Rolls-Royce Launches the Phantom Centenary Collection: A Moving Masterpiece

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars crowns a century of dominance in the world of luxury with an extraordinary masterpiece that immortalizes its legendary heritage. In an exclusive launch, the British marque has unveiled the Phantom Centenary Private Collection, a series limited to just 25 examples worldwide, establishing a new icon in the annals of excellence and innovation. This launch represents more than a car; it is a physical poem narrating 100 years of history, from the debut of the first Phantom in 1925 to the present day.

Delving into the Archives: A Research Journey to Capture the Spirit of a Century

The design process for this collection was not merely about adding new features, but a meticulous and painstaking research journey into the Rolls-Royce archives. The team at Bespoke, composed of designers, engineers, and master craftspeople, immersed themselves in studying the Phantom’s identity, its pivotal figures, and the events that shaped its journey since the 1920s. The fruit of this deep dive is a central artistic work comprising 77 hand-drawn shapes, masterfully woven into the cabin’s décor to tell the story of each of the Phantom’s eight generations.

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Exterior Design: Evoking the Elegance of the Golden Age in a Contemporary Form

The car’s exterior design recalls the spirit of Hollywood’s Golden Age, with a clear revival of the sleek silhouette of the legendary 1930 Phantom II Continental. The body is finished in two exclusive colours: Arctic White for the sides and Black for the upper section, coated with a specially developed ‘Super Champagne Crystal’ paint. This paint gives the car a deep metallic shimmer thanks to iridescent crushed glass particles embedded within the transparent layer.

Beneath the bonnet, the ‘Spirit of Ecstasy’ mascot, cast in 18-carat gold, bears the unique “Phantom Centenary” inscription for the first time. The iconic ‘RR’ badge also appears in 24-carat gold and white enamel, another first. The side profile’s elegance is completed by special disc wheels, each engraved with 25 lines, totalling 100 lines symbolizing the celebrated century.

The Interior: A Century of Luxury and Visual Storytelling

Inside the cabin, passengers are immersed in a journey through time, as the car transforms into a moving gallery recounting Phantom’s history. In a nod to tradition, the design returns to its roots with durable leather for the front driver’s area, while the rear cabin becomes a space of luxurious fabrics and exceptional embroidery.

The rear seats are directly inspired by the 1926 Phantom of Love, featuring hand-woven Opusson upholstery. Each seat represents a visual story in three layers: it begins with a high-definition printed backdrop of historical locations, followed by a layer of finely detailed Phantom drawings, and is topped with a layer of abstract embroidery representing seven of the car’s prominent owners throughout its history. Achieving this complex artwork required specially modified ink printing, over 16,000 irregular embroidery stitches, and laser-engraved artwork.

The Anthology Gallery: The Century’s Archive at the Heart of the Dashboard

The “Anthology” Gallery is the most striking centrepiece in the cabin. Located on the front fascia, this piece dramatically frames the view through the windshield. The gallery contains 50 vertically polished aluminium “fins,” 3D-printed and interlocked like the pages of an open book. Each fin is engraved with characters forming quotes derived from a century of press coverage and acclaim, with these inscriptions skillfully illuminated by adjustable ambient lighting, creating a captivating visual experience.

rolls-royce-phantom-centenary-private-collection-100-years-designboom06 — Ink printing, 16,000 irregular embroideries, and laser-engraved artwork achieve Rolls-Royce’s most intricate seats

Woodwork: The Marque’s Journeys Carved in Wood

The collection presents the most complex woodwork in Rolls-Royce’s history. The door panels, crafted from figured Blackwood, depict the most important journeys in the marque’s history: Sir Henry Royce’s winter and summer homes, plus the first journey of a Goodwood-era Phantom spanning 4,500 miles across Australia.

Each wooden composition combines multiple techniques such as multi-directional 3D marquetry, laser engraving, 3D ink-layering, and 24-carat gold leaf to create a genuine sense of dimension and depth. The journey routes gleam with touches of pure gold, with the precise locations of Royce’s homes indicated by minute 2.76mm gold dots. The woodwork’s elegance is finalized with engravings of the original 1925 Phantom I and the current Phantom VIII, inscribed on the rear picnic tables, linking the past with the present.

✦ Archup Editorial Insight

This project presents a physical embodiment of the brand’s historical narrative, transforming the automobile into a moving archive. The design raises questions about the balance between function and storytelling, as the density of symbols and narrative details embedded within the interior spaces creates a visually saturated environment that can overwhelm the passenger’s primary sensory experience. The design of the ‘Anthology’ gallery redefines the dashboard from a functional element into a display space, which may divert attention from the fundamental task of driving. However, the approach successfully achieves an exceptional narrative coherence, where different materials and techniques—from embroidery to three-dimensional wood marquetry—are thoughtfully interwoven to construct a tangible physical record that documents heritage, converting an object of daily use into a cultural vessel preserving the brand’s collective memory.