• A Rose, bred exclusively for the marque by award winning British breeder Philip Harkness, grows only at the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, West Sussex
• The Rose debuted in a one-off design for Phantom’s Gallery, the stage for individual works of art in the flagship’s dashboard, protected by an uninterrupted pane of glass
• The Rose later acted as inspiration for an extraordinary Bespoke commission, consisting of over one million stitches, in a one-of-a-kind Phantom
• Rolls-Royce releases a new, extended film of The Rose Phantom 

This year more than ever, as we have been confined to our homes while the natural world flourishes around us, we are reminded of the wonders of nature. Spring is a time of hope and optimism, when bird song crescendos and flowers greet us with heady scent and vibrant colour. As we approach the first ever online RHS Chelsea Flower Show, Rolls-Royce looks a little closer to home and reflects on a Bespoke and storied rose, preparing for an abundant bloom. 

In the courtyard of the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, West Sussex, a rare flower — the Phantom Rose — is cultivated. Bred solely for the marque as a source of inspiration, Rolls-Royce’s Global Centre of Luxury Manufacturing Excellence is the only place in the world where this rose can be found.

British Rose breeder Philip Harkness, of the award winning Harkness Roses, bred the Phantom Rose especially for the Rolls-Royce Bespoke Collective. His family has been breeding roses since 1879, establishing a tradition of beautiful blooms associated with the Harkness name. Today, plants and flowers bred by Harkness Roses remain a constant favourite on the international horticultural scene, winning gold at the prestigious RHS Chelsea Flower Show more than 25 times in the last 50 years. 

On commissioning the rose, Rolls-Royce Bespoke Designer Sina-Maria Eggl, commented, “The rose had to embody Rolls-Royce’s poise, elegance and allure. The result was a very pure, delicate but voluminous white flower: sensual, but strong in presence, with an alluring aroma and extra winter durability.”

The Phantom Rose grows in a specially designed bed, fringed with lavender, running alongside the reflection ponds adjacent to the marque’s award winning Sir Nicholas Grimshaw plant. Indeed, it is no coincidence that both Rolls-Royce associates and the marque’s Bespoke Designers can view the rose bed through the plant’s floor-to-ceiling glass as they work.

The Phantom Rose is a blousy, creamy-white flower, offering a full bloom of 50 petals and a rich perfume. Harkness describes it as a quintessentially English rose, which took eight years to develop. It was, he says, a labour of love. “A rose has the ability to captivate you on many levels. It is a thing of beauty, it can stimulate the senses with wonderful perfume, the soft touch of the petals or the rasping pain from a thorn. It touches our emotions, signifies love and appears in some of our finest poetry. How can a simple flower live up to this expectation? The rose that Rolls-Royce has commissioned makes easy work of the task. Observe the glory of the bloom. There can be few more enjoyable experiences, thanks to the unending generosity and diversity of nature captured in one single rose.”

In 2017, an iteration of the rose debuted in a one-off design for Phantom’s Gallery. The Gallery is protected by an uninterrupted piece of glass that spans the width of the marque’s flagship, behind which a recess presents an up-lit stage, becoming an area for patrons to embrace the unique storytelling characteristic of the marque. 

Stems of the rose were flown to awaiting master artisans from world-renowned porcelain manufacturer Nymphenburg, Bavaria, Southern Germany. Here, the rose was examined in its varying stages, from bud to full bloom, before being crafted by hand for the Gallery in the finest black and white porcelain ever created by the company. The development process alone lasted three months in order to achieve the same level of delicacy as the Phantom Rose itself.

More recently, the Phantom Rose acted as a primary point of inspiration for Rolls-Royce Bespoke Designer Ieuan Hatherall. It was here that an extraordinary Bespoke commission began, consisting of over one million stitches, for a Swedish entrepreneur with a passion for flowers. The Phantom Rose is illustrated in varying stages of maturity in the finest embroidery throughout the interior of a highly unique, one-of-a-kind Phantom.

Ieuan Hatherall commented, “There is a transcendent beauty when a rose garden is in full bloom. The commissioning patron wanted to create that same feeling of awe; an abundance of flowers to lift the spirit and celebrate nature’s decadent beauty.”

Ahead of the first ever online RHS Chelsea Flower Show, 18-23 May, Rolls-Royce releases an extended interview with the commissioning patron of The Rolls-Royce Rose Phantom. Click here to view the extended film. 

Rolls-Royce’s flagship, Phantom, has within it, an interior space which spans the dash facia and which is enclosed by a sheet of glass. This unprecedented space is called the Gallery. It provides clients of the marque the unique opportunity to commission and display, within their Phantom, highly personal works of art. Positioned front and centre, the Gallery becomes a focal point for Phantom’s interior.

Dr. Esther Mahlangu, the globally celebrated South African artist, has been commissioned by a South African patron of Rolls-Royce to create a unique work of art for the Gallery of a one-of-a-kind Rolls-Royce Phantom. Dr. Mahlangu, the visual artist from the Ndebele region and respected South African cultural ambassador, becomes the first artist to create an artwork in this way. This unique motor car is named, ‘The Mahlangu Phantom’ in the artist’s honour.

César Habib, Regional Director, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Middle East and Africa, commented, “I am delighted to unveil ‘The Mahlangu Phantom’, a striking expression of contemporary African art. The Gallery is a unique environment for patrons of our marque to express personal and often highly creative artworks and we are indeed honoured to showcase Dr. Mahlangu’s work in this Phantom’s serene interior.”

Considered, in South Africa, as a national treasure, Dr. Mahlangu has devoted her life to sharing her cultural heritage through vibrant geometric abstract paintings and murals inspired by the Ndebele ethnic group. The 84-year-old is one of Africa’s most revered living artists and her works can be found in many important museums, corporate and private collections around the world.

