This year’s Geneva Motor Show sees Rolls-Royce return to
Switzerland only six months after the world’s media confirmed New Phantom as
‘The Best Car in the World’ during its global launch on the shores of Lake
Lucerne.
Three distinct Phantoms, commissioned by discerning connoisseurs of
luxury, will demonstrate why Rolls-Royce is a Luxury House in the business of
motor cars and the by-word for Bespoke. In addition, Rolls-Royce will introduce
the Dawn Aero Cowling, transforming the silhouette of the world’s sexiest
drophead coupé.
Three different Phantoms, three distinct customer visions
At this year’s Geneva Motor Show, Rolls-Royce will show why
it is considered to be the world’s leading luxury house by showcasing three
very different Phantoms curated for specific patrons of the brand.
The first of these three Phantoms is known as The Gentleman’s
Tourer and harks back to the era of the grandest of Grand Tourers – the Phantom
II Continental Saloons of the Thirties. These Phantom II Continental Saloons
were always four-door standard wheelbase cars driven by the owners themselves
on long journeys across Europe or the United States with friends. This idea of
a large four-door trans-continental Grand Touring car appealed to this
customer, and he commissioned a standard wheelbase New Phantom in this spirit.
Phantom II Continental Saloons were always notable for being
commissioned for the road, their colours and interiors specified for driving
endurance rather than show, necessarily. The Gentleman’s Tourer pursues this
approach, with a unique Iced Gunmetal exterior paint, complemented by a satin silver
bonnet. This new paint was developed specifically for this customer to appeal
to his interest in high performance aircraft, with its satin appearance
reminiscent of cutting edge military tech. The 22 inch alloy wheel centres are
also accented in Iced Gunmetal, another first use of this process on a wheel.
The interior of The Gentleman’s Tourer is a masculine,
utilitarian-feeling space, bespoked for the purpose of long, luxurious
journeys. Tones of Black, Selby Grey and Anthracite leathers are blended
beautifully by Goodwood’s craftspeople across the snug cabin while details such
as the embossed Spirit of Ecstasy in each door panel and the silver pinstripe
across the Piano Black veneer draw the eye to the detail paid to this
minimalist, modern interior. One final precious feature confirms the technical
modernity of this beautiful motor car – the Cascade Steel Gallery finished in
Ruthenium, a rare and precious metal from the Platinum group. With only 20
tonnes of this metal mined annually – compared with 2,500 tonnes of Gold – this
indeed is a very precious way to detail one’s Phantom.
Two beautiful and very significant Phantom Extended
Wheelbase also grace the Rolls-Royce stand at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show.
Whispered Muse and A Moment in Time are the first two new Phantoms commissioned
with completely one-off, artist designed Galleries. These two individual
Galleries have each been developed independently of the standard Gallery offer,
and independently of each other, demonstrating the marque’s commitment to the
maxim ‘Bespoke is Rolls-Royce’.
Whispered Muse is adorned with a one-off Gallery created by
London-based designer Helen Amy Murray. This Gallery reinterprets Charles
Sykes’ original drawings for the much revered Spirit of Ecstasy. By creating different
planes in silk through directional sculpting, Helen has created individual
contours, beautiful in their own right, that fuse together to resolve in a
partial image of the Spirit of Ecstasy’s dress flowing backwards from her neck.
The silk that Helen has employed is the perfect accent for
this beautiful car that features unique Piano Seashell veneer on the interior
surfaces, created by hand polishing for 12 hours, beautiful handstitched
Charles Sykes Spirit of Ecstasy embroidery and Rose Gold Bespoke Audio speakers
on the interiors of the rear doors. The delicate colourway delineates areas of
the motor car – the Dark Spice of the front seats for the chauffeur, whilst the
owner relaxes in the comfort of the Seashell leather-clad Serenity seats.
The exterior features a newly-developed Crystal effect over
the two-tone Selby Grey and Palais Nemaskar Dawn bespoke paint. 10 layers of
paint are built up with the last being a layer of glass infused clear-coat to
create the crystal effect. The Rose Gold pain motif is set off by the first
ever Rose Gold Spirit of Ecstasy – specially created for this valued patron,
and is continued with the coachline and the pin stripes around the wheel
centres of this magnificent and regal Phantom.
