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• Landmark Private Collection of 25 motor cars honours Phantom’s centenary
• The most complex and technologically ambitious Private Collection to date
• A century of stories: interior celebrates pivotal figures, notable clients, significant models, journeys, places and moments that defined Phantom’s first 100 years
• Rear seats in high-resolution printed fabric, developed with a fashion atelier, completed with 160,000 stitches
• Laser-etched front seats depict hand-sketched linework inspired by Phantom’s heritage
• Most intricate Rolls-Royce woodwork ever introduces three Rolls-Royce firsts: 3D marquetry, 3D ink layering, and 24-carat gold leafing
• Spirit of Ecstasy in solid gold, hallmarked and enamelled, based on 1925 casting
• Bespoke Gallery recalls pages of a book with abstracted text formed in aluminium

“The Rolls-Royce Phantom Centenary Private Collection is our tribute to 100 years of the world’s most revered luxury item. This uncompromising work of art uses the meticulously engineered Phantom VIII as the canvas to tell the story of Phantom’s remarkable life and the people who shaped it – from the visionaries within Rolls-Royce to the owners who helped create its legend. For a century, the Phantom nameplate has expressed the pinnacle of Rolls-Royce’s abilities. To honour that legacy, this extraordinarily ambitious Private Collection introduces new techniques and is the result of over 40,000 hours of work, culminating in a motor car which reaffirms Phantom’s status as a symbol of ambition, artistic possibility, and historical gravitas.”
Chris Brownridge, Chief Executive, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

“Having the privilege to pay a Bespoke tribute to the Phantom nameplate is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. Seizing on the significance of this moment, a record number of designers spent a year immersed in the motor car’s rich history, uncovering the stories that shaped its legend. Their research was distilled into 77 hand-sketched motifs, each capturing a defining moment in Phantom’s journey and expressed with levels of detail we have never attempted before. The result is a true collective work of art that celebrates the skill, ambition and imagination of everyone at the Home of Rolls-Royce, and the profound respect the marque’s creatives have for this extraordinary motor car.”
Martina Starke, Head of Bespoke Design, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

“Phantom Centenary is the most intricate and technologically ambitious Private Collection ever undertaken by the designers, engineers, production specialists and craftspeople of our Bespoke Collective. Developed over three years, this project uses new techniques to blend metal, wood, paint, fabric, leather, and embroidery into a single, stunning composition. The surfaces read like a book revealing 100 years of Phantom’s history, rich with symbolic references for clients to admire and decipher over many years to come.”
Phil Fabre de la Grange, Head of Bespoke, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars


For 100 years, Phantom has been recognised as the ultimate symbol of success and discernment, chosen by the world’s most influential figures. As this legendary nameplate celebrates its 100th anniversary, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars pays tribute with the Phantom Centenary Private Collection, limited to 25 examples.

The Rolls-Royce Bespoke Collective of designers, engineers and artisans poured their skill and imagination into what has become their magnum opus. They immersed themselves in Phantom’s world, studying the spirit and identity of each generation from the 1920s to today. They explored defining owners, pivotal figures within Rolls-Royce, the places where Phantom was conceived and built, and the events that defined its times.  These influences, first captured as 77 hand-sketched motifs, are woven into the Phantom Centenary Private Collection through stunningly crafted archival references, creating a statement that honours Phantom’s past, defines its present, and projects the principles that will shape the nameplate’s next 100 years and beyond.

Each historic moment is brought to life through advanced artisanal techniques, many conceived specially for this rare and collectable tribute. Inside, couturier-designed textiles, sketch-like embroidery, laser-etched leather, and groundbreaking woodcraft – including 3D marquetry, gilding, and 3D ink layering – tell Phantom’s story in stunning, intricate detail. Outside, the grille is crowned with a unique Spirit of Ecstasy figurine, reinterpreted from the very first to grace a Phantom, and presented in solid gold to mark this milestone.


EXTERIOR: AN ELEGANT, BESPOKE STATEMENT

Evoking the timeless elegance of a black-and-white film star, the Phantom Centenary Private Collection’s exterior recalls the golden age of Hollywood, when Phantom graced premieres, carried screen icons, and became a symbol of the era’s glamour. The motor car is finished in a Bespoke two-tone paint, its long-sided application a nod to the flowing silhouette of 1930s Phantoms. The side body is presented in Super Champagne Crystal over Arctic White, with the upper body in Super Champagne Crystal over Black. The specially developed finish gives the exterior an extraordinary metallic shimmer, achieved by infusing the clear coat with iridescent particles of crushed glass. For this celebratory Private Collection, Rolls-Royce paint specialists replaced the clear flakes with champagne-coloured particles and doubled the quantity to create spellbinding depth.

