• Rolls-Royce celebrates the first 20 years of production at its Goodwood manufacturing centre
• A story of continuous progress and evolution, told through 20 individual models
• Each created and handmade at the Home of Rolls-Royce since 2003
• Includes EX experimental cars, which revived a naming convention last seen in the 1950s
• Describes an arc of technical innovation and responses to changing client requirements
• Leads to the new all-electric era ushered in by the Rolls-Royce Spectre

“Rolls-Royce has always stood for innovation and progress, constantly pushing technical and creative boundaries in the relentless pursuit of perfection demanded by its co-founder, ##Sir Henry Royce##. Our remarkable record of creating 20 different models in our first 20 years at the Home of Rolls-Royce is a direct result of that restless, adventurous spirit. Each of these models is a magnificent achievement in itself; together, they demonstrate our unique understanding of – and ability to respond to – our clients’ changing needs, tastes and desires over time.”
Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

When Rolls-Royce Motor Cars began full-scale manufacturing at Goodwood, it produced just a single model: the original, seventh-generation Phantom. The first completed motor car was handed over to its new owner in a special ceremony at one minute past midnight on 1 January 2003.

Since that historic moment, no fewer than 20 different models and variants have been created and handmade at #Goodwood – equivalent to one for every year. Today's Rolls-Royce model family reflects two decades of continuous innovation and progress in design, technology, materials and methods, as the marque seeks to satisfy its clients' ever-changing needs, tastes and desires.

Phantom, and its siblings Phantom Drophead Coupé and Phantom Coupé, were followed by the more approachable Ghost, which went on to become the best-selling model the marque has ever produced since its foundation in 1904. The product family grew further with Wraith (2013) and Dawn (2016), respectively the most powerful and seductive models in the marque’s portfolio; they were joined in 2018 by Cullinan, the 'Rolls-Royce of SUVs', which is now ranked among the world's most desirable and in-demand luxury products.

With the exception of Phantom, all models in the current product family are available as Black Badge variants. Created for a new breed of client who desired a more subversive, rebellious expression of the Rolls-Royce brand, this permanent Bespoke series now accounts for more than a third of the marque’s total output.

Since 2003, the Home of Rolls-Royce’s design and engineering teams have produced a number of experimental motor cars. In keeping with tradition, these were given the ‘EX’ designation, used until the 1950s by Rolls-Royce engineers to maintain secrecy during testing and development, and the distinctive red-on-silver 'RR' badge. Never intended for series production, they were fundamental to the process of creating some of the most technically significant and commercially successful products in the marque's history.

Two Coachbuild masterpieces that represent the ultimate expression of Rolls-Royce's Bespoke capabilities also grace the list. Individually commissioned and entirely hand-built, they echo the coachbuilding traditions of the marque's early years, while employing the very latest in contemporary design, engineering, manufacturing and craft techniques to create true works of art.

The first 20 years at #Goodwood have culminated in the launch of Spectre. The first all-electric Rolls-Royce in history, this landmark motor car also marks the beginning of a new technological era, in which every new Rolls-Royce model will be fully electric from 2030 onwards. With series production yet to begin, Spectre is not strictly among the 20 cars produced between 2003 and 2023, so does not appear in the list that follows. However, it is both the next evolutionary step in the model family's development, and the technical and philosophical foundation for all that will follow in future.

This remarkable period in the marque’s history has seen the creation of a countless deeply personal, complex and beautiful expressions of the marque’s motor cars. While it is nearly impossible to edit a selection of the best of the last twenty years, here are some truly exemplary examples:

20 CARS FOR 20 YEARS

1. Phantom, 2003
The original 'Goodwood Phantom' was the seventh generation to wear what is now the longest-established nameplate in automotive history. With its marriage of technology, comfort, performance and the signature 'Magic Carpet Ride', it set a new standard for every model that has followed.

