• One of the most famous, instantly recognisable emblems associated with the marque
• Design first registered as the ‘official’ Rolls-Royce mascot in 1911
• Origins and inspiration still a matter of conjecture, centred around two main theories
• Private Collections have been inspired by and have featured unique incarnations of the Spirit of Ecstasy during the contemporary Goodwood era
• ‘The Whisper’ and other Spirit of Ecstasy figurines are on permanent display at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu

INTRODUCTION

This press kit provides an overview of the Spirit of Ecstasy – the enduring emblem of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars since 1911. It traces her origins, evolution and continuing relevance within the marque’s cultural and creative narrative. For information about Phantom, Ghost, Cullinan and Spectre – including Extended and Black Badge variants – and the materials and techniques used in their manufacture, please refer to the specific product press kits.

MORE THAN A FIGUREHEAD

The Spirit of Ecstasy mascot has a unique place at the heart of Rolls-Royce. Her origins are the stuff of legend and myth as well as recorded fact, with some details still veiled in mystery and intrigue. She is widely recognised, respected and admired, with a poise and grace that have secured her enduring recognition. To clients and enthusiasts around the world, she personifies ambition, achievement, excellence and success, just as she has since she first took her place on the prow of a Rolls-Royce motor car more than a century ago.

Like Rolls-Royce and its products, the Spirit of Ecstasy has changed over time. At various points in her long life, she has adopted different stances, sometimes stood slightly taller or shorter, and allowed the wind to sculpt her flowing garments in subtly altered forms. Yet she is also truly ageless: today, she more closely resembles the original drawings made in 1911 by her creator, the illustrator and sculptor Charles Sykes, than she has ever done.

For Rolls-Royce, she is far more than a mascot or symbol. She provides a tangible connection to the company’s heritage through her richly layered story, involving many of the foundational characters in Rolls-Royce’s own history, including the company’s first managing director, Claude Johnson. She inspires greatness; every motor car handmade at Goodwood has to be worthy of her presence.

Perhaps most of all, since, she is believed to be based on the vivacious, assertive and complex Eleanor Thornton, serving as a reminder of the essential human dimension to what Rolls-Royce is and does. Every Rolls-Royce motor car is created by hand for an individual customer; a reflection of their unique personality, and the realisation of their dreams, desires and vision.

ORIGINS OF AN ICON

Today, the ability to commission highly individualised Bespoke details for their motor car remains central to the marque’s relationship with its clients. But in fact, this merely continues a desire for personalisation that emerged in the marque’s very earliest days.

By 1910, just six years after the marque’s formation, it was already an established custom among owners to decorate their radiator grilles with specially commissioned mascots. To the chagrin of General Managing Director, Claude Johnson, these were often in the form of cartoonish animals or comical characters. He therefore decided to create an ‘official’ mascot that would protect the company’s products from what he decried as these ‘unsightly’ additions.

Among Johnson’s wide social circle was the motoring pioneer Lord Montagu of Beaulieu. As founder and editor of The Car Illustrated magazine, his lordship employed an illustrator, Charles Sykes, many of whose wonderful designs for advertisements and magazine covers are conserved at London’s world-famous Victoria and Albert Museum (the V&A).

Sykes was also an accomplished sculptor. Around that time – the precise date remains a mystery – Sykes had produced a mascot for Lord Montagu’s Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost: an aluminium statuette of a young woman in fluttering robes, which he named ‘The Whisper’. This original piece, together with other Spirit of Ecstasy figurines, is now on permanent display at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu.

Impressed and inspired, Johnson asked Sykes to create a new mascot for Rolls-Royce. In one version of the story, upon receiving Johnson’s commission, Sykes subtly reinterpreted ‘The Whisper’ to create what became known as the Spirit of Ecstasy. An alternative view is that on a trip to Paris, Johnson had been impressed by the artistry of the Grecian marble statue of The Winged Victory of Samothrace, Goddess of Victory, sculpted in 190BC and exhibited in the Palais du Louvre since 1883. Some authorities have suggested that it was from this ancient Hellenic masterpiece that Johnson asked Sykes to draw his inspiration.

The Spirit of Ecstasy’s final form lends credence to both theories. She appears as an ethereal young woman leaning forward eagerly, her arms stretched back behind her, with flowing robes appearing to give her wings. Her serene expression offers no clues to the mysteries that still surround her.

WHERE MYTH MEETS REALITY

One of the most enduring of those mysteries was whether the Spirit of Ecstasy was in fact modelled on a real person. It was long suspected, and has now been confirmed, that Sykes’ inspiration for ‘The Whisper’ was a young woman named Eleanor Thornton, who played a crucial, complex and somewhat controversial role in the Rolls-Royce origin story.

Born in 1880, little is known of her early life. She first appears in the early 20th century as assistant to Claude Johnson, then in his pre-Rolls-Royce incarnation as General Secretary of the Automobile Club of Great Britain & Ireland (later the Royal Automobile Club, or RAC). During this time, she rented rooms in an artists’ colony in Chelsea, where she acted as an out-of-hours life model for her fellow residents, one of whom was Charles Sykes. She became his favourite muse and posed for him on many occasions over the years that followed.

Their stories became even more closely entwined when Johnson introduced Thornton to his motoring comrade, and Sykes’ boss, Lord Montagu, who was instantly captivated by her vivacity, confidence and beauty. Bonds of friendship notwithstanding, Montagu promptly poached her as his own assistant, and almost immediately, they embarked on a long, heartfelt love affair.

