Rolls-Royce Motor Cars celebrated 10 years of production at the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, England. To mark this latest chapter in the marque’s 109-year history, a special collection of Ghost and Phantom family models, conceived and designed by the Rolls-Royce Bespoke team, will be released in 2013.
The Home of Rolls-Royce Collection celebrates the meticulous design, engineering and craftsmanship employed in the production of every car that leaves Goodwood.
Following release in January of a design sketch illustrating the Bespoke design and conception process, a rare glimpse into the skill of the marque’s master craftspeople and unique manufacturing processes is presented today.
“The Home of Rolls-Royce Collection showcases what makes Goodwood a unique centre of manufacturing excellence,” said Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. “A perfect blend of traditional crafts, cutting-edge technology and world-class Bespoke design has driven our success over our first 10 years. In this time, Rolls-Royce has taken its place as maker of the world’s pinnacle super-luxury good, an achievement built on the passion and commitment of every craftsperson employed at Goodwood. This beautiful collection is a fitting way to celebrate an extraordinary decade.”
A ‘celebration’ motif, presented in hand-crafted marquetry on the front-fascia marks this landmark year in Rolls-Royce history. Using methods akin to the artistry of fine furniture makers, the effect is achieved through a process that marries cutting-edge technology with traditional craftsmanship.
Individual pieces of wood veneer are laser-cut to ensure precision. A craftsperson then painstakingly assembles the sections, ensuring they perfectly express the vision of the marque’s Bespoke design team. A fastidious process of quality control follows, utilising the world’s most accurate measuring tool – the human eye.
In 2012 – a second successive record year for the marque – over 3,500 hand-built Rolls-Royce cars, exclusively created at Goodwood, were exported to all five continents. This is celebrated throughout the collection with a compass motif that expresses the Home of Rolls-Royce’s position as a global centre of manufacturing excellence.
The pattern is also intricately embroidered into the armrests and console lid. 112,533 stitches are applied by precision embroidery machines that make 1,000 individual stitches per minute – however, such is the complexity of the pattern it takes over an hour to finish each individual piece.
Co-ordinates engraved into tread plates, the bezel of the Spirit of Ecstasy and umbrella handles further express Goodwood’s place as the only manufacturing centre for the world’s pinnacle super-luxury marque.
A hand-painted coachline, culminating in a half-compass motif completes the exterior. Forming the final stage of a week-long, 22 stage painting process, coachlines are hand-applied by one highly-skilled craftsman using squirrel hair brushes. Normally this takes three hours – however the intricacy of this very special Bespoke design means the time taken to complete the process doubles.
The Home of Rolls-Royce Collection cars are currently being hand-built at Goodwood. Final images of the completed cars will be released in the second half of 2013.
The Home of Rolls-Royce Collection in Numbers:
450 – Individual leather pieces cut and fitted to each Rolls-Royce Phantom
112,533 – Stitches comprise Home of Rolls-Royce Collection Phantom embroidery
672 – Metres of thread in every Home of Rolls-Royce Collection Phantom
11 – Individual varieties of wood-veneer, cut and hand-applied to ‘celebration’ motif
20,000 – Wood veneer combinations available in every Rolls-Royce
44,000 – Individual exterior paint colours to choose from
58 – Layers to every Phantom wood part
100 – lbs of paint applied to every Rolls-Royce
60 – Pairs of hands take 400 hours to construct every Rolls-Royce motor car
