Giving luxury wheels and wings

If there’s one car whose presence on the roads can stop traffic and draw envious stares anywhere in the world, it’s the iconic Rolls-Royce. Even those least inclined to the world of cars and automobiles will have heard of this much-lauded brand that has been immortalised in culture through books, magazines and movies.

Most Indians, though, are more likely to have seen - and admired - a Rolls-Royce picture before seeing the real one since less than a hundred of them run on Indian roads.

It being a symbol of wealth and, by association, sophistication and class, buying one of the brand’s cars is considered the pinnacle of luxury.

Rear view

If you look beyond the halo surrounding the iconic brand, the history of Rolls-Royce shows that the brand was built to be luxurious from the start. The brand gets its name from both of its founders – Henry Royce and Charles Rolls – the former an innovative engineer and the latter a successful car dealer. Together, towards the end of 1904, they started a company to build cars, inspired by Royce’s two-cylinder design. Their first creation under the “Rolls-Royce” brand was the Silver Ghost, a 40/50 HP created at their first factory in Manchester in 1907.

The initial inspiration for their cars was the horse-drawn carriage, the popular mode of transport in the early 20th century and was considered a rear-benchers car since owners usually sat behind. This changed in 1922 when they launched the Rolls-Royce 20HP - a more compact six-cylinder aimed at the owner-drivers.

In 1925, the brand introduced Phantom I to the world, which became one of the most iconic lines of the brand. This was followed by two more lines: the Ghost, a four-door sedan and Wraith, a luxury coupe, all three of which are now hallowed in their own right.

Pop stars and royalty

But the biggest validation for the luxury brand came when Rolls-Royce began its association with Britain’s royal family. After replacing Daimler as the official motor car company of royalty, it became one of the few favoured brands to have this regal distinction. One of the only 18 exclusive Phantom IV cars in the world was gifted to Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh in 1950 and it became the royal family’s official state limousine.

The brand made a global impact with orders coming in from across the world. From the Shah of Iran in 1951 to General Francisco Franco of Spain and later the seventh Nizam of Hyderabad, who was rumoured to have owned more than 50 Rolls-Royces, the brand cemented its connection to royalty. And the association remains to this day, Francisco Franco’s black armoured Phantom IV was used to drive King Felipe of Spain after his coronation in June this year.

But it wasn’t just royalty whose stamp of approval gave the “Roller” its iconic status, pop culture played a big part as well. While many Hollywood stars were patrons of the brand, the car itself made its big-screen debut in The Yellow Rolls-Royce in 1964. John Lennon of The Beatles had his black Phantom V repainted in a bright yellow with psychedelic designs, causing varied reactions from shock to delight.

Forging ahead

The biggest change in Rolls-Royce’s fortunes came in July 1998 when Volkswagen bought the brand from British company Vickers, which had owned it since 1980, while it was still German car brand Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) that was supplying engines and other components to RR. Both the brands finally came to an agreement in 2003, whereby VW sold the rights to the name and the trademark Spirit of Ecstasy and radiator grille design to BMW, which now controls the production. Under BMW, Rolls-Royce launched the new Ghost and gave the brand a new direction, making it attractive to younger customers. Once considered the car for old money and appealing only to older, sophisticated tastes, with updates like the Drophead Coupé and the sleeker Phantom Series II, the brand is targeting younger consumers who now have the same spending power. Set to compete with the newer super luxury sports cars, Rolls-Royce is bringing its strengths - heights of luxury and a hallowed name - to the new buyer.

Commenting on creating the best, Sir Henry Royce famously remarked: “When it does not exist, design it.” In its aim to perfect luxury on the road, Rolls-Royce seems to have lived up to its co-founder’s words.

Since Rolls-Royce offers bespoke cars made to the buyer’s specifications (which can include anything from 24-carat gold-plated hood ornaments to rear teak decking for the Drophead Coupé) the price range varies highly - it starts from ₹2.5 crore for a basic Ghost and ₹4 crore for a Phantom Coupé.

Spirit of Ecstasy

Probably the most talked about part of the Rolls-Royce brand is its mascot that sits atop every car — The Spirit of Ecstasy. Referred to as a “hood ornament”, this image of a woman was created by an artist named Charles Sykes and was inspired by the secret love affair of John Montagu and Eleanor Thornton. Montagu was a motor enthusiast and friend of Sykes and the original statue depicted the woman holding a finger to her lips to signify the secret affair. Claude Johnson, who brought Rolls and Royce together in 1904 commissioned Sykes to create an emblem for the brand and the ‘Whisperer’ was created. The statuette is often referred to as the “Flying Lady” because the billowing cloth of the dress from her arms to her neck resembles wings, and she appears to be in flight. Today, this emblem graces the hood of every RR car and comes with a mechanism that allows the driver to retract it into the radiator shell.

Timeline

1904 – Henry Royce and Charles Rolls strike a deal and Rolls-Royce is born.

1907 – The six-cylinder, 40/50 HP Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost makes its debut.

1925 – After the company opens its first factory in the US in 1921, the New Phantom is launched. Later called the Phantom I, it soon replaces the Silver Ghost.

1937 – George Eyston breaks the existing land speed record held by Sir Malcolm Campbell, driving at 312.2 mph, in a Thunderbolt powered by two Rolls-Royce ‘R’ engines. The 1930s also saw the release of Phantom II and III, RR’s first V12-engine car.

1940s – The first RR car with a standard steel body – called the Silver Dawn – is launched.

1950 – Rolls-Royce replaces Daimler as the official motorcar of the British Royal family, with a Phantom IV.

1959 – The Phantom V, powered by a V8 engine, replaces the Phantom IV.

1965 – The Silver Shadow I becomes the first Rolls-Royce to feature a monocoque chassis and achieved a top speed of 118 mph.

1970 – Rolls-Royce separates into Rolls-Royce Holdings plc for the aero division and Rolls-Royce Motors Ltd for the motor car division.

1985 – “Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Ltd” is listed on the stock market after being bought by British defence company Vickers.

1998 – RR is bought over by the Volkswagen Group but Vickers sells the RR name and logo to BMW, creating a deadlock that ended in 2003 when VW agreed to sell the Spirit of Ecstasy and grill shape trademarks to BMW.

2003 – Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, a subsidiary of BMW, becomes the exclusive manufacturer of RR-branded cars.

2014 – The new Ghost Series II is unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show.

(Luxury Class tracks the evolution of the world’s leading luxury brands).

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