This timeless treatment is crowned with a unique reimagining of the Spirit of Ecstasy. Using the first Spirit of Ecstasy ever fitted to a Phantom as their reference, designers created an homage to this landmark figurine, cast in solid 18-carat gold for strength, then plated in 24-carat gold for a flawless, tarnish-resistant finish. The piece was then presented to the Hallmarking & Assay Office in London, where it received a specially developed ‘Phantom Centenary’ hallmark.

The base of the figurine is finished with hand-poured white vitreous enamel delicately inscribed with the collection’s name.  For the first time, the ‘RR’ Badge of Honour – positioned on the front, rear, and each side of the motor car – is presented in 24-carat gold and white enamel.

Resolving the exterior is a set of Phantom disc wheels, each engraved with 25 lines – honouring the 25 motor cars within the collection and, together, making 100 lines to celebrate the centenary year.


INTERIOR: IMMERSED IN THE PHANTOM LEGEND

A century of Phantom’s stories elegantly unfold across the many canvases of the Private Collection’s interior, through magnificent archival references – some immediately recognisable, others revealed over time.

In homage to Phantoms of the past, Phantom Centenary’s interior combines textiles and leather, recalling the marque’s foundational years when the chauffeur’s front seat was finished in hardwearing leather and the rear cabin in luxurious fabrics. This contrast is a subtle reminder that Phantom has always balanced both authority at the wheel and absolute serenity in the passenger suite.


REAR SEATS: TAILORING EXCELLENCE

The rear seats of Phantom Centenary are inspired by the famed 1926 ‘Phantom of Love’, commissioned with handwoven Aubusson tapestries. The artwork on the seats unfolds across three distinct layers of storytelling. The first is the background, rendered in high-resolution print, showing places and artefacts from Phantom’s history – from the marque’s original Conduit Street premises in London to Henry Royce’s oil paintings of Southern France. The second layer, also printed in high resolution, portrays great Phantoms of the past in finely drawn detail. The third and uppermost layer is formed of embroideries, abstractly representing seven significant owners from every generation of Phantom.

This complex fabric was developed over 12 months in partnership with a fashion atelier, marking its first commission beyond the world of haute couture. To meet Rolls-Royce’s exacting longevity, tactility and aesthetic standards, the high-resolution printing process was perfected with specially adapted inks and techniques devised exclusively for the Phantom Centenary Private Collection.

The high-resolution printed fabric is completed with embroideries, designed to have a uniquely hand-drawn quality. Described by the Bespoke Collective as “sketching with thread”, this embroidery process captures the expression of a pencil line in textile form. To outline and define each image, artisans applied Golden Sands thread in sketch-like, irregular stitches, creating the illusion of lines floating lightly above the surface. Texture and depth were added with Seashell thread, applied in high-density stitches. Across the full composition, this intricate craftwork amounts to more than 160,000 stitches.

The finished artwork spans 45 individual panels, each precisely aligned and fitted around the curvatures of the seats at the Home of Rolls-Royce: a process inspired by Savile Row tailoring techniques. The result is the most intricate seat composition ever created by Rolls-Royce.

“Conceived as a contemporary interpretation of a handwoven tapestry, the rear seats tell Phantom’s story through carefully curated details, captured in textiles and embroidery.  Every embroidered element was digitally re-drawn by artisans who selected specific stitch application for every stroke. For example, in the horse motif, we used spaced stitches to recreate the hair texture, then dense stitching to define the muscle. These fine details required extraordinary precision to get right: one motif went through 24 iterations before we were satisfied. This reflects the deep personal pride we felt in creating a fitting tribute to the Phantom nameplate, and the responsibility we all share in carrying its legacy forward.”
Celina Mettang, Bespoke Colour and Material Designer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars


FRONT SEATS: A DESIGN STATEMENT IN THE DRIVER'S QUARTERS

The leather on the front seats features laser-etched artwork based on hand drawings by a Bespoke designer, evoking the draftsman’s craft. Among the motifs are symbolic details that elegantly carry the extraordinary weight of Phantom’s 100-year legacy, from a rabbit design – a nod to “Roger Rabbit,” the codename for the relaunch of Rolls-Royce in 2003 – to a seagull, the codename for the 1923 Phantom I prototype.


