TWO gentlemen, we can imagine to be impeccable in dress and manners, on May 4, 1904 met for the first time in a hall at the Midland Hotel in Manchester, England. It was not a mere social call; they were there to talk business. The men were discussing details, then reached an agreement to form an automotive company. Remember, during the time automobiles were some newfangled thing. Putting up a car-making business may not exactly be a sound idea. But apparently these men had a vision, a hope, like startups usually have. They were, at the time, disruptors.
The two men were Charles Rolls and Henry Royce. Exactly 115 years after that initial meeting, the marque they formed now stands as the global benchmark for luxury, innovation and excellence.
Messrs. Rolls and Royce would doubtless be astonished at the cars bearing their names a little over a century since their first 10hp machine — a tweaked two-cylinder from French firm Decauville — made its debut at the Paris Salon. In its first two years of operation, Rolls-Royce produced a grand total of 10 cars. In 2018, the company delivered 4,107 cars (the highest annual total in its history) to customers in more than 50 countries.
Now, while the materials, technology and manufacturing methods used in modern cars have utterly been transformed during the intervening years, in several key areas Rolls-Royce Motor Cars retains its link to its pioneering days. Its approach, instincts and values, according to the carmaker, remain recognizable to its founding fathers.
To satisfy present demand for its products, Rolls-Royce says it developed a common platform underpinning all current models. The platform is made up of an aluminum spaceframe that can be scaled to fit a variety of applications, floor pans and cross members, New production processes also ensure stiffness and integrity, as well as what the company calls is its signature “magic carpet ride.”
Rolls-Royce on its 115th year highlights a few of its current initiatives. One is the Black Badge, which the company describes as “a response to a small and select group of clients who have asked the marque for motor cars with specific, focused characteristics” reflecting their status. Rolls-Royce says these people belong to a “subset within a subset.”
Current models available in Black Badge versions are the Rolls-Royce Wraith, Ghost and Dawn. All of these are lavished by the company’s bespoke designers and engineers with features that suit their clientele.
Compared to a “regular” Rolls-Royce, Black Badge models are darker and edgier, receiving enhanced power, torque and driving dynamics. Their styling details include dark-chrome Spirit of Ecstasy icon, wheels and carbon-fiber interior components, plus the black-on-silver “RR” logo. Of course, customers can spec whatever elements they wish (a Black Badge car does not necessarily have to black).
The carmaker says Black Badge versions “open up the Rolls-Royce brand to new audiences.”
Another area Rolls-Royce draws attention to is its ultra-luxurious Cullinan — its first SUV which the carmaker says lives up to the exploits of Lawrence of Arabia as it is “capable of conquering the most hostile environments on Earth.” The Cullinan was engineered from scratch; to prove its all-terrain credentials it first took on (and completed) a 19,000-plus-kilometer drive through some of the world’s most challenging terrain, including the Scottish Highlands, Austrian Alps, the American west and the Middle East. The SUV, according to the carmaker, “effortlessly confirmed Lawrence’s assertion that ‘a Rolls in the desert is above rubies.’”
Rolls-Royce also highlights what it calls as its “return to coachbuilding.” The brand’s early cars were clearly influenced by the horse-drawn carriages of the time; no coincidence, this, considering these were handcrafted by the same master coachbuilders. Rolls-Royce says it stopped coachbuilding in the 1960s.
The carmaker quickly adds, though, that in 2017 the craft returned to Rolls-Royce in the form of the “Sweptail,” a fully bespoke, coach-built commissioned piece for a customer. The Sweptail is defined by its unique silhouette and individual interior touches, including a champagne cooler specifically proportioned to hold only a bottle of Dom Perignon 1973. Its trademark Pantheon grille and rear overhang, however, immediately identifies it as a Rolls-Royce.
“We are deeply conscious of our heritage: it is a tremendous privilege to be continuing and building on work that began 115 years ago,” says Rolls-Royce Motor Cars chief executive Torsten Muller-Otvos “But we also understand that our founders were visionaries, always looking to do things in new and different ways. It’s that spirit of excellence and innovation that Rolls-Royce Motor Cars embodies and celebrates today.”
Messrs. Rolls and Royce would be proud.
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