It was while Sykes and Thornton were working together for Montagu at The Car Illustrated magazine that Sykes produced ‘The Whisper’. Whether the mascot was a token of appreciation from Sykes to his friend and employer, or made at Thornton’s instigation as a gift for her lover, is where the mystery lingers. Whatever the truth, Montagu displayed it on every Rolls-Royce motor car he owned until his death in 1929. It was, perhaps, the only way he could acknowledge his sincere and enduring love for Eleanor, who died in 1915, and which, owing to its potential for scandal, had always remained a closely guarded secret.

THE MARK OF EXCELLENCE

The design was registered as the company’s intellectual property in 1911 and became both a defining feature of the Rolls-Royce brand and one of the most famous and recognisable emblems in the world. In 1920, the Spirit of Ecstasy was entered into L’Auto’s ‘Concours des Bouchons de Radiateurs’ at the Paris Salon – a contest to identify the finest motor car mascot of its day. Charles Sykes was awarded Premier Prix, the gold medal. This recognition helped solidify the sculpture’s reputation in the early years of automotive culture and elevated both the artist and the emerging icon internationally.

Even then, however, she was not immediately or universally accepted. In the 1970s, some countries attempted to ban mascots on safety grounds. In Switzerland, for example, customers weren’t allowed to display her at all, and on receiving their motor cars found her placed in the glove compartment. Rolls-Royce’s typically elegant and ingenious solution was to mount the mascot on a spring-loaded base, allowing her to sink into the radiator out of harm’s way at the merest touch. This retraction mechanism has evolved into a smooth, graceful movement known as ‘the rise’ and is a feature on every Rolls-Royce motor car hand-built at Goodwood.

As the marque’s most important and recognisable emblem, the Spirit of Ecstasy is offered to patrons in carefully selected finishes: solid silver, 24-carat gold-plated and black carbon fibre.

SPIRIT OF INNOVATION

As they were in the beginning, the Spirit of Ecstasy figurine is made by ‘lost wax casting’, a practice that dates back over 5,000 years. Amazingly, Charles Sykes himself, assisted by his daughter Josephine, personally cast, inscribed and finished the Spirit of Ecstasy mascots right up until 1939.

In preparation for the launch of Phantom VII in 2003, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars rejuvenated the Spirit of Ecstasy by introducing the modern investment casting process.

The first step was to digitally ‘map’ the original Spirit of Ecstasy, manipulating and enhancing individual details to create a perfect three-dimensional computerised image. To ensure even the finest details were precisely replicated, the injection mould was formed by skilled craftsmen using cutters measuring just 0.2 mm in size. This cast tool was used to produce a highly accurate wax model of the figurine, which was then coated in ceramic. After this coating had dried, the wax was melted away, leaving a perfect mould from which the new cast would be taken.

Each figurine is made by filling the mould with molten stainless steel, at a temperature of 1,600°C. Once the steel has cooled, the mould is opened to reveal the Spirit of Ecstasy in its finished form. The final transformation takes place in the Finishing Department, using a process called peening. The casting is blasted by millions of stainless-steel balls, just 0.04 mm in diameter, which help to polish the surface without being abrasive. After machining, a final mirror polish and stringent quality assurance checks, the completed figurine takes her rightful place above the iconic Rolls-Royce grille.

LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE

In 2020, as part of a wider update of the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars brand identity, a new abstract graphic element informed by the Spirit of Ecstasy was developed. Known as ‘The Expression’, this two-dimensional interpretation encapsulates the qualities of the Spirit of Ecstasy in a contemporary visual form for use across the marque’s corporate identity and reflects the company’s vision as a modern House of Luxury.

Rolls-Royce reimagined its iconic Spirit of Ecstasy figurine in 2022, to grace the bonnet of its first all-electric motor car, Spectre, 111 years to the day since the Spirit of Ecstasy was first registered as intellectual property of Rolls-Royce on 6 February 1911.

The figurine was remodelled to feature a lower, more dynamic stance that brought her much closer to the drawings made by her original creator, Charles Sykes, in the early years of the 20th century.

This version of the Spirit of Ecstasy stands 8.27cm tall, compared to the previous 9.5cm. Her robes, which flow behind her in the slipstream – often but erroneously characterised as ‘wings’ – are subtly reshaped to make them more aerodynamic and realistic. Rather than standing with her feet together and tilting at the waist, she is braced for the wind, one leg forward, body tucked low, her eyes focused eagerly ahead. These changes have both practical and stylistic benefits, contributing to Spectre’s remarkable performance as the most aerodynamic Rolls-Royce ever created, with a drag coefficient of just 0.25 cd.

CELEBRATING IN STYLE

In the modern era, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has celebrated landmarks in both its own history and that of the Spirit of Ecstasy through Private Collections, events and unique editions of the figurine itself. Notable expressions include:

• Phantom Centenary Private Collection (2025): Marking the 100th anniversary of its pinnacle product, Phantom, the Private Collection is the most intricate and technologically ambitious ever undertaken by the designers, engineers, production specialists and craftspeople of the marque’s Bespoke Collective. Each motor car is crowned with a unique reimagining of the Spirit of Ecstasy, based on the first figurine ever fitted to a Phantom. Cast in solid 18-carat gold for strength, then plated in 24-carat gold for a flawless, tarnish-resistant finish, the piece was tested by the London Assay Office and awarded a full UK hallmark together with a specially developed ‘Phantom Centenary’ mark. The base of the figurine is finished with hand-poured white vitreous enamel delicately inscribed with the collection’s name.
  
