For more than a century, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has occupied a singular place in luxury. Since its founding 113 years ago, the marque has never simply built automobiles. Instead, it has offered something rarer: a pristine canvas on which the world’s most influential individuals express taste, identity, and ambition.
In the early years, independent coachbuilders fulfilled this role. Today, that responsibility belongs to Rolls-Royce’s Bespoke Collective. Based at the marque’s center of excellence in Goodwood, England, this elite group of designers, engineers, and master artisans transforms personal vision into reality. As a result, nearly every motor car leaving Goodwood now carries a Bespoke signature. What follows is a carefully edited look at some of the most compelling commissions completed in 2016.
Phantom Zenith Collection
As the seventh-generation Phantom reached its final chapter, collectors responded with quiet urgency. In its last year of production, Rolls-Royce invited patrons to commission just 25 Phantom Coupés and 25 Phantom Drophead Coupés—each destined for the world’s most serious collections.
Every detail served a purpose. Engineers refined the signature rear split-tailgate to include a glass serving shelf, ideal for champagne at rest. Meanwhile, the luggage compartment doubled as a refined touring lounge. A bespoke champagne refrigerator—designed to hold two bottles and eight Rolls-Royce flutes—reinforced the marque’s understanding of gracious travel.
Then came the final gesture. Inside the central fascia drawer, owners discovered a polished aluminum case engraved with their car’s unique number. Finished in Best English Blacking, the case holds a singular artifact: an authenticated piece of the original Phantom assembly line, engraved with its precise Goodwood coordinates. No other marque offers such a farewell.
Peace and Glory Phantom Extended Wheelbase
Among the final Phantom Extended Wheelbase commissions, one stood apart. Created for a Far Eastern entrepreneur, this motor car showcases the full range of Rolls-Royce craftsmanship.
Artisans embroidered the rear center console with a pattern inspired by tiger fur, executing the design entirely by hand. Outside, a Madeira Red finish carries a subtle gold coachline. Inside, Moccasin and Fawn Brown leathers define the cabin. Craftspeople stitched personal motifs into the hides and inlaid matching designs into the veneers. White Bespoke dials and a Consort Red steering wheel rim complete a confident, expressive interior.
The ‘Blue Magpie’ Phantom Drophead Coupé
Cultural heritage often shapes Bespoke commissions. In this case, a Taiwanese patron turned to a national symbol. One of the final Phantom Drophead Coupés ever built, the car wears Silverlake paint with an Andalusian White bonnet and a gold-engraved Spirit of Ecstasy.
Gold accents appear again in the twin coachlines and wheel-center pinstripes. Inside, headrests display embroidered blue magpies, a bird native only to Taiwan. Mother-of-pearl inlays appear throughout the veneers, clock, and control knobs. Even the luggage compartment reflects the same care, finished in teak with white maple inserts.
Dawn, Ghost, and Wraith: A Broader Canvas
While Phantom defined the pinnacle, Dawn, Ghost, and Wraith offered equally rich opportunities. As a result, 2016 became the most creatively successful year in Bespoke history.
The Invention of Color: Michael Fux’s Dawn
American collector Michael Fux approaches Rolls-Royce as both patron and provocateur. Known for bold commissions, he challenged the Bespoke team to develop an entirely new color for his Dawn. The result, “Fux Blue,” remains exclusive to him.
The exterior pairs the vivid hue with a matching hood and an Arctic White rear deck. Inside, designers extended the white theme across the steering wheel, instrument panel, cowling, and veneers. The result feels modern, daring, and unmistakably bespoke.
‘Dusk Until Dawn’ in Porto Cervo
To mark the opening of the Rolls-Royce Summer Studio in Porto Cervo, the Bespoke team unveiled two seasonal commissions.
The Wraith reflects Sardinia’s twilight sky. Finished in Premiere and Jubilee Silver, it opens to an interior of Tailored Purple, Purple Silk, and Powder Blue leather. Ostrich leather on the consoles and door panels nods to the region’s nightlife.
Meanwhile, the accompanying Dawn draws from the sea. Its Emerald Green exterior pairs with Seashell leather and open-pore teak. A jeweled display-lid ornament, crafted in white gold, emeralds, and mother-of-pearl, forms a compass-inspired motif.
Inspired by the Greats: A Musical Ghost
Passion often guides Bespoke design. For a Middle Eastern dealer, that passion was classical music. This Ghost wears a monochrome exterior punctuated by a clef-inspired coachline.
Inside, the theme continues. Artisans stitched the motif into the headrests and inlaid it into the veneers. Most striking, however, is the Barrel Oak dashboard. Craftspeople folded back the veneer to reveal Dark Ebony beneath, then inscribed precise musical notation using marquetry.
A Nautical Dawn at Pebble Beach
For a Floridian patron, a love of yachting shaped her commission. Delivered at Pebble Beach, this Dawn wears Arctic White paint with Midnight Sapphire accents, echoing the contrast of a superyacht.
Teak defines both the rear deck and interior panels. The bespoke clock mirrors the owner’s favorite watch. Finally, treadplates display four maritime signal flags spelling “DAWN,” a subtle nod to both seamanship and occasion.
“Rolls-Royce patrons move beyond ownership,” said Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. “They commission, curate, and collect. They come to us to create personal legacies, shaped by collaboration with the world’s finest artisans. That relationship—between patron, house, and craft—will always define Rolls-Royce.”