ANTHOLOGY GALLERY: A STORY OF DISTINCTION TOLD OVER 100 YEARS

The centrepiece of the Phantom Centenary Private Collection is the Anthology Gallery. This dramatic composition features 50 3D-printed, vertically brushed aluminium ‘fins’ interlaced like pages of a book. Each fin is composed of sculpted letters that can be read from both sides, forming quotes drawn from a century of press acclaim.

The sculpture is subtly lit by shifting illuminations that recall the shimmer of falling fireworks. The brushed edges of each fin create a play of reflections, changing with the viewer’s moving perspective.


WOODWORK: A SCULPTURAL STATEMENT

The Private Collection features the most intricate woodwork ever created for a Rolls-Royce. Developed over a year and rendered in stained Blackwood, the door panels depict Phantom’s most significant and formative journeys. Within each composition, geographical maps, winding routes, sweeping landscapes, floral elements, and depictions of experimental motor cars intersect to form an artwork alive with Phantom’s heritage.

The rear doors portray the coastline of Le Rayol-Canadel-sur-Mer, where Sir Henry Royce spent his winters. The right-hand side front door shows the landscape of West Wittering, home to his summer residence, just eight miles from today’s Home of Rolls-Royce. The left-hand side front door recalls the epic 4,500-mile journey of the first-ever Goodwood-era Phantom, which crossed the Australian continent from Perth.

Each composition combines 3D multi-directional marquetry, laser etching, 3D ink layering and gold-leafing to create dimension and texture. Etched motifs, which include maps, landscapes, flowers and trees, are applied onto the wood at three different depths using a laser. The roads representing these journeys gleam in 24-carat gold, crafted from squares of gold leaf just 0.1 micrometres thick. Each road is painstakingly crafted, cut and placed.

The rear doors also incorporate depictions of flora native to Southern France – pine, cypress, ferns and palm – while a section of the rear passenger door recreates one of Sir Henry Royce’s original oil paintings of the region, translated from canvas to wood. The exact locations of Royce’s homes – Villa Mimosa in the South of France and Elmstead in West Wittering – are marked with a single gold-leaf dot just 2.76 mm in diameter.

“We drew on an extraordinary range of sources – original texts, diaries, photographs and paintings – to create a composition that weaves together many threads of Phantom’s story. New technology developed for this project, including 3D ink layering, allowed us to add details at a scale never before possible – some just 0.13 mm in height – from a boat sailing across the sea to location names on a map. It’s a privilege to have the time and technology to realise moments in Phantom’s history with the detail and precision the nameplate deserves.”
Katrin Lehmann, Bespoke Colour and Material Designer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

The wooden surfaces on the doors transform into masterfully embroidered leather panels. The 24-carat gold ‘roads’ continue as golden thread embroidery; details of the maps and landscapes are stitched in black, echoing the etched details on the veneered section of the doors.

The woodwork is completed with depictions of the original 1925 Phantom I and the current Phantom VIII, individually etched on the rear picnic tables. The models are mirrored in embroidery on the leather-finished backs of the picnic tables – another gesture uniting past and present.

The Piano Black veneer is infused with gold dust, echoing the central rotary dial, also plated with 24-carat gold.


A GOLDEN LEGACY

The magnificent engineering masterpiece that is the 6.75-litre V12 engine is celebrated with a specially designed cover, finished in Arctic White. The cover has been detailed with 24-carat gold, honouring the effortless power that has helped define Phantom’s modern legend and success.


PHANTOM'S STORY IN STARLIGHT

A subtly animated and embroidered Starlight Headliner captures moments from Phantom’s history in 440,000 stitches.  Its design includes references to the mulberry tree under which Henry Royce was photographed in his garden at West Wittering, seated with two close colleagues: Charles L. Jenner, the marque’s Chief Engine Draftsman, and Ernest Hives, the head of Rolls-Royce’s experimental department. Drawing on this moment, the Bespoke Collective sought to create an atmosphere of inspiration so that clients seated beneath the Starlight Headliner might experience, as Royce once did, their own flashes of imagination and possibility.