  
• Phantom Scintilla Private Collection (2024): Inspired by the Spirit of Ecstasy’s grace, dynamism and ethereal beauty, and limited to just 10 models, the interior of each motor car is filled with design elements, textures and a continuous graphic inspired by the Spirit of Ecstasy’s expressive, dynamic form. Claude Johnson’s original brief for a Rolls-Royce mascot is displayed on an embossed plate concealed in the glove compartment. These words, written in 1910, also capture the essence of Phantom Scintilla: ‘Speed with silence, the absence of vibration, the mysterious harnessing of great energy, and a beautiful living organism of superb grace’. For Scintilla, the Spirit of Ecstasy figurine is also rendered in a ceramic finish – alluding to the figurine’s origins and the aforementioned Classical Grecian sculpture, The Winged Victory of Samothrace.
  
  
• The Spirit of Ecstasy Centenary Private Collection (2011): Celebrating the mascot’s 100th anniversary and limited to just 100 Bespoke Phantom models, the Private Collection featured exclusive body colours, leather combinations, wood veneers and interior details. Each motor car features a specially commissioned Spirit of Ecstasy in solid silver, with six hallmarks (including two designed specifically for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars) on a black-gold-plated illuminated base.

A CONTINUING LEGACY

Today, the Spirit of Ecstasy remains the marque’s defining symbol, advancing with each new chapter while preserving the quiet authority that has distinguished her since 1911. As tastes, technologies and cultures continue to evolve, she endures as a constant expression of the marque’s values – a steady presence that guides the future while remaining true to the heritage that shaped her.

CHARLES ROBINSON SYKES: 18 DECEMBER 1875 - 6 JUNE 1950

• Rolls-Royce remembers Charles Sykes, born 150 years ago on 18 December 1875
• A gifted artist and sculptor, best known for creating the Spirit of Ecstasy mascot
• The marque’s original creative soul, who introduced artistry as a defining element of Rolls-Royce
• Many works held in the collection of the world-renowned V&A Museum, London

“Charles Rolls, with his competitive spirit and daredevil attitude to life, was the heart of Rolls-Royce. Henry Royce, the meticulous and driven engineer, was its mind. But the figure with the strongest claim to be its first soul is Charles Robinson Sykes. Best known as the sculptor who created the Spirit of Ecstasy, Sykes was a multifaceted and prolific artist whose work is still held in high regard 150 years after his birth. He was the first of the marque’s foundational figures to bring artistry and creativity to Rolls-Royce, a legacy that endures today in our ever more ambitious and elaborate Bespoke and Coachbuild work. That his most famous piece represents only a fraction of a rich, varied body of work speaks to the breadth of his talent.”
Andrew Ball, Head of Corporate Relations, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars celebrates the 150^th anniversary of the birth of one of the most important individuals in the marque’s foundation story: Charles Robinson Sykes. A gifted artist, illustrator and sculptor, Sykes was best known for creating the Spirit of Ecstasy mascot, which has gracefully guided Rolls-Royce motor cars since 1911. Today, his work is recognised as the moment artistry and emotional expression first became part of the marque’s identity – a contribution that shaped the creative spirit still evident in every Rolls-Royce motor car.

To commemorate this anniversary, Rolls-Royce explores his life and lasting influence on the marque.

Charles Robinson Sykes was born on 18 December 1875 in Brotton, a mining village near Saltburn, in what is now North Yorkshire, England. Encouraged by his father and uncle, both talented amateur artists, he decided to pursue a professional career, and began his artistic training at Rutherford Art College in Newcastle. In 1898, he won a scholarship to the Royal College of Art in London, where he studied drawing, painting and sculpture. After graduating, he remained in the capital, where he quickly established himself as a multitalented artist.

His skill as a draughtsman is evident in the large collection of his drawings, paintings and cartoons held in the collection of the world-renowned V&A Museum, London. These include beautifully detailed designs for horse-racing trophies, vases and bowls, and atmospheric illustrations for magazine covers and advertisements, produced under the pseudonym ‘Rilette’. His talent for sculpture was formally recognised when his bronze, A Bacchante, was exhibited to considerable acclaim at the Royal Academy of Arts (RA) in London and the Paris Salon.

In 1902, Sykes was commissioned by a magazine publisher to produce some sketches. Unable to pay in cash, the client introduced him to John Montagu, later 2nd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu, who at that time was attempting to launch his own glossy weekly magazine, The Car Illustrated.

With Sykes providing ‘Illustrated’ elements from cover artwork to fashion drawings, the magazine flourished. It was one of the first to print images in full colour, and Sykes took full advantage of the new creative opportunities this offered him. He had a particular interest in Greek mythology, and often introduced classical references into his work.

Sykes’s artwork soon caught the attention of Claude Johnson, known simply as ‘CJ’, the first commercial managing director of Rolls-Royce. He commissioned six original Sykes oils for the company’s 1910-11 Catalogue, depicting Rolls-Royce motor cars arriving at venues and occasions befitting the marque’s aristocratic patrons. These images framed Rolls-Royces not simply as engineering achievements, but as a source of elegance and experience – an early expression of what was to follow. The marque also bought the copyright to other works showing Rolls-Royces driving at dusk, arriving at the top of a steep hill and effortlessly overcoming a snowstorm – real concerns for drivers of the day.

Soon afterwards, Sykes took on what would be his most famous and enduring commission: an official Rolls-Royce mascot. The company described the winged figurine as “a graceful little goddess”, in which Sykes perfectly captured, “the spirit of ecstasy, who has selected road travel as her supreme delight and alighted on the prow of a Rolls-Royce car to revel in the freshness of the air, and the musical sound of her fluttering draperies”. Through this work, Sykes introduced a new dimension to the marque – the idea that a motor car could possess not only technical excellence, but also grace, elegance and serenity.

