The Rolls-Royce Cullinan makes its American debut to the public at this year’s Monterey Car Week as the marque showcases a stunning array of Bespoke motor cars, each one a classic in the making. In addition to Cullinan, the Rolls-Royce of SUVs, the brand will present a splendid selection of individual creations at events throughout the week and deliver two very high profile commissions to their owners, live at events throughout the week.
Monterey Car Week is one of the world’s premier luxury motor car events, so it is fitting that we showcase the finest Bespoke motor cars in the world here, and also debut Cullinan, the Rolls-Royce of SUVs, to the American public. From the primacy of Phantom to the power of Cullinan, the Rolls-Royce presence at 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance has never been more compelling, and these Bespoke Rolls-Royces will grace these lawns as classics for generations to come.
— Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
Cullinan – the Rolls-Royce of SUVs debuts to its American public
The most anticipated motor car of 2018 will adorn the lawns at Monterey Car Week events including Friday’s ‘Quail, A Motorsports Gathering,’ The Concept Lawn of the 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d’ Elegance on Sunday and at Rolls-Royce’s own private collectors events throughout the week.
Unveiled to the world in May of this year, four Cullinans will be positioned around the peninsula in a variety of color and Bespoke configurations for its future customers to discover. Rolls-Royce will show for the first time in North America a Cullinan with Iguazu Blue exterior. The stunning Charles Blue interior is offset with Scivaro Grey highlights and open Paldao veneer. The other Cullinans on display are adorned in Magma Red and Darkest Tungsten and include the Rolls-Royce ‘Viewing Suite’ demonstrating the potential of the unique recreation module.
‘Phantom in Fuxia’ – a tenth Bespoke creation for collector Michael Fux
On Friday, Mr. Müller-Ötvös will present a very special Rolls-Royce Phantom to renowned collector Michael Fux. This is the tenth special Bespoke creation presented to Mr. Fux at Pebble Beach for his collection of more than 140 unique motor cars. The Phantom joins Mr. Fux’s collection of motor cars that he uses to help raise funds for his charity, The Michael Fux Foundation, to provide support for children and their families at the Miami Children’s Hospital.
Black Badge Bespoke – The alter ego of Rolls-Royce personalization
This year’s Pebble Beach will play host to the alter ego of Rolls-Royce Bespoke as the marque demonstrates the breadth of its Black Badge Bespoke offer. Proving that a Black Badge Rolls-Royce need not only be black in color, four different Collections will move through the Black Badge color spectrum: The Umbra Collection; The Adamas Collection; The Paradiso Collection and The Nebula Collection.
Fusing the extraordinary competence of the Bespoke craftspeople from the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, England, with the rebellious spirit of Black Badge is for the risk-taker who is not afraid to embrace a bold and progressive statement of true and modern luxury, in its darkest form.
Umbra Black Badge Collection – Dawn, Ghost, and Wraith
Black Badge Umbra, the extreme embodiment of the eponymous darker side of Rolls-Royce, debuts this week at the Rolls-Royce Villa at Pebble Beach. The Umbra Collection comprises Dawn, Ghost, and Wraith, and features Matte Black exterior finish, fully darkened chrome including a darkened Spirit of Ecstasy and 21-inch carbon alloy wheels. The Anthracite interior is starkly offset with Mugello Red and Black highlights. All three commissions feature a stunning technical fiber fascia and interior accents as well as custom Black Badge Bespoke Starlight Headliners and Bespoke ‘Pebble Beach 2018’ treadplates.
Dawn Black Badge Adamas Collection
Dawn Black Badge Adamas is another creation from the darker side of the Rolls-Royce Bespoke Collective. Inspired by the ‘untamable’ and ‘invincible’ nature of a diamond, Adamas celebrates the darker side of contemporary craftsmanship, expertly weaving a dark aesthetic of unbreakable carbon structures into an extremely limited collection of only 30 Dawn Black Badge cars. Dawn Black Badge Adamas is clothed in an enticing two-tone color scheme of hypnotic Aphrodite Red over Black. These are the first two-tone Black Badge cars. These colors, as though touched by darkness, have a deep color transition, providing a mesmerizing iridescent effect.