2. 100EX, 2004
Produced to mark the centenary of the first meeting between Charles Rolls and Henry Royce, this was the first Experimental Car produced by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars under BMW Group ownership. Powered by an extraordinary 9-litre V16 engine, it was never intended for production, but was the direct forebear for what would become the celebrated Phantom Drophead Coupé.

3. Phantom Extended, 2005
Unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2005, Phantom Extended was 250 mm (9.8 in) longer than the 'standard' Phantom. This created additional legroom in the rear cabin, making this model especially popular with clients who prefer to be chauffeur-driven.

4. 101EX, 2006
Like 100EX, this experimental prototype was built on a shortened version of Phantom's aluminium space frame, with the body panels constructed in carbon-fibre composite. It would find enduring life and global fame in its eventual production guise as Phantom Coupé, powered by the iconic 6.75-litre V12 engine.

5. Phantom Drophead Coupé, 2007
One of the most sought-after models ever produced at Goodwood, the Phantom Drophead Coupé stunned the world on its debut. With distinctive styling derived from 100EX (see above), its defining feature is the interior wood veneering that flows around the cabin into the teak tonneau cover, inspired by a racing yacht deck.

6. Phantom Coupé, 2008
With its pillarless construction, this was a true hardtop two-door coupé – the first Rolls-Royce of its type to be produced in more than two decades. Like its drophead sibling, Phantom Coupé incorporated many of the design features and construction techniques developed on the experimental 101EX.

7. 200EX, 2009
Presented at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2009, 200EX was the experimental car that responded to client feedback for a more approachable and driver-orientated Rolls-Royce.

8. Ghost, 2010
Designed for a new generation of ascendent Rolls-Royce clients, Ghost immediately won praise for its simple, contemporary design and effortless, dynamic performance. To date it is the most commercially successful model in Rolls-Royce history.

9. 102EX, 2011
Known as the Phantom Experimental Electric (EE), this one-off electric prototype version of Phantom began Rolls-Royce's exploration into suitable technology to power future generations of its motor cars. The world’s first super-luxury battery electric vehicle, it toured the world gauging reactions from clients, enthusiasts, the media and the wider public.

10. Ghost Extended, 2011
Responding to feedback from clients who prefer to be chauffeur-driven, Rolls-Royce introduced an Extended version of Ghost, offering additional space and comfort for rear-seat passengers while maintaining the motor car’s more focussed driving characteristics.

11. Wraith, 2013
The fastback Wraith was intended as the ultimate gran turismo; a car that embodied the bold, pioneering spirit, sense of adventure and love of speed that inspired the marque's co-founder, The Hon Charles Stewart Rolls.

12. Dawn, 2016
The definitive super-luxury four-seater convertible, Dawn was designed to enable four adults to travel sociably together in complete comfort. The roof is a design and engineering masterpiece: dubbed 'the Silent Ballet' the mechanism operates in complete silence in just 22 seconds, and at cruising speeds of up to 50km/h; with the roof closed, the interior is as silent as a Rolls-Royce Wraith.

13. Black Badge Wraith and Black Badge Ghost, 2016
The Black Badge family introduced the world to the marque’s enfants terribles, subverting perceptions of what a Rolls-Royce ‘should’ be. These variants are more powerful and specifically engineered to deliver an even more direct, engaging driving experience, while still offering near-limitless opportunities for Bespoke personalisation. In Black Badge guise, both Wraith and Ghost received additional torque, unique air-suspension set-up and drive shafts, Intuitive Throttle Response and crisper, more urgent 8-speed automatic transmission. The result was an even more agile and involving motoring experience, without compromising the intrinsic elements of the effortless Rolls-Royce ‘Magic Carpet Ride’.

14. 103EX, 2016
Perhaps the most radical experimental car ever produced at Goodwood, Rolls-Royce Vision Next 100, codenamed 103EX, presented the marque’s uncompromised view of the future of luxury mobility. Fully electric, with a completely autonomous drive and enhanced artificial intelligence, it made an unequivocal statement about Rolls-Royce's future direction, both in terms of electric power and effortless, highly personalised travel.