In creating the figurine, Sykes played a crucial role in establishing Rolls-Royce’s defining characteristics. From the daredevil racing driver, pioneering balloonist and record-breaking aviator Charles Rolls, the marque acquired its spirit of endeavour, always seeking to set new standards for performance, comfort and excellence. And if Rolls was the company’s heart, then Henry Royce – analytical, meticulous, restless, innovative – was its mind; the intellectual foundation of everything it produced.

Sykes was the company’s soul; he brought artistry and creativity to the brand, which finds their expression today in ever more elaborate and ambitious Bespoke and Coachbuild commissions. And through his paintings and the Spirit of Ecstasy, he played a defining role in shaping the mystique and mythology that still surrounds Rolls-Royce to this day.

Charles Sykes died in 1950; though best remembered for his contribution to Rolls-Royce, he enjoyed a long, varied and successful artistic career, leaving a substantial, diverse and delightful body of work that is still highly regarded 150 years after his birth.

ELEANOR VELASCO THORNTON: 15 APRIL 1880 - 30 DECEMBER 1915

• A brief overview of the life and career of Eleanor Velasco Thornton, born 15 April 1880
• Secretary to both Claude Johnson and Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, muse of illustrator and sculptor Charles Sykes and the model for the marque’s iconic Spirit of Ecstasy mascot
• Third in a series profiling the principal characters in the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars foundation story as the marque celebrates its 120th anniversary in 2024
• Insights into the people, personalities and intertwined relationships that indelibly shaped the marque’s creation, development and lasting legacy
• Each account underlines and celebrates the essential human dimension of ‘the best car in the world’
  
  

“Eleanor Thornton has a unique place in Rolls-Royce history. She is best known as the purported model for our Spirit of Ecstasy mascot, but how this came about is part of a far more complex and fascinating story. Secrets, sacrifices and the ever-present risk of scandal dominated her tragically short but intense and colourful life. She was a strong, intelligent, self‑assured and highly influential woman in an automotive world that was then almost entirely male-dominated. She also played a pivotal part in a timeless, tangled, deeply human drama that would eventually make her, and the artwork she inspired, immortal."
Andrew Ball, Head of Corporate Relations and Heritage, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars


Eleanor Velasco Thornton was born on 15 April in 1880 in Stockwell, south-west London. Little is known of her early life: what's certain is that as the 20th Century opened, she was working as assistant to the ebullient and charismatic Claude Johnson, General Secretary of the Automobile Club of Great Britain & Ireland (later the RAC) and soon-to-be business partner of The Hon. Charles Stewart Rolls.

Eleanor rented rooms at The Pheasantry on the Kings Road, Chelsea; now a Grade II Listed building, its eclectic and flamboyant architectural flourishes were the work of its then owner, the artist and interior decorator Amédée Joubert. At that time, it was home to a thriving colony of artists (in the 1930s, the basement became a restaurant and drinking club, the regulars of which included the painters Augustus John and Francis Bacon, the poet Dylan Thomas and legendary actor Humphrey Bogart; it remains a nightclub to this day). Amid these bohemian surroundings, Eleanor lived a remarkable double life: by day, a professional executive assistant; by night, a life-model for the Pheasantry's resident artists. One of those for whom she regularly posed was a talented illustrator, Charles Sykes. 

Eleanor's life changed completely and irrevocably in 1902. That year, almost 100 miles from London, on the edge of the New Forest in Hampshire, John Walter Edward Douglas-Scott-Montagu, was grappling with a longstanding problem. He was yet to ascend to his future title of 2nd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu; in the interim, for all his impeccable lineage and shining prospects, he was perennially short of cash. By a double misfortune, his life's great passion was the motor car, which in those pioneering days was still very much the preserve of those with deep pockets. 

Happily, Montagu had a flair for journalism, so his inspired solution was to set up one of Britain's earliest dedicated motoring magazines, The Car Illustrated. Montagu could handle the writing, editing and publishing himself; but for images, he needed a professional illustrator. In one of those odd coincidences that so often shape history, the man he hired was Charles Sykes.

Among Montagu's circle of motoring friends was Claude Johnson. When, through him, Montagu met Eleanor, he was instantly captivated by her intelligence and promptly poached her, offering her the position of Office Manager at his magazine. Eleanor accepted, and the aristocratic publisher and his new colleague – 14 years his junior – soon embarked on a lengthy clandestine affair.

Thereafter, Sykes and Eleanor found themselves suddenly thrown together as colleagues at The Car Illustrated, while already well acquainted with one another under very different circumstances. Whether this caused any awkwardness between them is impossible to say; but it seems unlikely, since Eleanor was soon posing for him again.

During this period (the precise date is unknown) Sykes produced a mascot for Montagu's Rolls‑Royce Silver Ghost. Called ‘The Whisper’, it was a small aluminium statuette of a young woman in fluttering robes with a forefinger to her lips. It has been confirmed that Eleanor was the model: whether the mascot was a token of appreciation from Sykes to his friend and employer, or made at Eleanor’s instigation as a gift for her lover, remains a mystery. Whatever the truth, Montagu displayed it on every Rolls-Royce car he owned until his death in 1929; perhaps as a discreet acknowledgment of his love for Eleanor, which he kept secret for so long.

Tragically, Eleanor was among hundreds who drowned when the P&O passenger ship SS Persia sank in the Mediterranean in 1915. Montagu was among the handful of survivors: he spent three days adrift on an upturned lifeboat, having suffered a fractured shoulder. He was also nursing a broken heart. Devasted, he never fully got over the emotion of the loss of Eleanor – of which, naturally, he could never speak publicly. But for the rest of his life, she was with him in spirit wherever he travelled in his Rolls-Royce motor car.