The Spirit of Ecstasy, previously cast in steel, silver, and gold, is for the first time in history formed in machined carbon fiber. 88 Bespoke laboratory-grown diamonds form the Black Badge infinity symbol set beneath the Bespoke analog clock. As a final touch, when one enters or alights from the atmospheric cabin of Adamas, illuminated tread plates read ‘Black Badge Dawn Adamas – One of Thirty’, reminding the occupant of the power and rarity of this Collection.
The Paradiso Collection – Dawn, Ghost, and Wraith
Turning up the color spectrum, the Rolls-Royce Bespoke Collective has specially created the boldest Black Badge Collection ever imagined for this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. The Paradiso Collection of one Dawn, one Ghost, and one Wraith features a newly-developed solid exterior paint called Quail Blue, inspired by the location of ‘Quail, A Motorsports Gathering’ and its beautiful blue surroundings of water and clear Californian sky. These cars are also reminiscent of the exploits of those adventurers who partook in the 1913 Alpenfahrt driving such classic Rolls-Royces as the James Radley 1913 Silver Ghost with its solid blue paintwork. The exterior is offset by a Mandarin coach line, twin bonnet pinstripes, and pinstripes on the wheel centers.
The interiors of the three cars vary in design. Ghost, which is more focused on the rear passenger’s comfort, reflects this visually with a more intimate and cool Black and Charles Blue leather color-way offset by Charles Blue and Mandarin stitching and a Black and Charles Blue two-tone steering wheel. Wraith and Dawn add more Mandarin into the interior color palette, increasing the visual heat and driver’s intent of the cockpit.
The centerpiece of the Black Badge cabin is the aerospace-grade aluminum-threaded carbon fiber composite surfacing – material often seen on the surfaces of stealth aircraft. This futuristic material has been reinterpreted at Goodwood to become the world’s most innovative new super-luxury material. Polished to a high sheen, this surface reflects the twinkling lights of the beautifully created Starlight Headliner wrought in Ghost and Wraith and the stars firmament once the Mandarin hood of Dawn is folded away.
Nebula Collection – Dawn, Ghost, and Wraith
Nebula is a suite of Black Badge Ghost, Wraith and Dawn motor cars which draw influence from spacecraft and aerospace technology, drawing visual references from technical spacecraft to the soaring vistas of the earth’s atmosphere, whilst paying homage to the pioneers of the 20th century and challenges the space and technology entrepreneurs of the 21st century. Men and women who push the technology envelope to explore space, honor the pioneers of land and space flight from Charles Rolls to the elite brotherhood of astronauts.
The exterior is enveloped in Iced Selby Grey, a flat grey hue, reminiscent of the ultra matt aesthetic of the heat shields of great, technical, spacecraft themselves. Inside, the interior color-way features Selby Grey and Black leather, offset against high contrast Sunset accents in the format of a two-tone steering wheel, piping, and stitching. The contrast masterfully imbues the impression of color imparted by a space shuttle fuel tank. This is perfectly offset against a technical fiber fascia, a sought-after aesthetic found in many Black Badge motor cars.
The Rolls-Royce clock embodies the Nebula theme in miniature. A depiction of a portion of the night sky in the Northern Hemisphere in March is backlit on the clock’s face, encircled in the accent ‘Sunset’ color, providing the impression of viewing the stars through the window of a spacecraft.
A repeated hexagonal motif has been expertly embroidered into the rear of each motor car, reflective of the honeycomb structure used in some of the most ambitious and technologically advanced aerospace developments, from space telescope mirrors to space station windows. Speaker covers most commonly bestow a jewelry-like impression on the interior of a Rolls-Royce, however in this iteration, they have adopted a blackened aesthetic, to further the technical feel once more.
Note: Press release courtesy of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.