ROLLS-Royce Motor Cars has always been driven by the philosophy of its co-founder, Sir Henry Royce, who said: ‘Strive for perfection in everything you do. Take the best that exists and make it better. When it does not exist, design it’. This ethos has been exemplified in the luxury marque’s constant pursuit of creating the best motorcars in the world for over a century.
As well as its engineering excellence, the marque allows its valued clientele an exceptional scope for personalization through its renowned Bespoke program, which allows every customer the opportunity to custom-create a truly unique Rolls-Royce motor car.
Through the Rolls-Royce’s Bespoke program, the opportunities for the choice of coachline – (the famous stripe that appears on each and every Rolls-Royce) the Spirit of Ecstasy, (the iconic ornament that adorns every car), wood, leather and most notably the exterior paints are endless.
For the choice of exterior color specifically, Rolls-Royce currently boasts a palette of over 44,000 paint colors to select from, yet on occasion the brand’s discerning clientele may wish to tell a story of their own and can opt to commission their own unique paint color, created exclusively for them and named after them.
Customers can draw inspiration for the color from anywhere, from their favorite tie, lipstick color, species of flower or even a childhood toy, and it will be faithfully created by the Bespoke paints team and rendered visible via the Bespoke configurator, which allows customers to immerse themselves in the design process and visualize their car.
Once the color is chosen, it is then administered to the car through a meticulous process which includes applying nine layers of paint to the body of the car, ensuring the color remains true to the wishes of the customer. The surface of the car is then painstakingly hand-sanded before being sealed with a powdered lacquer to guarantee an impeccable finish.
For the first time in the brand’s history in June 2014 – the exterior color was also extended to the engine with a vibrant blue that was featured in the limited edition Bespoke Waterspeed Drophead Coupe, another example of the extent to which painstaking craftsmanship is applied through the Bespoke Program.
The unparalleled Bepoke program also allows customers to extend their unique color scheme to the interior leather of the car. Only the most premium leather is treated by a selected team of specialists, where color is applied directly to the leather using a process called drum pigmentation, which creates a color surface that is six times thinner than any other premium automotive leather. This specialized process ensures that the color permeates throughout and allows a consistent color, regardless of accidental scratches or wear-and-tear.
Vibrant colors have often been the crowning highlight in Bespoke themes in recent years. One example is the Turchese Blue paint which featured on the Rolls-Royce ‘Ghawwas’ Phantom Coupe and saw its inspiration from the beauty of pearl gemstones and aquatics. Another is the Rolls-Royce Bespoke Chicane Phantom Coupe, for which the wheels were colored to match the car’s main exterior paint for the first time in a contemporary Rolls-Royce, and can now be seen on several other exclusive editions including the Maharaja Phantom Drophead Coupe. The vibrant and ferocious Burnt Orange color was used to represent a Tiger’s coat on the Phantom Tiger, while the one-of-thirty-five Waterspeed Collection featured a Maggiore Blue exterior inspired by Lake Maggiore in Italy. — SG