Today, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars celebrates the anniversary of its Spirit of Ecstasy mascot, first registered as intellectual property of Rolls-Royce on 6 February 1911. Ever since she has been universally recognised, respected and admired – with a poise and grace that makes her a global icon.

She’s changed with the passage of time. At various points in her long life she’s adopted different stances, sometimes stood slightly taller or shorter, and allowed the wind to sculpt her flowing garments in subtly altered forms.

She celebrates her anniversary in her most streamlined and athletic guise, having been specially recreated in 2022 for the marque’s all-electric Spectre, itself the most aerodynamic Rolls-Royce ever. She’s also truly ageless: today, she more closely resembles the original drawings made in 1911 by her creator, the illustrator and sculptor Charles Sykes, than she’s ever done.

The origins of the Spirit of Ecstasy are the substance of legend and myth, as well as recorded fact, with some details still veiled in mystery and intrigue. Her backstory involves many of the foundational characters in Rolls-Royce’s own history, including the marque's first managing director, Claude Johnson.

To Rolls-Royce customers and fans around the world, she personifies ambition, achievement, excellence and success. She inspires greatness – every motor car on which she graces has to be worthy of her presence.

• Iconic Spirit of Ecstasy figurine recreated for Rolls-Royce’s all-electric future
• Forthcoming all-electric Spectre is marque’s most aerodynamic product yet
• Redesign contributes to a drag coefficient (c_d) of just 0.26 in early prototypes
• Product of 830 combined hours of design modelling and wind tunnel testing
• Simultaneously, Muse, the Rolls-Royce Art Programme, announces jury for Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge
• Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge sees artists create works in textile, inspired by figurine
• Spirit of Ecstasy officially registered as intellectual property of Rolls-Royce on 6^th February 1911, 111 years ago today
  
  
  

“The Spirit of Ecstasy is the most famous and desirable automotive mascot in the world. More than just a symbol, she is the embodiment of our brand, and a constant source of inspiration and pride for the marque and its clients. Like our brand, she has always moved with the times while staying true to her nature and character. In her new form she is more streamlined and graceful than ever before – the perfect emblem for the most aerodynamic Rolls-Royce ever created, and for gracing the prow of our bold electric future.”
Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars


“111 years ago today, the Spirit of Ecstasy became an official part of Rolls-Royce. Yet, she has come to represent a spiritual direction for our brand. Her form perfectly captures the marque – she leans forward, expressing our relentless pursuit of progress, and her dress gracefully flows in the wind, echoing the serenity of our products in motion. For Spectre and beyond, she becomes lower and more focussed; braced for unprecedented speed and the exciting future her presence will define.”
Anders Warming, Director of Design, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars


Rolls-Royce has reimagined its iconic Spirit of Ecstasy figurine to grace the bonnet of its new all-electric motor car, Spectre, 111 years to the day the Spirit of Ecstasy was first registered as intellectual property of Rolls-Royce on 6^th February 1911.

The figurine has been remodelled with a lower, more dynamic stance that brings her much closer to the drawings made by her original creator, the illustrator and sculptor Charles Sykes, in the early years of the 20^th century. It also sees her physical form represent The Expression, a visual device that forms part of the marque's new visual language.

The new Spirit of Ecstasy stands 82.73mm tall, compared to her predecessor’s 100.01mm. Her robes, which flow behind her in the slipstream – often but erroneously characterised as ‘wings’ – have been subtly reshaped to make them more aerodynamic and realistic.

The most visible change is her stance. Previously, she has stood with her feet together, legs straight and tilting at the waist. Now, she is a true goddess of speed, braced for the wind, one leg forward, body tucked low, her eyes focused eagerly ahead. These changes have both practical and stylistic benefits, contributing to Spectre’s remarkable aerodynamic properties. The earliest Spectre prototypes have a drag coefficient (c_d) of just 0.26, making it the most aerodynamic Rolls-Royce ever created. The figure is expected to improve during the product’s exhaustive testing protocols undertaken in 2022.

This new expression captures the essence of Charles Sykes’ original drawings, but rather than simply being ‘redrawn’ or ‘redesigned’, her new shape has been digitally sculpted by a computer modeller working at the Home of Rolls-Royce, who has a passion for life drawing and sculpture. Their experience in this field was invaluable in developing the figurine’s elegant lifelike facial features as well as her expression, which deftly combines focus and serenity. The designers also consulted stylists at Goodwood for their perspective on her hair, clothes, posture, and expression, adding an authentically contemporary aura to her dynamism and commanding presence.

While all figurines are made using one of the oldest known casting techniques, named ‘lost wax casting’ or ‘cire-perdue’, each is individually finished by hand, so will be minutely different from figurine to figurine. As well as continuing a long Rolls-Royce tradition – until 1939, the mascots were made and polished by Charles Sykes himself – this subtle, ephemeral human element creates an intriguing contrast to the precise, highly engineered motor car she sits atop.

Though relatively rare in the modern era, changes to the Spirit of Ecstasy have been made throughout her 111-year lifespan. She has been rendered in various sizes and materials and, briefly, in a kneeling position. The new version created for Spectre will appear on all future models: the current design will still be used on Phantom, Ghost, Wraith, Dawn and Cullinan and their Black Badge alter egos where applicable.