With the goal of preserving her cultural heritage, Mahlangu founded an art school at her home in the Mpumalanga province where she mentors young artists in the traditional style of Ndebele design. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of ‘The Mahlangu Phantom’ will be donated to the school and will be used to support a retrospective exhibition that will narrate her fascinating life story and celebrate her invaluable contribution to contemporary African art.

“Dr. Mahlangu has been painting the bright, geometric, abstract artworks for which she has become so globally acclaimed since she was 10 years old. We are excited to have been appointed to curate this important Retrospective exhibition that will celebrate and honour Dr. Mahlangu and her important contribution to contemporary African art,” says Craig Mark, Director of The Melrose Gallery, Dr. Mahlangu’s global representative.

In celebration of this unique commission, Rolls-Royce has produced an insightful film to showcase Esther Mahlangu’s work and cultural heritage.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars revealed today the ‘Pebble Beach 2019 Collection’. Inspired by the hills, sand and sea surrounding Pebble Beach, this year’s collection is the most colorful yet. The Collection includes 13 beautiful Bespoke Commissions, offered exclusively for the clients attending Monterey Car Week 2019, and will be revealed at a series of exclusive activities hosted by the luxury brand throughout the week.

The collection is headlined by the brand’s flagship, Phantom. Rolls-Royce Bespoke designers have cloaked this Phantom in a shimmering Black Diamond and Gold Bespoke exterior. The interior features the Rolls-Royce Phantom Gallery, an individuality available in no other motor car in the world, designed to house personalized art making the Phantom an extension of its owner’s art and design collection. The ‘Best Car in the World’ raised the bar of luxury with the introduction of the new Rolls-Royce ‘Architecture of Luxury’ which delivers the ‘Magic Carpet Ride’, defining Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. 

Cullinan marks its second year at Pebble Beach with some of the most extensive Bespoke designs in the ‘Pebble Beach 2019 Collection’. The four vehicles on display during the week feature colors including Burnout Grey, Black Green, Iced Gunmetal and Galilea Blue. The iced finish showcases one of the most popular innovations from the paint specialists at Rolls-Royce. The subtle finish offers the solid effect of matte colors with an elegant shine. Color innovations are nothing new to a design group that has built finishes using glass, silver, gold and even diamonds for Bespoke Commissions.

The ‘Pebble Beach 2019 Pastel Collection’ – Black Badge goes beyond Black
Following recent years of alternating drought, fire and rain, the Monterey Peninsula this year is awash in seas of colorful wildflowers. Highlighting this year’s debuts are a trio of Bespoke motor cars showcasing the creative color capabilities of the artisan designers in Goodwood, Home of Rolls-Royce. The Pastel Collection draws upon painter’s palette of colors from this year’s ‘wildflower superbloom’ on the Monterey Peninsula. The collection includes three one-of-one Black Badge Commissions adding new colors to the Rolls-Royce Bespoke palette and reaffirming the idea that a Rolls-Royce Black Badge doesn’t have to be black.

The collection starts with Ghost Black Badge in Light Green Solid, a new Bespoke exterior finish. The pastel green represents the rebirth of the flora on the peninsula following the years of drought and fire. The hand-crafted leather interior is Black with a striking Serenity Green splash highlighting the iconic Black Badge technical Fiber.

The drophead creation among the collection is Dawn Black Badge in Coral Solid which showcases the Bespoke finish that can only come after seven coats of paint and more than nine hours of hand polishing in the Surface Finish Centre at the Home of Rolls-Royce, Goodwood. The new pastel color carries over to the Bespoke Aero Cowling, giving Dawn a colorful yet aggressive exterior. The Dawn Black Badge interior is finished in Artic White and Sunset carrying over the visual imagery of the blooming northern California hills and valleys.

The final piece of the trio is Wraith Black Badge in Semaphore Yellow, a bright and sunny finish for the most powerful member of the Rolls-Royce family. Wraith Black Badge features a Selby Grey and Lemon interior with the iconic Rolls-Royce Black Badge Starlight Headliner. The ‘Rolls-Royce 2019 Pastel Collection’ presents Black Badge unlike you’ve ever seen before.

This collection showcases the alter ego of Rolls-Royce Bespoke as the brand highlights the potential of its Black Badge Bespoke offer. The combined skills of the Bespoke craftspeople from the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, England, and the rebellious spirit of Black Badge has propelled the brand into the 21^st century appealing to the risk-taker who is not afraid to embrace a bold and progressive statement of true and modern luxury, in an aggressive form. All Black Badge commissions feature a stunning technical fiber fascia and interior accents as well as custom Black Badge Bespoke Starlight Headliners and Bespoke ‘Pebble Beach 2019 – special commission’ treadplates.

“Every year, thousands of Rolls-Royce patrons come together for Monterey Car Week. It’s one of our most important family gatherings around the world, especially for our American owners. This year we present the largest offering of Rolls-Royce motor cars ever and in the most vivid Bespoke colors and configurations in history. Each and every commission has been created by the designers and craftspeople at the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood, working with the finest leather, wood and precious materials. It’s thrilling to introduce the 2019 Pebble Beach Collection as the world gathers to view the classics the brand has created over the past 115 years.” Martin Fritsches, President of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars North America.

The full family on display
The full collection of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars on display includes one Phantom, four Cullinans, four Dawns, two Ghosts and two Wraiths. The special vehicles will be on display at ‘Quail, A Motorsports Gathering’ as well as at the exclusive Rolls-Royce Villa in Carmel.