Rolls-Royce has always represented the ultimate in car personalisation. Michael Bryden, Rolls-Royce bespoke designer, shares with us just how far that personalisation goes.
Ask Rolls-Royce Motor Cars what true luxury is and it will tell you that it lies in the ability to be completely one-of-a-kind.
This comes as no surprise as Rolls-Royce has always been a master in the world of car customisation, always seeing to it that each of its car is designed bespoke to its buyers' unique needs.
“Bespoke has always been Rolls-Royce,” says Michael Bryden, bespoke designer at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. “We’ve always strived for perfection with each individual car we sell to create a truly individual statement.
Michael Bryden, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars bespoke designer
For the Rolls-Royce customer, the process of acquiring one’s car transcends that of a simple purchase. Every customer has access to Rolls-Royce's exclusive customisation service that extends from custom paints to more personal expressions like hand-painted coach-lines bearing owners’ insignias, family crests embroidered into head-rests and more.
The only limit is one’s imagination.
“No request is too outrageous,” tells Bryden, who has seen some pretty extreme requests in his 3 years at Rolls-Royce’s custom division, from matching the colour of a car to a sentimental pearl necklace, a pot of cream and even the nail varnish currently worn on a customer’s nails.
"Our customers do not choose a design from a catalogue. We see each car as a blank piece of canvas on which owners can express their identity," Bryden adds.
Just how far can one go in customising one's Rolls-Royce? With a selection of 44,000 external paint hues, limitless wood veneer options, leather styles and colours, the scope for personalisation is seemingly endless. It is "virtually impossible" for two cars to be the same.
We take a look at some of the most memorable bespoke projects Rolls-Royce has seen to.
Rolls-Royce Bold Pink Ghost
Called the FAB1, this bright pink creation was crafted to raise funds for a UK-based charity, Breast Cancer Care. Beyond just being pink on the outside, it also boasts pink carpeting, pink leather, pink centrecaps and even a pink umbrella tucked into the door.
Rolls-Royce Fux Aequus Green Wraith
Built for entrepreneur Michael Fux, this Wraith is covered entirely in light green except a cream coloured centre top. If you thought the exterior is outlandish, the inside is even more mind-blowing with the steering wheels, seats, transmission tunnels, doors and dashboards also covered in the mint green.
Rolls-Royce Maharaja Phantom Drophead
A one-of-a-kind edition created specially for customers in Dubai, this Drophead Coupe was inspired by the golden age of the India's Raja. It boasts an ultra-luxurious Carrera White exterior and peacock emblems -- the national bird of India -- decorating various parts of the car.
Rolls-Royce Al Adiyat Wraith
As you can tell from the gold-plated horseshoe motifs and pictures of horses embroidered into the headrests , this car is inspired by the grace and power of horses. According to Rolls-Royce, its name is derived from the sound horses make when their hooves strike the ground.
Rolls-Royce Serenity Phantom
Embodying tranquility, this version of the Phantom draws a big chunk of its inspiration from the idyllic and artistic gardens of Japan. It features blossom motifs embroidered into multiple surfaces as well as a matching hand-painted asymmetric coachline to signify the position of the owner and chauffeur.
Rolls-Royce Suhail Wraith
The Suhail collection is the first to be implemented across the Phantom, Ghost and Wraith cars, and is based on Suhail, one of the brightest star constellations in the sky. Astronomy-inspired, it features a silvery moonstone pearl colour, while a striking colour scheme of turqoise and navy blue accents the interior.
Rolls-Royce Chief Inspector Morse Wraith
Dedicated to the British television series 'Inspector Morse', this Wraith features a special 2-tone colour to emulate the original red-and-black Jaguar Mark II the inspector used to drive. Twenty layers of paint went into painting the exterior, a process Rolls-Royce says is 18 times the duration of a regular model.
Discover more of Rolls-Royce bespoke cars and collections at the official website here.
More on custom cars: Why nothing is immune to the Mansory makeover.