The scene unfolds to include the distinctive square-crowned trees in the courtyard of the marque’s Goodwood headquarters. The honeybees – a reference to the 250,000 residents of the Rolls-Royce Apiary – are in full flight, perhaps towards the Phantom Rose, grown exclusively on the grounds of the Home of Rolls-Royce. Interwoven within the constellations are quiet tributes to great Phantoms of the past – among them a bird motif representing Sir Malcolm Campbell’s Phantom II, known as the ‘Bluebird’. Hidden amongst the mulberry leaves is a reference to the locking mechanism on the vault door at ‘The Bank’ – the secret 1990s design studio where the first Phantom of the Goodwood era was drafted.


AN UNFORGETTABLE HERITAGE, IN MOTION

For the designers, engineers and artisans who created the Phantom Centenary Private Collection, this motor car was a once-in-a-generation responsibility. What has been achieved reflects the same spirit that gave rise to Phantom itself: the marque’s relentless pursuit of excellence and ambition to craft the best motor car in the world.

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• Rolls-Royce celebrates the enduring links between Phantom and the world of music
• Spanning every era of modern music, from jazz and rock to rap and R&B
• Embraced by artists from Marlene Dietrich to Sir Elton John, John Lennon and 50 Cent
• Explores Phantom as a canvas for personal expression and an icon of icons
• Click here to view Rolls-Royce I Behind The Scenes: Diving into Rock ‘n’ Roll Legend

“From the Golden Age of Hollywood to the rise of hip-hop, over the last 100 years, music artists have used Phantom to project their identity and challenge convention. Their motor cars often became icons in their own right, with a lasting place in the history of modern music. This enduring connection reminds us that Rolls-Royce and the extraordinary people who are part of the marque’s story are united by one ambition: to make their presence felt.”
Chris Brownridge, Chief Executive, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

The connection between Rolls-Royce and the world of popular music is almost as old as the recording industry itself. Long before icons like John Lennon, Elvis Presley and Pharrell Williams wrote themselves into Phantom’s story, artists including Duke Ellington, Fred Astaire, Count Basie, Ravi Shankar, Edith Piaf and Sam Cooke all travelled by Rolls-Royce, recognising the brand as the definitive symbol of success and artistry. Personalities for whom the term ‘music mogul’ was created, including Brian Epstein, Berry Gordy and Ahmet Ertegun, were also among the marque’s most notable owners. Across genres, geographies and generations, Rolls-Royce remains the ultimate reward for creative brilliance and a canvas for personal expression.

Of all models, Phantom – the pinnacle of the marque – is the Rolls-Royce most closely associated with the world of music. Over eight generations and 100 years – a centenary the nameplate celebrates in 2025 – this extraordinary motor car has been consistently chosen by some of the most creative and influential figures in musical history. Phantom’s appeal to these individuals endures; it retains its status as the world’s pre-eminent luxury product, comprised of the very best in engineering excellence, fine materials and exquisite, highly skilled craftsmanship. It also offers its owner the freedom to define their identity – a quality that has helped many Phantoms owned by musical luminaries achieve legendary status in their own right.


MARLENE DIETRICH: FALLING IN LOVE AGAIN

Most actors travel to Hollywood in search of stardom. Marlene Dietrich arrived already part of the constellation. Fresh from her breakout role in The Blue Angel, and having introduced the world to what would become her signature song, Falling in Love Again, she travelled to California in 1930 to begin filming Morocco. Her welcome was as dramatic as her screen presence: at Paramount Studios, she was greeted not only with flowers, but with the gift of a green Rolls-Royce Phantom I. Morocco earned Dietrich an Academy Award nomination – and her Phantom also took its share of the spotlight, appearing in the film’s closing scenes and publicity images.


ELVIS PRESLEY: ALL SHOOK UP

In 1956, a self-titled album by a promising young singer named Elvis Presley became the first rock ‘n’ roll album to top the Billboard chart, where it remained for 10 weeks. In 1963, at the height of his fame, ‘The King’ bought a Midnight Blue Phantom V with a host of Bespoke features. In what may have been an early version of in-car karaoke, the features included a microphone, a writing pad in the rear armrest – ready for flashes of inspiration – along with a mirror and clothes brush to ensure Elvis was always ready to make an entrance. In a charming domestic detail, the original mirror-polished paint famously attracted the attention of Elvis’s mother’s chickens, which would peck at their reflection in the coachwork. The motor car was refinished in a lighter Silver Blue that did not show the chips.


