Rolls-Royce’s Spirit of Ecstasy Turns 100
The Spirit of Ecstasy is a genuine icon On Sunday, while many in the USA were settling in for the Super Bowl action, some Londoners took to the streets to celebrate an important UK 100th anniversary. One hundred Rolls-Royce models motored through town to commemorate 100 years of the Spirit of Ecstasy, the winged lady that has been on the hood of Rolls-Royce models since 1911.
Icon “The Spirit of Ecstasy is a genuine icon, a graceful goddess who has adorned the prow of Rolls-Royce cars past and present,” said Rolls-Royce Motor Cars CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös in a statement.
Who is she? According to a history on the Rolls website, no one knows exactly who the “graceful goddess” is. One hundred years ago the Rolls-Royce board publicly voiced its displeasure at gaudy hood ornaments “such as portly policemen” and went looking for a solution. A designer came up with the “Spirit of Ecstasy”. It may have been modeled on a co-worker named Eleanor Thornton. None of those involved confirmed that the Spirit of Ecstasy was based on Thornton. The designer’s daughter was asked about it once, and Rolls-Royce says she is reported to have replied: “Eleanor was a lovely person. It is an interesting story, and if it makes you happy, let the myth prevail.”
Choices, choices Ordering your new Rolls-Royce is no easy task. It’s all about choices. Will it be the black contrasting stitching in the center console, or the red? The black carbon fiber veneer, or the black stained ash? Such are some of the choices presented at the Paris Motor Show, going on now, where Rolls-Royce rolled out five models, each with a whole list of options.
Build-to-order The display underscores how Rolls remains a build-to-order operation. For about $400,000 for a Phantom, you can pretty much get it exactly how you want it. And it is also a chance to sell cars.
Paris For Paris, to underscore the point, each of the cars has a special plate indicating it was made just for the occasion. It reads: Mondial de l’Automobile Paris 2010. Here are some of the choices: Black seat piping, Mother-of-pearl inserts to door cappings, Rolls-Royce inlay in all headrests, Mother of pearl centers to white instrument dial, white clock face centers to MTC controller and instrument panel, Steering wheel spokes in crossbanded elm cluster, Lambswool floor mats and a host of other alternatives.
It all started… Over a lunch in an hotel in 1904 where Henry Royce was introduced to Charles Rolls. The meeting led to an agreement that Rolls would exclusively sell as many cars as Royce could produce. The marque launched in 1904 following a verbal agreement made back in May although a formal agreement was not signed between the two until December. C.S. Rolls & Co. was the sole agent for a series of two, three, four and six cylinder cars that broke the mould for engineering and craftsmanship. By 1907 Royce had created the first Silver Ghost, a car of legendary smoothness that completed a 14,371-mile virtually non-stop run that led a journalist to call it ‘the best car in the world’.
What you need Money! All you need to walk into the showroom and order your next Rolls-Royce is loads of money.
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