One-off Rolls-Royce Phantom limo takes craftsmanship and ‘bespoke possibility’ to new heights
A new bespoke limousine based on the Rolls-Royce Phantom has emerged, billed as the most technically challenging one-off creation the British luxury marque has ever produced.
More than four years in the making, the 2023 Rolls-Royce Phantom Syntopia is said to have been inspired by high-end haute couture fashion.
Overseen by Dutch fashion icon Iris van Herpen, the special Roller draws from her celebrated 2018 Syntopia collection, blending biology and technology to create something that, at times, is truly bizarre.
For starters, the Extended Wheelbase Phantom is painted in a unique Liquid Noir dark purple colour, which also looks blue, magenta and gold from some angles.
During the new colour’s development, engineers invented a fresh technique of applying a clear coat over its solid black paint that helps to create a motif along the bonnet.
Rolls-Royce said the process took several months, including more than 3000 hours of testing and validation.
Inside, instead of opting for the usual starlight headlining that plots the constellation of your choice with tiny fibreoptic lights, van Herpen created a piece of art.
Look up and you’ll now be treated by the sight of a single piece of leather that features what looks like a 3D snake-like pattern made by exposed woven nylon fabric.
To get the striking shape required the embedding of 162 delicate petals made of sheer fabric that looks almost glasslike under light (the brand’s trademark fibreoptics are placed around the artwork by hand).
A similar woven fabric look was pioneered back in 2014 in van Herpen’s Embossed Sounds collection and was said to have taken an 700 hours to make (by hand).
While using hard-wearing Magic Grey leather up front, in the rear of the car the Dutch designer has crafted a bench made from a silk blend fabric that is said to replicate how water reflects light during night.
Lurking behind the Phantom’s Gallery-style fascia is yet more of the fabric petals, with a further 85 mounted by hand to create yet another striking image – a task that took no less than 60 hours.
The attention to detail extends to van Herpen creating her own scent for the car that blends iris, cedarwood, hints of leather, lemon and roses that can only be sourced from Patagonia.
Instead of hanging a scented tree from the rear-view mirror, Rolls-Royce engineers have developed a new patented diffuser that resides within the head restraint and is said to measure out the wafts of perfume in such an exact manner it’s never under- or overpowering.
Rolls-Royce has not announced who has purchased the one-off Phantom Syntopia, nor how much it cost.
But helping seal the deal the famous Dutch designer says she will throw in a one-off dress that will echo the design and motif of the car.
And there’s a catch. While the car is set to be delivered this May, the dress will take a further six months to produce.
Commenting on its new creation, Rolls-Royce boss Torsten Müller-Ötvös said: “Phantom Syntopia is the most ambitious, singular and highly Bespoke Phantom we have ever created, and a clear statement of Rolls-Royce’s standing as a true luxury house.
“In collaborating with internationally renowned designer and haute couturière Iris van Herpen, we once again redraw the boundaries of innovation, craftsmanship and bespoke possibility, not just for a motor car but across the wider luxury sector.”
van Herpen said: “Every garment I create is a one-off, tailor-made to my clients’ individual measurements, just like every Rolls-Royce. My clients come to our atelier in Amsterdam for fittings, just as Rolls-Royce clients are invited to Goodwood throughout the design and craft process.
“On many levels, this collaboration was a natural symbiosis.”
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Keyword: Rolls-Royce Phantom Syntopia revealed