15. ‘Sweptail’, 2017
Rolls-Royce revived the art of coachbuilding with the magnificent ‘Sweptail’, described at the time as ‘automotive Haute Couture’. Inspired by coachbuilt Rolls-Royces and racing yachts of the 1920s and 30s, this unique two-seat coupé featured a panoramic glass roof and a pair of attaché cases concealed behind the coach doors.

16. Phantom 8, 2017
No nameplate occupies a more revered place in the pantheon of great cars and indeed, luxury goods as Phantom. The task to re-invent it for a bold, new era was therefore approached with exquisite care. The result was a Phantom that responded to the changing sensibilities of a new generation whilst maintaining the iconic presence that ensures its ongoing status as the “Best Car in the World”.

17. Cullinan, 2018
Cullinan is truly the ‘Rolls-Royce of SUVs’, designed and built to take younger, successful high-net-worth individuals to the ends of the Earth in ultimate comfort. With its ‘effortless, everywhere’ capabilities, endless Bespoke possibilities and unique lifestyle features – including the Recreation Module – it has become one of the most desirable luxury goods on the planet.

18. Black Badge Cullinan, 2019
Cullinan revelled in its new, darker persona, which included a more powerful 6.7-litre V12 engine, black 22-inch forged alloy wheels, Pantheon grille and Spirit of Ecstasy mascot, plus the first painted brake callipers ever fitted to a factory-delivered Rolls-Royce.

19. New Ghost, 2020
When it came to present a new Ghost, Rolls-Royce responded to the requirement from a new ascendent generation of successful women and men for a motor car, perfectly aligned with new codes of luxury. The result is an aesthetic that prioritises minimalist design and celebrates material substance. The motor car was also engineered to possess an engaging and dynamic character with no compromise to the serenity and comfort in the rear suite.

20. Boat Tail, 2021
The Boat Tail commissions took Rolls-Royce Coachbuild into new realms of complexity and audacity, in a demanding technical and creative project that lasted almost four years. A genuine objet d'art, this entirely handcrafted motor car demonstrated the marque's commitment to coachbuilding as a central part of its future direction and strategy.

• New Rolls-Royce Collection of Wraith and Dawn Black Badge
• Landspeed Collection celebrates the records set by British engineer Captain George Eyston in Thunderbolt, powered by two Rolls-Royce R V12 aero engines
• Interior details recall the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, where Eyston pursued his record-breaking endeavours in 1937-38
• Salt Flats’ fissured texture is perfectly reproduced in the engraved fascia; steering-wheel detail mimics the dark track-line marked on the surface during record runs
• Starlight Headliner precisely depicts the night sky on 16 September 1938, when Eyston set his third and final land-speed record of 357.497 mph
• Silhouettes of the long-lost Thunderbolt, and its three record-breaking speeds, are laser-engraved on the front tunnel
• Subtle detail in driver’s-side door reproduces ribbon colours of the honours awarded to Eyston during his lifetime
• Production limited to just 35 examples of Wraith Black Badge, and 25 of Dawn Black Badge

“It’s human nature to want to go further, do more, be greater than ourselves. The innate desire to extend horizons and define new limits is an instinct we’ve always understood at Rolls-Royce; and we have acted upon it once again with our new Landspeed Collection.

“The Collection, which includes both Wraith and Dawn Black Badge, celebrates someone with exactly that dauntless, fearless, pioneering spirit. His name was Captain George Eyston, a Cambridge University graduate, racing driver, gifted inventor and engineering genius. In the late 1930s, he broke the world land-speed record three times with his car Thunderbolt, powered by two Rolls-Royce R V12 aero engines. He was a true hero from an age of epic endeavours; yet both he and Thunderbolt have been all-but forgotten for more than 80 years.