AN ARTISTIC EXPRESSION OF THE ICON

Simultaneously, Muse, the Rolls-Royce Art Programme, has announced the jury for the Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge. This inaugural initiative invites the brightest and boldest young creatives to reimagine the icon of the Spirit of Ecstasy in a context beyond her current home on a Rolls-Royce motor car. In doing so, these young artists will create high-concept pieces that surprise, delight and inspire.

For each edition of this prestigious biennial event, a global panel of expert judges will select a medium for the emerging designers from which to create an artistic interpretation of the Spirit of Ecstasy. For this edition, that medium is textiles. The esteemed jury members are: Anders Warming, Director of Design, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars; Yoon Ahn, Creative Director of Ambush and Jewellery Director at Dior Men; Tim Marlow, Director and Chief Executive of the Design Museum in London; and Sumayya Vally, Principal of South African architectural practice, Counterspace. Together, they will select three finalists to participate in this extraordinary artistic initiative.

• Rolls-Royce reveals complex human story behind iconic Spirit of Ecstasy mascot
• Mystery and speculation still surround aspects of its origins
• Figurine has undergone many design changes throughout her long life
• Current manufacturing process means every figurine is unique

 

“Our Spirit of Ecstasy mascot is the most recognisable automotive emblem in the world. Like our company and our motor cars, she has changed constantly over time, yet remains true to her origins and inspiration. As we enter a new era with Spectre, we have taken the opportunity to revisit our treasured icon and her story, which remains endlessly fascinating, eye-opening and intriguing after more than 100 years. It is both a significant chapter in the brand’s memory, and a rich human drama that, though the product of a bygone age, still resonates with us and our clients today.”
Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars


For more than a century, Rolls-Royce motor cars have been graced by the Spirit of Ecstasy mascot, one of the most recognisable emblems ever created. Yet, remarkably, given her immense fame and global reach, aspects of her story remain open to speculation, confusion and no little controversy.

As the marque embarks on a new era of electrification, we revisit the legend to separate established fact and documentary evidence from speculation and hearsay. It is a tale of four people from different backgrounds, whose individual personalities and intertwined, sometimes complex relationships were the genesis for the world’s most famous and desirable icon.

The principal characters in this singular drama are:

• John Walter Edward Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu (1866-1929). A prominent motoring pioneer and publisher of The Car Illustrated magazine. His ancestral seat in the New Forest is now home to the National Motor Museum.
• Claude Goodman Johnson (1864-1926). Secretary to the Automobile Club of Great Britain & Ireland (later the Royal Automobile Club) before joining The Hon Charles Stewart Rolls in business in 1903. A gifted publicist, his commercial acumen made him the self-styled 'hyphen in Rolls-Royce’.
• Eleanor Velasco Thornton (1880-1915). She is the pivotal figure in the Spirit of Ecstasy story. Originally an actress and dancer, she was also Claude Johnson’s assistant until 1902 when she became Office Manager to Lord Montagu; she was also model and muse to Charles Sykes.
• Charles Robinson Sykes (1875-1950). He was an illustrator and sculptor who worked for both Lord Montagu and Claude Johnson. Under the pseudonym 'Rilette', he designed advertisements and magazine covers, now considered works of art in their own right.

WHAT A TANGLED WEB WE WEAVE…
The Spirit of Ecstasy story is a very human drama, in which fact and fiction often become blurred. What is undoubtedly true is that in 1902, freelance journalist and motoring enthusiast John Montagu – richly titled but perennially short of cash – set up Britain's first motoring magazine, The Car Illustrated, and hired Charles Sykes as his chief illustrator. It is also certain that around the same time, Montagu’s friend, Claude Johnson, employed a young woman named Eleanor Thornton as his assistant at The Automobile Club, where he was General Secretary.

When Montagu met Eleanor, who was both highly intelligent and famed for her beauty, he was instantly smitten and offered her the job of Office Manager at his magazine. She accepted, and the aristocratic publisher and his new colleague – 14 years his junior and from humble origins in south London – soon embarked on a 13-year affair that was as passionate and sincere as it was inevitable and clandestine.

During 1903, Eleanor became pregnant. She and Montagu decided it would be best for the baby to be adopted at birth. For a few seconds, Eleanor held the infant Joan before handing her to Montagu, instructing him “never again to mention the name of the baby”. Eleanor never saw her again; but her father did. He arranged (and paid) for Joan to be initially brought up by an ex‑sergeant from his regiment and his wife, and latterly a doctor and his wife. Over the years that followed he visited his daughter, who knew him only as Uncle John, and did what he could to support her, within the bounds of propriety and secrecy.


THE MUSE FOR AN ICON?
It is here that the various strands of the story start to draw together. Sykes and Eleanor would, of course, have met through their work at The Car Illustrated; but intriguingly, they knew one another already. A few years earlier, Eleanor had taken rooms at The Pheasantry, an artists’ colony in the Kings Road, Chelsea. Here, she lived a secret double life: demure, respectable, professional assistant to Johnson at The Automobile Club by day; sensuous exotic dancer and life-model by night. One of the artists for whom she regularly posed was Charles Sykes.

Although Sykes was employed by Montagu as an illustrator, he was also a talented sculptor, having studied under the eminent Professor Edouard Lanteri at the Royal College of Art. In 1903, he sculpted a trophy, modelled on Eleanor, for Montagu to present at the Gordon Bennett race. Another of Sykes’ works, entitled Bacchante, was shown at the Royal Academy and the Paris Salon. Her face and figure are also strikingly similar to those of his long-time muse.