Helen Amy Murray, artist, said of the design, “I was
inspired by the ethereal quality of the illustrations of the Spirit of Ecstasy
by Charles Sykes. They led me to incorporate the female form into my work; I
wanted my Gallery commission to look soft and organic. The subtle spacing of
lines brings the draped figure into perspective.”
A Moment in Time is a second customer-commissioned Phantom
Extended Wheelbase present at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show. Its Gallery sums up,
in art, what Claude Johnson meant when he said, “The spirit of Rolls-Royce,
namely, speed with silence, absence of vibration, the mysterious harnessing of
great energy, and a beautiful living organism of superb grace…”
This Phantom’s Gallery captures A Moment in Time as though
the Spirit of Ecstasy’s shawl was allowed to drape over the car at high speed,
capturing that moment that leaves time standing still. Achieved through the
artistic process of photography, fluid dynamics and sculpture by the Based Upon
Collective in London. The final interpretation was machined from a solid billet
of aluminium and hand polished before being mounted into The Gallery space as a
beautiful, valuable artwork.
The creation of A Moment in Time is as remarkable as its
muse. A swath of silk was pulled through a tank of water, weighted and
suspended, controlling this moment. Captured on camera, the resulting fluid
form was then analysed by the Rolls-Royce design team and the artists of Based
Upon, before being remastered in clay. A malleable wax sculpture was then
reworked to optimise the impact of ‘The Gallery’s’ space. This final
interpretation was machined from a solid billet of aluminium, polished to
accentuate the curvature of the alluded to fabric.
Again the motor car that bears this beautiful artwork is
designed in perfect harmony with its Gallery. This time a unique Piano Milori
Sapphire veneer, hand-polished for 12 hours, complements the Navy and Selby
Grey interior, this time with the beautiful hand-stitched Charles Sykes Spirit
of Ecstasy embroidery, also in Navy. The exterior of this beautiful Phantom
features a newly created Blue Crystal over Milori Sapphire Bespoke paint. Six
layers of paint are built up with the last being a layer of clear-coat infused
with blue glass to create the blue crystal effect. The exterior is finished with
a Selby Grey coachline and pinstripes to the wheel centres.
Dawn Aero Cowling
The 2018 Geneva Motor Show is also witness to a transformed
Dawn. This new take on Dawn results from the recognition by Rolls-Royce’s
designers that some clients may wish for enhanced flexibility in terms of style
and practicality from the world’s most luxurious drophead coupé. Thus the Dawn
Aero Cowling was born.
The Aero Cowling transforms one’s Dawn into a two-seater
roadster-style motor-car without sacrificing the option of remaining the most
social of all open top luxury cars, by creating an extended tonneau cover over
the rear seat area.
The Aero Cowling encloses the rear seat area of Dawn in a
beautifully hand-made unit that features two cowls that rise from the leading
edge of the tonneau area, which conceals the Dawn hood, to behind each front
seat. The form of the cowls was precisely sculpted to funnel the air
gracefully, so to enhance driver comfort.
Each cowl offers enhanced lockable leather-lined storage
compartments for personal effects. The cover itself is made of carbon-fibre and
aluminium and so is incredibly light and strong. The lids of the cowls are
swathed in Rolls-Royce leather which matches the interior of the car.
The Dawn Aero Cowling present on the Rolls-Royce stand at
the 2018 Geneva Motor Show is a beautifully-specified motor car clad in a
silver and tan colour scheme. The sensuous exterior is painted in Cassiopeia
Silver and features beautiful 21inch part-polished alloy wheels, whilst the
interior is swathed in Casden Tan leather, highlighted by Selby Grey piping and
stitching and Black contrast elements. The carbon-fibre on the central spine of
the Aero Cowling is exposed to showcase its lightweight structure and its weave
is book-matched to a contemporary chevron graphic, adding to the dynamic
character of Dawn Aero Cowling. Dashboard and centre consoles featuring an
intricate dark technical fibre veneer continue this ‘spine’ running down the
centre of the car, which when paired with the woven leather floor mats echo the
technical nature of the carbon-fibre on the Aero Cowling.
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