JOHN LENNON: LOVE ME DO

In December 1964, John Lennon rewarded himself for The Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night by commissioning a Phantom V. The motor car was entirely black, including the windows, bumpers and hub caps; it also boasted a cocktail cabinet and a television, as well as a refrigerator in the boot. However, like Elvis’s Phantom V, Lennon’s would also undergo a complete transformation. In May 1967, just before Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was released, the motor car was resprayed yellow, then hand-painted with swirls of red, orange, green and blue, with floral side panels and Lennon’s star sign, Libra, completing the motor car’s new persona.

For the younger generation, Lennon’s Phantom perfectly captured the mood of the carefree ‘Summer of Love’ that year. To their elders, it was an outrage, memorably summed up by a woman who, on seeing the Phantom driving down London’s Piccadilly, shouted, “How dare you do that to a Rolls-Royce!” before swatting at the paintwork with her umbrella. When the motor car was sold in 1985, it reached $2,299,000, almost 10 times the reserve price. It was both the most expensive piece of rock ‘n’ roll memorabilia at the time, and the highest price ever achieved for a motor car sold by auction.

This Phantom is arguably the most famous Rolls-Royce connected with Lennon, but he owned another. Lennon purchased a white Rolls-Royce Phantom V in 1968 to coincide with the launch of the White Album and to mark a new phase of his life with Yoko Ono. This was characterised by his wearing white clothes, decorating the interior and exterior of his Berkshire home in bright white, and pursuing a distinctly minimalist aesthetic.

Originally commissioned in a two-tone black-over-green by Wing Commander Paddy Barthropp, a wartime Spitfire pilot turned chauffeur, Lennon individualised this motor car in line with his personal style at the time. He paid £12,000 – equivalent to the price of a sizeable house at the time – to have the motor car transformed to white inside and out, and had it fitted with a sunroof, Philips turntable, 8-track player, telephone and television. It would later appear in the Beatles film Let It Be, as well as Performance, which starred Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger. In September 1969, Lennon sold the car to Allen Klein, founder of ABKCO Records and The Beatles’ manager at the time, for a reported $50,000.


LIBERACE: I’LL BE SEEING YOU

Another musical iconoclast was Władziu Valentino Liberace. Flamboyant and multi-talented, Liberace was the world’s highest-paid entertainer in the 1950s and ‘60s thanks to his TV shows and long residencies in Las Vegas. Among the extravagances that earned him the soubriquet ‘Mr Showmanship’ was a 1961 Phantom V covered in tiny mirror pieces that he would use to drive on stage during his long-running residency at the Las Vegas Hilton. The motor car appeared in the award-winning Liberace biopic, Behind the Candelabra, in which Michael Douglas recreated its short but famous journey.


SIR ELTON JOHN: A RIDE FOR THE ROCKETMAN

Liberace’s playing style influenced a generation of performers, including a budding pianist named Reginald Dwight, today known as Sir Elton John, who would later take inspiration from his hero by owning several Phantoms. In 1973, en route to a concert in Manchester in his white Phantom VI, Sir Elton saw a newer example in a showroom window. He instructed his chauffeur to stop, bought the car, and used it to complete his journey to the venue.

Later, he would update the Phantom with black paintwork, a black leather interior, tinted windows, a television, a video player, and even a fax machine. The most significant addition, however, was a bespoke audio system that was so powerful that the back windscreen had to be strengthened to prevent it from shattering when the volume was turned up.

Sir Elton also owned a Phantom V, for which he commissioned a striking pink-and-white exterior paint finish and matching interior. Following a tour of the USSR, where he was paid in coal, rather than cash, Sir Elton was unable to pay his musicians. Instead, he gave the Phantom to his percussionist, Ray Cooper, in lieu of a cash fee. Cooper later used the motor car to pick up a young Damon Albarn from school, who went on to find stardom of his own with Blur. History came full circle in 2020, when Albarn and his virtual band, Gorillaz, recorded The Pink Phantom, with Sir Elton appearing as a guest vocalist.


KEITH MOON: WON’T GET FOOLED AGAIN?

Legend has it that, while celebrating his 21st birthday, the gifted but fatefully self-destructive drummer of The Who, Keith Moon, plunged his Rolls-Royce into the swimming pool at the Holiday Inn in Flint, Michigan, creating one of rock ‘n’ roll’s most enduring legends.