“With this Collection, we have revived Eyston’s memory and retold his remarkable story. Throughout Wraith and Dawn Landspeed, clients will find numerous subtle design elements and narrative details that recall and commemorate his amazing achievements, grand vision and exceptional courage.”
Torsten Müller-Ötvös, CEO, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

Rolls-Royce has been associated with world speed records on both land and water for more than a century. But while the exploits of Sir Malcolm Campbell are well documented and widely known, another British hero who set three land-speed records using Rolls-Royce engines has been largely overlooked by history.

Now, after more than 80 years, Rolls-Royce recalls this hero’s inspiring exploits. With the new  Wraith and Dawn Black Badge Landspeed Collection, the marque uncovers and retells the remarkable story of the redoubtable Captain George Eyston, and his extraordinary car, Thunderbolt.

Born in 1897, George Eyston was fascinated with motorsport from childhood, racing both cars and (under an assumed name) motorcycles while still at school. His degree in engineering at Trinity College, Cambridge, was interrupted by the Great War, in which he served with distinction, rising to the rank of captain and winning the Military Cross. He spent the 1920s and 30s developing and driving racing cars; a talented inventor, he also held a number of patents, particularly in the field of supercharging.

In 1935, Eyston was among the first British racers to travel to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, where he set new 24-hour and 48-hour endurance speed records. He subsequently received the Segrave Trophy, awarded to ‘the British national who demonstrates Outstanding Skill, Courage and Initiative on Land, Water and in the Air’.

In 1937, he returned to the Flats and went on to set three world land-speed records with Thunderbolt. This extraordinary machine had three axles, eight wheels and weighed seven tonnes, earning it monikers such as ‘behemoth’ and ‘leviathan’ in contemporary reports. The body was made from aluminium and, in its original form, had a blunt, heavyset profile topped with a large triangular tailfin.

CELEBRATING ACHIEVEMENT, INNOVATION AND COURAGE

The Rolls-Royce Landspeed Collection draws inspiration from George Eyston’s remarkable life and record-breaking feats. It also has strong aesthetic links to the unique, otherworldly landscape of the Bonneville Salt Flats where Thunderbolt made him, albeit briefly, the fastest man on Earth. The Collection Car duo is presented in a specially created two-tone finish, which marries Black Diamond Metallic with a new Bespoke colour, Bonneville Blue. This specially developed hue bears particular significance to the Collection, with a colour that transitions under sunlight from light blue to silver, illustrating the reflections of both the vast sky over Bonneville and the crisp salt flats on Thunderbolt’s aluminium body.

Thunderbolt was powered by a pair of Rolls-Royce R supercharged 37-litre, V-12 aero engines, each producing well over 2,000 horsepower. Around only 19 of these engines were ever made: indeed, they were so rare that Thunderbolt’s engines had a previous career in the Schneider Trophy-winning Supermarine S6.B seaplane that would lay the foundations for the legendary Spitfire.

Today, Thunderbolt’s two R engines are preserved at the Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon and the Science Museum in London. The car itself, however, has been lost. After being exhibited at the 1940 Centennial Exhibition in New Zealand, it was placed in storage, but was sadly destroyed in 1946 when 27,000 bales of wool, housed in the same building, caught fire.

HOLDING THE LINE

Eyston set his records on the International Speedway, a specially compacted section of the Bonneville Salt Flats 10 miles (16km) long and 80 feet (24m) wide. The terrain is perfectly level in all directions and shines brilliant white in the sunlight: the absence of landmarks and ferocious glare combines to make holding course and judging distance extremely difficult at high speed.

George Eyston himself, commented, “On the salt bed, which has to be carefully prepared by dragging, we paint one or more black lines along the whole length. These lines act as guides and prevent the driver straying; for errors of a few feet in steering might culminate in disastrous results. You see, you might drive a few feet away from the absolute line, something else might happen and you get a few feet more and, believe me, you will never get back”.