During this period (the precise date is unknown) Sykes produced a mascot for Montagu's Rolls‑Royce Silver Ghost. Called ‘The Whisper’, it was a small aluminium statuette of a young woman in fluttering robes with a forefinger to her lips. It has been confirmed that Eleanor was the model: whether the mascot was a token of appreciation from Sykes to his friend and employer, or made at Eleanor’s instigation as a gift for her lover, remains a mystery. Whatever the truth, Montagu displayed it on every Rolls-Royce car he owned until his death in 1929; perhaps as a discreet acknowledgment of his love for Eleanor, which he kept secret for so long.

The conventional wisdom is that ‘The Whisper’ was the inspiration for the Spirit of Ecstasy; and that the mascot, therefore, is modelled on Eleanor Thornton. It is an appealing and logical notion, and there are enough similarities to support it. But once again, the story is not as clear-cut as it first appears.


THE ROLLS-ROYCE CONNECTION
In 1910, Eleanor’s erstwhile employer, Claude Johnson, re-enters the narrative. No longer at The Automobile Club, he was now Managing Director of Rolls-Royce, the company co-founded by his former business partner, The Hon Charles Stewart Rolls, and the brilliant engineer Henry Royce.
Royce was already becoming irritated by what he felt were tasteless mascots adorning radiator caps atop Rolls-Royce motor cars, including black cats, devils and a jovial policeman. Claude Johnson, however, spotted an opening, and argued that they should produce their own mascot that would enhance a Rolls-Royce rather than demean it. Eventually, Royce grudgingly agreed; and through his friend Montagu, Johnson commissioned Charles Sykes to create it.

Johnson already had a mental picture of the kind of adornment he wanted. On a trip to Paris, he had been impressed by the artistry of the Grecian marble statue of ‘Nike of Samothrace’, Goddess of Victory, sculpted in 190BC and exhibited in the Palais du Louvre since 1883. Standing nine feet (2.75m) tall, she is depicted as a winged deity descending from the heavens, draped in a flowing tunic and mantle. Sadly, the vicissitudes of time and fortune have deprived her of both arms and her head.

“I want something beautiful, like Nike,” Johnson said to Sykes. “Go and have a look at it.” Sykes did so, but quickly decided Nike was too martial and domineering to be a suitable Rolls-Royce mascot. Having often travelled in Montagu’s Silver Ghosts, he believed a more delicate, ethereal figure would better express the marque's grace, silence and subtle power. Once again, his muse was almost certainly Eleanor Thornton.

But even here, doubt remains. While it seems highly probable that Eleanor was the model for the Spirit of Ecstasy’s overall form, the face could be that of another as it is an excellent likeness of a woman with whom Sykes had a close and adoring relationship – his mother, Hannah Robinson Sykes. Some have speculated that Sykes used his imagination to create a female physique that satisfied his artistic eye and vision of the ideal of womanhood.


WHAT’S IN THE NAME?
Sykes’ new mascot was initially called 'The Spirit of Speed'. The title that would make her immortal appears in a letter from Rolls-Royce to John Montagu. In it, the Company describes its search for a mascot that would convey “the spirit of the Rolls-Royce – namely, speed with silence, absence of vibration, the mysterious harnessing of great energy, a beautiful living organism of superb grace like a sailing yacht”.

The letter adds that when Sykes designed his “graceful little goddess”, he had in mind “the Spirit of Ecstasy, who has selected road travel as her supreme delight and alighted on the prow of a Rolls-Royce car to revel in the freshness of the air, and the musical sound of her fluttering draperies”.

Rolls-Royce registered the Spirit of Ecstasy as its intellectual property in 1911. However, it is noteworthy that she did not receive the unreserved blessing of either of its founders. Sir Henry Royce disliked mascots of any kind; and The Hon Charles Stewart Rolls never set eyes on her, since she was created after his death in a flying accident in June 1910. It is due almost entirely to the vision, acumen and sheer force of character of Claude Johnson that she exists.

His instincts were proved correct when, in 1920, Rolls-Royce entered the Spirit of Ecstasy in a competition in Paris to find the world’s best motor car mascot. She won, of course, and Sykes received a gold medal.

It is also not often appreciated that the Spirit of Ecstasy was an ‘Optional Extra’ right up until 1939. Perhaps reflecting Sir Henry’s undimmed antipathy, mascots graced only about 40% of the 20,000 or so cars delivered during this period, though many were later retrofitted.


CHANGING WITH THE TIMES
The Spirit of Ecstasy has been a defining feature of the Rolls-Royce brand since 1911. But just as the marque and its motor cars have constantly evolved and changed with the times, so she herself has undergone her own periodic transformations.

In her original 1911 form, she was a statuesque 6 ⁷/₈ inches (~18cm) in her bare feet; by the 1960s, she had passed through eight iterations and stood a more petite 4 ⁵/₁₆ inches tall (~11cm). The distance from her nose to the tip of her outstretched robes had also shrunk proportionally, from five inches to three. There have also been subtle variations in her base shape, stance and precise inclination of her 'wings' over the decades.

More radically, clients buying models from 1934 until 1959 had the option of a kneeling figure, which some considered better suited to the coachwork designs of the period.

In the 1970s, some countries tried to ban the mascot on safety grounds. In Switzerland, for example, clients weren’t allowed to display her at all, and on receiving their cars found her languishing in the glove compartment. Rolls-Royce’s typically elegant and ingenious solution was to mount the mascot on a spring-loaded base, allowing her to sink into the radiator out of harm’s way at the merest touch. This retraction mechanism has evolved into a smooth, graceful movement known as ‘the rise’ and is a standard feature on every Rolls-Royce motor car hand-built at Goodwood.


