Succeeding together

One of our core values is that Bespoke IS Rolls-Royce. The natural and welcome consequence is that our clients present us with ever more ambitious, creative and technically challenging commissions – which, of course, we go on to fulfil. This in turn has led people to ask me whether we really can produce anything our clients desire. To which the answer is nearly always, ‘yes’, but with one essential stipulation regarding our much-loved Spirit of Ecstasy. More about that in a moment.

It is important to understand that at Rolls-Royce, we do not just make motor cars for our clients: we make them with our clients. And to me, that small but crucial distinction is at the heart of the Bespoke experience for three key reasons. 

First and most obviously, it speaks to our sense of joint enterprise. Through exploring ideas, offering suggestions and finding solutions together, we not only realise our clients’ visions, but often take them further, in directions they never imagined were possible. By being so directly and personally invested in the project with our clients, we give ourselves an even greater incentive and responsibility to deliver each project to absolute perfection. 

Secondly, it underlines the fact that every element of a Bespoke Rolls-Royce, from the exterior finish to the precise, individualised arrangement of the constellations in the Starlight Headliner, is defined and agreed in discussions between the client and our Design Team. Beyond Bespoke, Rolls-Royce Coachbuild extends to every single detail of the car, as our now-legendary ‘Sweptail’ demonstrates. Coachbuilding is in our DNA, and is a facility that we are actively seeking to offer to additional clients who approach us with commissions. It is this intimate level of involvement, choice and attention to detail that marks Rolls-Royce as a true luxury house.

Thirdly, co-creating a Bespoke motor car with one of our clients, enables us to ensure its integrity as a true Rolls-Royce. Some of our clients choose to make modifications of their own, and we are entirely comfortable with this. But my view – one shared by the majority of our patrons – is that authenticity matters. And this degree of ‘genuineness’ can only occur when the union between our client and the marque is at the heart of a project. For this reason, the car’s underlying engineering, design and technology remain firmly and exclusively in the hands of our technical specialists, while the creative flair and imagination of our clients and designers can roam freely throughout the car, bringing a beautiful Bespoke commission to life.

Now, about the stipulation I mentioned earlier: While it’s true that nearly every aspect of the car can be personalised, when it comes to the Spirit of Ecstasy, patrons may choose only from an extremely limited number of finishes.

This may seem odd or over-protective, given that we offer 44,000 paint colours, plus an infinite number of Bespoke possibilities, but we make no apology. The Spirit of Ecstasy is the single most visible and universally recognised signifier of a Rolls-Royce motor car, and our clients respect and revere her as much as we do. She is a symbol of our joint success, and the crowning glory of each Rolls-Royce that we create together.