Accounts of what really happened that night differ wildly. In an interview with Rolling Stone in 1972, Moon stated the motor car was a Lincoln Continental belonging to another hotel guest; he said he let off the handbrake and rolled the car into the pool. Other party guests maintain that no motor car ended up in the pool at all. Whether a car ended up in the pool or not, the myth is so potent that it has become the definitive image of rock ‘n’ roll indulgence – and as such, the car in the pool could only be a Rolls-Royce.

To mark Phantom’s centenary and the motor car’s place in rock ‘n’ roll mythology, Rolls-Royce brought legend to life by submerging an Extended body shell – a retired prototype destined for recycling – in a swimming pool. The chosen location was Tinside Lido in Plymouth, England, a celebrated Art Deco landmark next to the English Channel. Linked to John Lennon, one of Phantom’s most famous clients, the Lido served as a backdrop to a photograph of The Beatles taken on 12 September 1967 during their visit whilst filming for The Magical Mystery Tour. That same year, Lennon unveiled his yellow, hand-painted Phantom V, further cementing the nameplate’s place in music legend.


HIP-HOP STAR

Since moving to Goodwood, where production began in 2003, Rolls-Royce has only strengthened its ties with contemporary music. By 2016, it had become the most name-checked brand in song lyrics, driven in part by the meteoric rise of hip-hop. The genre was a cultural powerhouse by the 1990s, and a household staple at the turn of the century, coinciding with Rolls-Royce’s Goodwood renaissance and the launch of Phantom VII in 2003.

A year later, Pharrell Williams and Calvin ‘Snoop Dogg’ Broadus Jr, would famously feature a Phantom VII in the 2004 music video for Drop It Like It’s Hot, which would top the US Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks and commence Phantom’s lasting connection with the genre’s most influential artists. Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson appeared in the TV series Entourage in a Phantom VII Drophead Coupé – a scene that would go on to become a widely shared meme; Tha Carter II by Dwayne ‘Lil Wayne’ Carter is one of many albums to feature Phantom on its cover. The genre has also played a key role in popularising one of the marque’s most distinctive features: Starlight Headliner. The phrase ‘stars in the roof’ – and its variations – recurs in rap lyrics and has become a suitably poetic shorthand for Rolls-Royce ownership.


ENCORE: PHANTOM’S LASTING LEGACY

Phantom has maintained a constant, evolving presence in the story of modern music. In each era, it has offered artists and innovators a means of self-expression, aspiration and identity. As Phantom enters its second century, it continues to symbolise success, individuality, and the power of human imagination.

Click here to view Rolls-Royce I Behind The Scenes: Diving into Rock ‘n’ Roll Legend.

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• Rolls-Royce presents three Chinese Mural Art Bespoke commissions
• Unique details take cues from Dunhuang cave paintings dating back over 1,000 years
• Trio comprises Phantom Extended, Black Badge Cullinan, and Black Badge Spectre
• Phantom Extended features hand-painted Gallery artwork, inspired by the mural art
• Available through Rolls-Royce Private Office Shanghai

 
"The mural art of the Dunhuang Mogao Caves is one of the most powerful symbols of our cultural heritage here in China. These artworks, created across dynasties, reflect the abstract ideals that have shaped our country’s civilisation. Inspired by their colours, forms and symbolism, we reimagined these themes through hand-painted elements and carefully curated Bespoke features – a meaningful tribute that reflects Rolls-Royce’s creative dialogue with China in a youthful and contemporary manner.”
Shuai Feng, Bespoke Designer, Private Office Shanghai

Rolls-Royce presents three Bespoke motor cars inspired by the ancient mural paintings of Dunhuang, China. This extraordinary expression of cross-cultural artistry was commissioned through Private Office Shanghai, an invitation-only space in which the marque welcomes clients seeking to commission highly complex and deeply personal motor cars. The trio includes Phantom Extended, Black Badge Cullinan, and Black Badge Spectre.

All three motor cars feature new Bespoke exterior colours reserved exclusively for Private Office Shanghai clients, each inspired by local landscapes, art and cultural themes. These commissions also share a recurring design motif named Silken Spirit: conceived by Private Office Shanghai Bespoke Designer, Shuai Feng, the artwork is inspired by the Spirit of Ecstasy and the flowing forms of imperial silk. The most detailed expression of the collection appears in the hand-painted Gallery artwork in Phantom Extended.