REMADE FOR THE MODERN ERA
One of the many remarkable aspects of the Spirit of Ecstasy’s story is that from 1911, every figurine was personally cast, inscribed and hand-finished by Charles Sykes himself. His daughter, Josephine, took over in 1928 and continued until manufacture was interrupted by the outbreak of war in 1939. Each Spirit of Ecstasy from this period is therefore minutely different from every other.

Today, they are made by specialists in Southampton, England, using a wax casting process combining methods and materials dating back over 5,000 years with 21st Century technology.

Each figurine is based on a three-dimensional computer-generated image, digitally mapped from the original Spirit of Ecstasy. Using this image, skilled craftspeople created a solid cast tool, made by hand using cutters measuring just 0.2mm in size to ensure even the finest details were precisely replicated. From this cast tool, they produced a highly accurate wax model of the figurine, which was then coated in ceramic. After this coating had dried, the wax was melted away, leaving a perfect mould from which the new cast would be taken.

Each figurine is made by filling the mould with molten stainless steel, at a temperature of 1600°C. Once the steel has cooled, the mould is opened to reveal the Spirit of Ecstasy in all her glory. The final transformation takes place in the Finishing Department, using a process called peening. The casting is blasted by millions of stainless-steel balls, just 17 thousandths of an inch (0.04mm) in diameter, which help to polish the surface without being abrasive. After machining, a final mirror polish and stringent quality assurance checks, the completed figurine takes her rightful place above the iconic Rolls-Royce grille.

In 2020, Rolls-Royce unveiled The Spirit of Ecstasy Expression. For this wholly new visual treatment, designers redrew her in a simplified, modern form to be used as a graphic symbol as part of the marque's updated corporate identity. The computer-generated, online-friendly illustration translates the figurine's curves into a ribbon of parallel lines that undulates and changes according to its setting. It is designed to evoke movement; a silky, fluid form that appears to drape and flow over physical and digital surfaces.

Today, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars announced that the Spirit of Ecstasy would take a new form for her adornment on Spectre, the marque’s first electric motor car. She is more streamlined and graceful than ever before – the perfect emblem for the most aerodynamic Rolls-Royce ever created, and for gracing the prow of our bold electric future.

The earliest Spectre prototypes have a drag coefficient (cd) of just 0.26, making it the most aerodynamic Rolls-Royce ever created. The figure is expected to improve during the product’s exhaustive testing protocols undertaken in 2022.


THE END OF THE AFFAIR
On 30 December 1915, Montagu and Eleanor Thornton were enjoying lunch in the first-class saloon of the P&O passenger ship SS Persia. They were sailing through the Mediterranean en route to India, where Montagu had been made Chief of Mechanical Transport for the British army. Eleanor was to disembark at Port Said and return to England for the duration.

The ship was struck by a torpedo and sank in less than five minutes. Eleanor Thornton, together with hundreds of other passengers, was never seen again.

Montagu, however, was lucky. After 38 hours adrift in a lifeboat, suffering with a broken shoulder and a damaged lung, he and a handful of other survivors were picked up by a passing liner. While recovering in Malta as a guest of the Governor, he enjoyed the bittersweet pleasure of reading his own obituaries in the London newspapers.

Montagu never got over the loss of Eleanor, which of course he could never mention publicly. But for the rest of his life, she was with him in spirit wherever he travelled in his Rolls-Royce motor car.

• Spirit of Ecstasy design first officially registered as intellectual property of Rolls-Royce on 6 February 1911
• A defining feature of the Rolls-Royce brand, gracing the bonnet of every motor car built at Goodwood, and one of the most famous, iconic and desirable emblems in the world
• Based on a bronze statuette, the ‘Whisper’, created by sculptor and illustrator Charles Sykes for his patron, motoring pioneer and early Rolls-Royce enthusiast Lord Montagu of Beaulieu
• Marque retains this foundational link with artists and original work through MUSE, The Rolls‑Royce Art Programme

"As an emblem, the Spirit of Ecstasy represents far more than just our company and our products. To our customers, she is a potent symbol, instantly and universally recognised – of success, endeavour, achievement and standing. In her beauty, simplicity, elegance and rarity, she encapsulates everything our customers seek – and find – in their Rolls-Royce motor car.

“Within our company, the Spirit of Ecstasy fosters pride and esprit de corps, uniting and empowering the Rolls-Royce family right across the world. She reminds us of our inheritance and principles, and inspiring greatness in all of us. Every car we build must be worthy of bearing her, because it is she that makes every Rolls-Royce, and our company, unique and complete."
Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars celebrates the 110th anniversary of the Spirit of Ecstasy – its official emblem. The intellectual property of the design was registered on 6 February 1911, establishing a defining feature of the Rolls-Royce brand and one of the most famous, iconic and desirable symbols of luxury in the world. Almost unaltered throughout her long and storied life, the Spirit of Ecstasy graces the bonnet of every Rolls-Royce motor car built at the Home of Rolls-Royce, Goodwood.

Her design was taken from a bronze statuette, entitled the ‘Whisper’, created by Sculptor and Illustrator Charles Sykes for his employer, motoring pioneer and Rolls-Royce early-adopter Lord Montagu of Beaulieu. The company's foundational connection between the automotive and art worlds continues today with MUSE, The Rolls-Royce Art Programme, a lead protagonist in the world of moving-image art.

The first Spirit of Ecstasy figurines stood a statuesque seven inches (c. 18cm) tall. Today, she is a more petite three ¾ inches (9.5cm). She is kept safely out of sight within a special housing in the bonnet until the engine starts, when she takes the stage smoothly and gracefully by a precisely engineered mechanism known as 'the rise'.