What's all this about?
For the first time ever, and following on from a record year of sales for the marque in 2018, Rolls-Royce had all five of its high-end products on display at the Geneva Motor Show. Just in case you're wondering, that means the Phantom, Cullinan, Dawn, Wraith and Ghost were all clustered together in a real show of wealth. And Bespoke-ness.
Bespoke?
That's Rolls-Royce's name for its personalisation service. So let's start with the Phantom Tranquillity. Just 25 examples of this, in both regular and long-wheelbase form, will be made for the world markets and its name plays on both the feeling you get from being in a Phantom and also the celestial world. Thus, the X-ray-coded aperture masks from the British Skylark space rocket provided the inspiration for design of the Phantom's Gallery, which is rendered in stainless steel, 24-carat gold plating and space-grade aluminium. Fragments of a meteorite that crashed to Earth in Sweden in 1906 (Muonionalusta was its name) are incorporated into the volume controller, while the interior colour scheme choices of Arctic White or Selby Grey are designed to make customers think of the light and dark sides of the Moon - home, of course, to the Sea of Tranquillity. The eagle-eyed among you might also notice that the Bespoke Audio Speaker frets in this Phantom are finished in yellow gold, which is a hat-tip to the NASA Voyager satellites that carried two gold records, with the sounds and images of life on Earth, off into the farthest reaches of space.
Sounds very... cosmic. OK, which model is up next?
The Cullinan Genève 2019, which has something called The Hosting Service in its boot. This little item contains all the things you'd need for a really luxurious picnic with well-heeled friends, when somewhere up a picturesque mountain. Or something. Anyway, underneath the motorised lid of the 'Recreation Module', there are stainless-steel cocktail and seasoning items, as well as engraved glassware and American Walnut serving boards. Otherwise, this particular Cullinan is distinguished by Petra Gold five-coat paint with a Navy Blue coachline, as well as an interior in Navy Blue and Oatmeal with natural Open Pore Royal Walnut veneer and polished aluminium Bespoke Audio speaker grilles.
Is that it for Geneva-related specials?
No, as the Dawn Genève 2019 wears Blue Crystal over Milori Sapphire paint, the whole ensemble's lacquer coat including glass shards for the maximum, shimmery effect. The carbon-fibre Aero Cowling is trimmed in Navy Blue leather, a colour repeated inside... but only for the rear seats, as the front occupants enjoy Selby Grey hide. More Open Pore Royal Walnut veneer can be found and that Piano Milori Sapphire dashboard was hand-polished for 12 hours and then framed with silver pinstriping. Wonder if they used Pledge...?
You're wandering. What about the last two cars?
Both Black Badge machines, the sub-brand of Rolls-Royce aimed at younger, more dynamic 'patrons of luxury.' The company's words, not ours. Anyway, the Wraith Black Badge on display in Geneva wears Galileo Blue paint with Mandarin coachlines, while inside there's Arctic White and Navy Blue upholstery, complemented by Mandarin piping and a hexagon motif stitched into the rear seats. The Ghost, by contrast, is Gunmetal with an Iced satin upper level to its body and a deep-gloss lower section, all contrasted by Lime Green accents. That acidic colour continues within, where it sets off Anthracite and Black hides.
Is that it, then?
Yes. Apart from an artwork made out of spiders and an Argentinean artist.
Say what, now?
Rolls-Royce's Art Programme has supported many a young artist over recent years and the latest showcase of this scheme was courtesy of Tomás Saraceno. He got social and semi-social spiders - yes, spiders - to cast their webs into a kind of galaxy-shape, which is slowly being coated in dust particles. It's supposed to show that we co-exist on multiple levels with non-human beings and, after its Geneva debut, this cobwebby-masterpiece will live permanently on display in Goodwood.
Matt Robinson - 5 Mar 2019