My Rolls, my way
Over the past 12 months, the world’s most iconic luxury car brand has witnessed a staggering increase in demand for its in-house personalisation programme, which it has been heavily promoting since the programme’s inception eight years ago. Nowadays, says the company, practically every new car to leave its factory at Goodwood, in the south of England, is a bespoke commission – a fact that is extremely helpful to the brand’s bottom line.
Rolls can pretty much indulge your every whim. While some Bespoke clients simply want their initials hand painted onto the bodywork or incorporated into the wood veneers, others want unique paint and trim colours, intricate interior embroidery or even a one-off body design to suit their needs. It can take many painstaking months to meet a client’s brief and some, as in the case of the Sweptail, can take years from initial sketches to delivery.
Undoubtedly the most talked about Rolls-Royce of 2017, the Sweptail is, according to the brand, ‘the realisation of one customer’s coachbuilt dream’. Decades ago, carmakers would supply a running chassis to a coachbuilder, who would design and build the interior and exterior entirely according to the customer’s specifications – a practice that was responsible for many of the world’s unique and exquisite motorcars. However, when Rolls-Royce undertook the same task for a client recently, they kept the entire project in-house.
Built at the request of a Chinese collector based in the GCC, the Sweptail is based on the Phantom, but has a bold and unique two-door body that echoes the shapes of vintage racing yachts. Its enormous glass ‘panoramic’ roof is another first, as is the two-seat cabin and its glorious, hand-made forms. Not everyone will appreciate its styling, but that will not concern the owner at all. This was his vision, which Rolls-Royce turned into a driving reality for a rumoured US$13 million. And, as of May 2017, it was the most expensive new-build car in the world.
The year also saw the first Rolls-Royce to be finished in a paint infused with diamonds. The flanks of a collector’s Ghost ‘Elegance’ were 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.
Earlier eye-catching projects include the Serenity Phantom, which takes its inspiration from the idyllic gardens of Japan. Finished with a Bespoke Mother of Pearl paint, Serenity Phantom has a delicate hand-painted blossom motif incorporated throughout the vehicle, from the embroidered silk ceilings and leather, to the wood veneers and delicate bodywork paints.
Arabian styling in your bespoke Rolls-Royce
The world’s most successful Rolls-Royce dealerships are, perhaps unsurprisingly, in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and bespoke is their business. Dubai recently showcased the Spirit of Calligraphy Ghost, featuring the iconic words of Sir Henry Royce – “Take the best that exists and make it better. When it does not exist, design it” – written in Arabic and shaped into Rolls-Royce’s famous flying mascot, the Spirit of Ecstasy. The artwork, by renowned calligrapher Khalid Al Saaei, appears as a silver inlay on the centre panel and as embroidery on the rear centre seat, amid an eye-catching array of Turchese, Black and Arctic White leathers.
For the truly bespoke buyer, the only limits are your imagination, and your bank balance.
Bespoke choices
Leather
Soft, supple and definitely not squeaky. Your leather interior can be highlighted with piping, stitching or a embroidered details from your or the designer’s imagination.
Veneer
The woodwork can be hand crafted into a work of art. The technicians have 20,000 veneer combinations to work with.
Paint
There are 44,000 hues to choose from, and colour combinations and contrasts not yet imagined bold or discreet. Of course, you can always create a unique colour of your own and have it named after you.
