samothrace in the northern Aegean. A subtle metallic shimmer is intended to imitate the glitter of sunlight on the water. The hand-painted double coachline and the wheel pinstripes in Spirit Blue complete the unique exterior design.
For the figure of the Spirit of Ecstasy, which is of course particularly central to this model, a special ceramic finish was used that very precisely alludes to the texture of the original Parian marble of the Nike of Samothrace. A seemingly small detail, but one that is based on intensive work processes, as Celina Mettang, Bespoke Color and Material Designer at Rolls-Royce, explains: »We were fascinated with the qualities of Parian marble, and this material became the subject of our research for many months. To create a clear and elegant connection to the famed statue, we developed a ceramic finish that captures the translucence and purity of this unique stone, and perfectly embraces the ethereal nature of our icon.«
The interior design is intended to reflect the flowing movement of the Spirit of Ecstasy ‘s robe in a complex embroidery pattern that runs through the entire interior. Brienny Dudley, the artisan entrusted with the realization of this idea, experimented with a variety of stitches and hues before finally settling on tatami stitch, which was applied in six layers that intertwine in varying density and complexity – the entire interior composition comprises an impressive 869,500 stitches. »Translating this design into a three-dimensional form was a wonderful creative challenge, requiring more than two and a half years of close collaboration with our Bespoke design team to achieve the right level of detail, texture and tactility in the embroidery. Having two canvases – leather and fabric – added another level of complexity, as these materials respond to stitching in different ways. 36 individually embroidered panels had to be carefully curated so that they aligned perfectly, creating a seamless, flowing motif through the interior suite,« says Brienny Dudley, Bespoke Craft Specialist at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
The embroidered motif on the doors is the most elaborate and complex door design ever seen on a Rolls-Royce: it consists of 633,000 stitches in which yarn in several shades has been combined and complemented by illuminated perforations. At night, the embroidery takes on a fascinating, luminous sparkle and appears to glow from within.
For Katrin Lehmann, Bespoke Color Material Designer at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, this attention to detail in areas that are otherwise less of a design focus, even at Rolls-Royce, is also a special feature of the Phantom Scintilla: »We wanted to create a single graphic that almost appears as a watercolour artwork-we call it ‘painting with thread’. To create a luminescent effect, we used four different colors, thread thicknesses and stitch orientations. In doing so, we covered areas never explored in a Rolls-Royce before, achieving the most extensive density of embroidery ever seen in a Rolls-Royce motor car.«
Another truly exceptional highlight of the Phantom Scintilla is certainly the artwork in the Gallery, which, as in other models, extends across the entire width of the dashboard. The artwork, entitled Celestial Pulse, consists of seven bands that have been individually milled from solid aluminum before being decorated with the same fine-grained ceramic surface as the Spirit of Ecstasy figure. The edges are polished to a mirror finish so that they catch the light and convey a sense of movement and fluidity.
»Speed with silence, the absence of vibration, the mysterious harnessing of great energy, and a beautiful living organism of superb grace« is Claude Johnson’s original briefing for the Rolls-Royce statue to be developed. An impressive analogy in many respects to the essence of the British luxury brand. Today more than ever and, of course, especially with regard to the Phantom Scintilla Private Collection automobile work of art now on display. [CS]
