- Phantom II Serenity already had a buyer before it was officially unveiled
- Makers have ditched leather and opted for silk interior on the £1m car
- Inspired by royal carriages, it has ten-yard panels of hand-painted silk
- Silk from China was hand-woven in one of Britain’s oldest mills in Essex
- Exterior mother of pearl paint is most dear ever developed by Rolls-Royce
- Model due to be unveiled today at Geneva Motor Show and already has a buyer
For its specially commissioned one-off Phantom II Serenity, the luxury British car-maker has looked back for inspiration to the era of royal, silk-lined horse-drawn carriages which carried Kings, Emperors and other assorted potentates.
It has adapted centuries-old hand-crafted skills of silk-weaving and decorating , then updated them for the super-luxury car of the 21st century.
Rolls-Royce launches its most opulent bespoke limousine today – with a silk interior and £1million-plus price tag to match
Rolls-Royce said the Serenity – designed to be an oasis of calm in a hectic world – already had a buyer, unnamed, before it is officially unveiled today
It said the Serenity, shown at the Geneva Motor Show, ‘introduces a completely new level of individualised luxury’
Rolls-Royce said the Serenity – designed to be an oasis of calm in a hectic world – already had a buyer, unnamed, before it is officially unveiled today at the Geneva Motor Show.
Rolls-Royce said the Serenity ‘introduces a completely new level of individualised luxury’ applied to a Rolls-Royce Phantom whose base price starts at around £350,000.
Designers were inspired by co-founder Sir Henry Royce’s maxim: ‘When it does not exist, design it.’
After more than a century of cars having leather interiors, designers decided to revert to the luxury material of a bygone age – silk.
A Rolls-Royce spokesman said: ‘Our bespoke design team took inspiration from the opulent interiors of Rolls-Royces that have conveyed Kings and Queens, Emperors and Empresses and world leaders.’
Added into the mix are contemporary interpretations of furniture design and Japanese Royal robe motifs.
Rolls-Royce said: ‘Serenity reintroduces the finest of textiles – silk – to create the most opulent interior of any luxury car. This unique design demonstrates the levels of craftsmanship, creativity and attention to detail only Rolls-Royce Motor Cars can offer.’
Giles Taylor, director of design at Rolls-Royce said: ‘Having revisited the history of the amazing interiors of the elite Rolls-Royce’s of the early 1900’ s, we felt inspired to share this heritage with our new customers in a very contemporary way.
Laser-cut Mother of Pearl petals have been hand-applied – petal by petal - onto the wooden marquetry on the rear doors
The luxury British car-maker has looked back for inspiration to the era of royal, silk-lined horse-drawn carriages which carried Kings, Emperors and other assorted potentates
‘The choice of Phantom for this project was obvious, but creating the motif that would define this most opulent and modern of automotive interiors would require considerable new expertise.
This added expertise came from Cherica Haye and Michelle Lusby, both textile arts graduates from the Royal College of Art and Plymouth University respectively, who worked on the project.
Michelle Lusby said: ‘Some of the most opulent silk motifs come to us from the Orient, where imperial families’ and rich merchants’ robes were made from the finest silk materials.’ This includes a highly complex handmade ‘twelve-layer robe’ of silk worn only by female Japanese courtiers.
From the 17th to 19th century Japanese merchants commissioned beautiful clothes ‘to demonstrate their wealth and good taste’ she said.
They demonstrated ‘elegant chic’ focussed on subtle details: ‘Those with style and money found ways to circumvent rules that forbade the use of certain colours, such as red, by applying them to undergarments and linings.’
Added into the mix are contemporary interpretations of furniture design and Japanese Royal robe motifs
Each car has ten yard-long panels of specially woven and painted silk, each of which is the product of 600 man-hours of painstaking craftsmanship
Cherica Haye said: ‘The rear compartment of a Phantom is the most tranquil, beautiful place to be, a place where time and the outside world simply slip past.
‘This tranquillity made us think of the Oriental tradition where Emperors would take to their private gardens to reflect in solitude under the blossom trees. The blossom motif is one that is cherished in Far Eastern culture and has been beautifully applied to Royal robe design over the centuries.’
Silk for the Serenity came from the town of Suzhou in China, renowned for its creation of imperial embroidery.
It was then sent to one of Britain’s oldest mills, Vanners in in Essex, to be hand-woven into just 10 metres of the fabric – enough to clothe the interior of Serenity – in a process that took two days or two hours per meter of fabric.
Some 140 silk threads per centimetre were blended into the lustrous Smoke Green colour which was then hand-painted and embroidered by craftsmen from Britain and China.
The Mother of Pearl petals are also hand-applied on the clock-face and instrument panel
Each car has ten yard-long panels of specially woven and painted silk, each of which is the product of 600 man-hours of painstaking craftsmanship. Each individual petal of the crimson blossom motif is hand-painted directly onto the silk.
Laser-cut Mother of Pearl petals are hand-applied – petal by petal - onto the wooden marquetry on the rear doors.
It is also used on the clock-face and instrument panel.
And the bespoke exterior Mother of Pearl paint is ‘the most expensive one-off paint ever developed by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.’ It is added in a three-stage pearl effect and hand-polished for 12 hours at Goodwood. Even the two-colour coachline – an upmarket ‘go-faster stripe’ – was applied in a sweep by the ultra-steady hand and squirrel-hair brush of expert Mark Court.
Powered by vast 6.6 litre V12 engine, the Phantom Serenity is no slouch either accelerating from rest to 60mph in around five seconds to a top speed limited to 155mph.
Powered by vast 6.6 litre V12 engine, the Phantom Serenity is accelerates from rest to 60mph in around five seconds to a top speed limited to 155mph
And there’s a huge market among the super-rich. Some 85 per cent of all Rolls-Royce global sales in 2014 had some level of bespoke content – up by a third (31 per cent) in the year.
Rolls-Royce design director Giles Taylor said: ‘From renaissance times to the modern day, eminent people have surrounded themselves with rare fabrics such as silk to signify their power and position in society, whether at home or on the move.
‘In the early 20th Century, as closed Rolls-Royce’s replaced luxurious carriages, these opulent fabrics began travelling with their owners in the rear compartments of the world’s finest motor cars.’
Only when automotive leather became more refined was it accepted by the super-rich of the day, and then becoming the norm. Bamboo and Smoked Cherrywood are also used in the interior, along with Arctic White leather and carpet in the luggage compartment.
But he added: ‘The thought that fabrics such as silk have been discounted from use because of their delicacy only spurred us on to go further than any other car maker is capable of doing. The result is Serenity.’
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars chief executive Torsten Müller-Ötvös said: ‘Celebrating the historical role played by silk as a symbol of ultimate elegance, the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Bespoke Design team has created a magnificent one-off Phantom which will set a new benchmark for luxury individualisation in the motor industry.’
Rolls-Royce sold more than £1.2billion worth of cars last year after announcing its biggest ever annual sales in its 111-year history.
The BMW-owned company employing 1,5000 people near Chichester in Sussex delivered a record 4,063 cars in 2014 - up 12per cent on 2013 and boosted by sales to America, China and the Middle east.
