Rolls-Royce Scintilla goes over the top

EXCLUSIVITY is manifest in Rolls-Royce’s new $A3.0 million Phantom Scintilla (derived from the Latin word for ‘spark’) Private Collection of which only 10 examples will be hand-made (through the company’s Bespoke program) featuring curated art elements.

All 10 have been allocated to clients worldwide through Rolls-Royce Private Office network.

The big Roller Scintilla broke cover at the recent Monterey Car Week in the US and is based on the Phantom Extended model powered by a twin-turbo petrol V12 engine generating 420kW and 900Nm fed to the rear wheels via a conventional eight-speed automatic transmission.

It is “Inspired by the grace, dynamism and ethereal beauty of the Spirit of Ecstasy figurine that is rendered in exquisite ceramic finish,” channelling a substance called Parian marble.

“We were fascinated with the qualities of Parian marble, and this material became the subject of our research for many months,” said Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Bespoke colour and material designer Celina Mettang.

“To create a clear and elegant connection to the famed statue, we developed a ceramic finish that captures the translucence and purity of this unique stone, and perfectly embraces the ethereal nature of our icon.”

The model’s exterior is presented in a two-tone finish with the upper body in an Andalusian White with the lower body in Thracian Blue that according to Rolls-Royce “is inspired by the colours of the sea around the island of Samothrace, whence the statue of The Winged Victory of Samothrace originates”.

The paint features a subtle metallic flake that “mimics the sparkle of sunlight on the water while the hand-painted double coach line and wheel pinstripes in Spirit Blue complete the exterior.

Inside is, according to Rolls-Royce, filled with design elements, textures and a continuous graphic inspired by the Spirit of Ecstasy’s expressive, dynamic form – the result of an intense collaboration between Bespoke designers and artisans.

The graphic moves through the cabin, embracing the occupants in an “uninterrupted flow of energy.”

“We wanted to create a single graphic that almost appears as a watercolour artwork – we call it ‘painting with thread’,” said Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Bespoke colour and material designer Katrin Lehmann

“To create a luminescent effect, we used four different colours, thread thicknesses and stitch orientations. In doing so, we covered areas never explored in a Rolls-Royce before, achieving the most extensive density of embroidery ever seen in a Rolls-Royce motor car.”

The lead artisan tasked with bringing this idea to life, Brienny Dudley, experimented with a variety of stitches and hues before selecting the tatami stitch, which was applied over six layers, interlacing in varying degrees of density and complexity.

The full interior composition comprises 869,500 stitches and takes over 40 hours to complete.

The embroidered motif on the doors – the most complex door design ever seen on a Rolls-Royce – is made of 633,000 stitches combining Blue Grey, Arctic White, Spirit Blue, Powder Blue and Pastel Yellow thread, complemented by illuminated perforations.

Crowning the model’s artistic input is its Celestial Pulse gallery artwork which runs the full width of the front fascia the work consisting of seven ribbons each individually milled from solid aluminium before being adorned with the same finely-grained ceramic finish as the Spirit of Ecstasy figurine.

Complementing this is the car’s “Fleeting Moment” starlight headliner with 1500 fibre-optic ‘stars’ all placed and fitted by hand in a unique pattern that illuminate in sequence adding to the sense of motion.

A further 4450 perforations are made to reveal glimpses of a metallic silver fabric beneath, creating a subtle interplay of light.

Other Scintilla details include rear picnic tables with a delicate graphic, full wood interior, owner’s name engraved on the polished stainless-steel tread plates and a Bespoke car cover.