As he recognised, deviating from the speedway would have been extremely hazardous, particularly given Thunderbolt’s enormous weight. In response, Eyston’s team painted darkened track lines on the salt surface for Eyston to follow – effectively his sole means of keeping Thunderbolt straight at over 350 mph.

This simple yet ingenious idea is recalled in the Landspeed Collection by a subtly perforated dark detail in the upper-centre of the steering wheel, which continues through the centre-line of the driver’s seat, accentuating both Wraith and Dawn’s driver focused appeal.

The Bonneville Salt Flats may appear smooth; but in fact, they’re seamed with tiny fissures. This distinctive texture is perfectly reproduced, digitally retraced from the surface itself, in the wooden veneer of Landspeed Collection’s fascia and console lids. The interior references continue with Thunderbolt’s unique silhouette, and the records it achieved, depicted on the polished, anodised aluminium surface of the Landspeed Collection’s front tunnel. Dawn Landspeed additionally celebrates George Eyston’s vision with the outline of the Silver Island mountains, which dominate the Bonneville horizon, engraved on the upper ‘waterfall’ between the rear seats.

According to the history books, Eyston’s third and final land-speed record of 357.497 mph stood for 341 days. In the new Collection Cars, it is commemorated for all time, engraved into the housing of the dashboard clock alongside the name ‘Bonneville’, in homage to where the record was set.

Thunderbolt was originally left unpainted, which caused an unexpected problem. During the first record attempts, the photo-electric timing equipment was unable to detect the polished aluminium body against the searing white of the Salt Flats’ surface, making accurate timing impossible. Eyston’s brilliantly simple solution was to paint a large black arrow with a yellow circle on the side, to heighten visibility when travelling at great speed. Bright yellow accents throughout the Landspeed Collection, including two-tone yellow and black bumper inserts, pay tribute to this vision.

The clock’s design recounts this theme. Based on the instrument dials from Thunderbolt, with yellow and black details, black-tipped hands are inspired by the arrows painted on the original car’s exterior.

The allure of the Bonneville Salt Flats draws not only record-breakers, but astronomers, too. Stargazers prize this vast, unpopulated wilderness for its exceptionally dark night skies, which create perfect conditions unspoiled by artificial light.

In Wraith Landspeed, the Starlight Headliner perfectly recreates the heavens as they appeared over the Flats on 16 September 1938, the date on which Eyston and Thunderbolt set their third and final world land-speed record. The constellations are precisely marked using 2,117 individually placed fibre-optic ‘stars’, the largest number of stars in a Rolls-Royce Wraith Starlight Headliner ever featured.

During his lifetime, George Eyston received three significant honours. He was awarded the Military Cross (MC) while serving in the Great War; in 1938, after his record-breaking runs with Thunderbolt he was made a Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur, France’s highest civilian decoration; and in 1948, he received the Order of the British Empire (OBE).

These honours are marked in both Wraith and Dawn Landspeed with a subtle detail in the driver’s door, made in the same Grosgrain weave silk and colours to match the original medal ribbons. The armrests on both the passenger side and below the ribbon detail are specially padded to give them the comfortable ‘club armchair’ quality that Eyston favoured in his driving seats, much to the amusement of his fellow racers.

Production of Landspeed Collection cars is strictly limited to just 25 examples of Dawn and 35 of Wraith, all of which have already been allocated to customers.

In closing, Mr Müller-Ötvös said, “Rolls-Royce has been synonymous with adventure, daring and pushing boundaries throughout its history. We are delighted that with the Landspeed Collection, we can add another hitherto unsung hero to the illustrious roll call of pioneers associated with our great marque. With his vision, boldness, determination and genius for innovation and invention, George Eyston embodies so much of what makes Rolls-Royce unique. These cars are a fitting and long overdue tribute to a truly inspiring character.”