HONOURING A MARVEL

Over a thousand years ago, artists and craftspeople carved and painted the walls of a network of sacred caves in the mountains near Dunhuang, on the edge of the Gobi Desert. These sanctuaries house one of the world’s greatest collections of mural art, shaped by their unique position at the cultural crossroads of the ancient Silk Road. Today, they are honoured in a modern tribute from the Rolls-Royce Bespoke Collective.


PHANTOM EXTENDED

Phantom Extended is presented in a two-tone finish. The main body is finished in Ningye Purple, a colour inspired by the deep violet skies above the remote stretches of the Great Wall of China, and named after a poetic description of the hue from an 800 AD Tang Dynasty verse. The upper body is rendered in contrasting English White. A Silken Spirit motif is hand-painted on the C-pillar in Ningye Purple and completes the Grace White coachline.

The motif continues into the cabin, where it is depicted in a Bespoke Starlight Headliner with 1,344 hand-placed fibre-optic ‘stars’ and 192 ‘shooting stars’. The centrepiece of the interior is a hand-painted Bespoke Gallery artwork. The composition presents a landscape painting on black leather, completed with the Silken Spirit motif embroidered in white and black thread, evoking the movement of flying apsaras – celestial beings in Buddhist culture, which are prominently portrayed in the mural art.

“To bring this sense of depth and rhythm to the Gallery, I adapted a Chinese technique known as reduction block printing, where the artwork is gradually pressed onto a canvas using the same block of wood, re-crafted between paint layers. Once each layer is applied, the block is carefully re-carved to add depth and detail with the subsequent colour. Reinterpreting this method by hand, I used a fine sable brush in place of carved wood, painting every single colour individually and consecutively, allowing the image to emerge across the surface. Tiny areas of unpainted leather are deliberately left exposed, creating the illusion of carved block printing.”
Chloe Dowsett, Bespoke Artist, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

The seating is finished in Black and Cashmere Grey leathers – a colourway that is reversed for the front seats, creating two unique ambiences within the motor car. The front and rear doors also feature expansive Canadel wood panelling in Piano Black and Cashmere Grey respectively. The rear door panels incorporate the Silken Spirit motif inlaid in stainless steel, and the symbol also appears on the rear waterfall section between the two rear seats.


BLACK BADGE CULLINAN

Black Badge Cullinan Series II is presented in Danqian Pink, a hue which extends to the centres of the 23-inch Black Badge forged wheels. Silken Spirit motifs on the twin Coachline and C-pillar are presented in Black.

The front seats are finished in Blushing Pink leather with Placed Perforation, which extends onto the front doors. The pattern is designed to evoke the shifting cloud formations above the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood and comprises 107,000 0.8- and 1.2-millimetre perforations.

In the rear, Navy leather with Blushing Pink piping and stitching is used to create a deeper, more immersive environment. The Silken Spirit graphic is inlaid in stainless steel on the Technical Fibre front fascia and the waterfall between the rear seats.

A Bespoke Starlight Headliner harmonises the front and rear colour themes. The Silken Spirit motif is rendered as an abstract illuminated graphic, which glows with a soft Blushing Pink light, complete with white shooting ‘stars’.


BLACK BADGE SPECTRE

This bold expression of Black Badge Spectre is presented in a dramatic Aero two-tone. The body is finished in Qingshan Blue – inspired by the mountain blues and verdant tones depicted in the Dunhuang murals – and the upper portion, together with Silken Spirit motifs on the C-pillar and Coachline, is presented in contrasting Diamond Black. The exterior is further dramatised by an Illuminated Grille, presented in Turchese.

The front seats are completed in Turchese and Black leathers, and the rear seats are presented in Black with contrast white stitching and piping. This unique ‘split’ extends to the leather centre console and lambswool carpets, which are Turchese and Black respectively.

The Silken Spirit motif appears on Turchese Illuminated Treadplates. Further illuminations include Starlight Doors and a Bespoke Starlight Headliner with 1,344 ‘stars’ and 192 ‘shooting stars’, each individually hand-placed.


LASTING LEGACY

The Chinese Mural Arts Bespoke Commissions represent a cultural dialogue between past and present, East and West, tradition and innovation. Through this trio, Rolls-Royce honours the relevance of ancient artistic legacies and the resonance of heritage as a source of inspiration for contemporary expressions of luxury. In doing so, they demonstrate the power of Bespoke in translating nuanced stories through design and craftsmanship, inviting future commissions that explore other cultural narratives with equal depth, care and imagination.