Last year was the luxury automaker's Bespoke division's most successful to date.
Rolls-Royce Bespoke is looking back on 2022 as its most successful year to date, after wealthy customers from across the globe spent more on custom creations than ever in the marque's 118-year history. The automaker says that the individual projects commissioned by its customers last year were among "the most aesthetically ambitious and technically demanding ever undertaken."
This ability to create the extraordinary is an attribute that the company's CEO values highly: "Our Bespoke Collective of designers, engineers, and artisans is our greatest and most precious asset - truly exceptional people who push the boundaries of craftsmanship, material, and technology in their constant pursuit of perfection," said Torsten Muller-Otvos, adding that every car leaving Rolls-Royce "is Bespoke, and that is testament to their skill, craftsmanship, and boundless creativity."
On average, Bespoke customers will spend more than $500,000 per build, so let's take a look at 10 of the atelier's highlights developed at Goodwood.
This collection is made up of six one-of-one Rolls-Royce Phantom builds, each including a unique artwork hand-painted by British artist Sacha Jafri, famed for his 'Magical Realism' style. As the name of the collection indicates, each car references a component or force of nature, with Earth, Fire, Wind, Water, and Air joined by the sixth element, Humanity.
Rolls-Royce reports that this project raised an impressive $1.2 million for charity, and as is fashionable, each car comes with a unique digital collectible.
The name of this collection, which is comprised of two custom Wraith coupes, obviously references the famed northern lights. To capture the "ethereal splendor" of the phenomenon, the Bespoke Collective came up with two new iridescent paint hues: Aurora Blue and Borealis Green, while the Starlight Headliners in each car feature multicolored optics with blue, green, and white lights. And as impressive as that is, Rolls-Royce obsessed over the details to achieve the perfect positioning of the lights so that they mimic the pattern seen when viewing the polar light show in real life.
The Phantom Paisley Gallery reinterprets the paisely motif seen on luxury items over the centuries and is made up of an entirely hand-embroidered design that includes thread in Navy Blue, Arctic White, and Forge Yellow with 90,000 individual stitches. This took over 40 hours to complete, and each piece is made of three seamlessly connected parts. If you're wondering why there are only two images here, it's likely because the car this has been applied to is otherwise unremarkable (for a Rolls-Royce). Another possibility is that the individual commissioning this did not want more of the car revealed.
In fact, Rolls-Royce says that many of its customers have requested that their Bespoke creations are not seen outside of the company, which means we may not even be seeing the most spectacular RR creations made in 2022 on this list.
These Cullinan SUVs aim to "immerse their occupants in the magical ambiance of a winter wonderland," according to Rolls-Royce, so fascias and picnic tables are hand-painted with motifs inspired by the patterns that cracked ice can produce, and feature numerous layers in different colors that are coated and polished for a 3D effect. This process took more than two weeks to complete, while the Bespoke Starlight Headliner in each car (which also aims to create the same effect) took another 18 hours. On the outside, Crystal over Midnight Sapphire and Blue Crystal over Arctic are the color schemes employed. Unfortunately, only a single image of the latter exterior is shown.
This one-off Gallery gets a starburst motif that showcases solid silver spears that extend outward from a diamond set in platinum, ending in pear-cut sapphires. The backing of the design is engraved with a guilloche effect in Bleu de Nuit, which is described by RR as a "rich sapphire lacquer that intensifies the precious stones' magnificent colors." This pattern also appears in the clock's sterling silver surround, along with a matching Sapphire Blue overlay that adds depth and iridescence with its lacquer finish.
These Ghost builds pay tribute to the annual Pebble Beach gathering, where Rolls-Royce has presented stunning creations like the Boat Tail. One vehicle is finished in Crystal over Sagano Green, while the other has a shimmering gold mica flake finish over Sequoia Green. To achieve depth, there are six layers of paint, each hand-polished. Before the last two clear coatings are applied, the Crystal finish is added with minute color speck particles creating a multi-dimensional shimmer.
This is not a collection but a true one-off based on a Phantom. The inspiration behind this stunner is the Singapore Orchid, and it features a centerpiece comprising a hand-sculpted Gallery shaped by award-winning artist Helen Amy Murray. See the three-dimensional flowers? Those are made of pure silk. Elsewhere, the orchid motif can be found in the rear picnic table inlays and the treadplates, while Singapore Orchid Pearl White paint sees fine glass particles mixed with a violet tint to create a pearlescent effect. This is finished off with an Orchid coachline, which is also painted by hand on all Rolls-Royce models.
This is a custom creation you won't miss if it attends Monterey Car Week this year and was commissioned by car enthusiast Michael Fux, who is usually known for his love of purple hues. The Rolls-Royce Dawn one-off's color is called Fux Bright Yellow and is featured everywhere, from the exterior body to the leather, the top stitch, the two-tone steering wheel, and the wheel centers.
This Phantom is named after the silver-white appearance of platinum and boasts two different fabrics for the interior. One was crafted in an Italian mill, while the other comes from bamboo fibers. The pattern these fabrics are used for is "based on an abstract interpretation of the Spirit of Ecstasy," says RR, a motif that is repeated in the Gallery. The Starlight Headliner also gets special attention with a one-off design that draws one's eye rearwards with shooting stars following the pattern's arc.
The final collection here is made up of two sets of four cars, each of which aims to reflect different aspects of fashion. We've covered these cars before, but as a recap, the Re-Belle cars feature solid block colors, including Lime Green, Gunmetal, Wildberry, and Arctic White, with the interiors accented with Lime Green or Peony Pink. On the other hand, the Fu-Shion cars come in Military Green, Burnout Grey, Forge Yellow, and Tempest Grey, with the interiors featuring Mandarin or Forge Yellow contrast accents. The highlights of these builds are the all-new Starlight Tailgate elements, with 192 stars placed in the perforated leather.
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