Rolls-Royce's Geneva Motor Show Stand Is Basically An Art Exhibition

Rolls-Royce has revealed the three stars of its Geneva Motor Show stand, a trio of very special new Phantoms. One was inspired by a key moment in the Phantom’s own history, while the other two are genuine works of modern art.

First on the menu is The Gentleman’s Tourer, an Iced Gunmetal short-wheelbase Phantom with a satin silver bonnet; two colours developed for this customer to meet his demands for something that mirrored his interest in high-performance jet aircraft. It was inspired by a 1930s movement of Phantom II Continental Saloon owners who all drove their cars themselves across Europe and/or the US, usually with friends.

Riding on 22-inch wheels with a “masculine, utilitarian-feeling” interior fitted out for long hauls in sumptuous comfort, with one very special highlight. The ‘gallery,’ as Rolls calls the passenger-facing strip of trim on the dashboard, is finished in Ruthenium, a silver metal similar to Platinum that is mined on a scale just 1/125th that of gold.

Next up is the first of two extended-wheelbase Phantoms with galleries designed by actual artists. The first, called Whispered Muse (although it’s no Phil), features the work of Helen Amy Murray. She used a technique called directional sculpting to create different planes in silk, which come together to form a partial image based on Charles Sykes’ original drawings for the world-famous Spirit of Ecstasy.

The Piano Seashell interior surfaces were polished for 12 hours, rose gold speaker housings were created and the 10-layer paint, crowned by a layer of crystal-effect glass-infused clear-coat, is accented by the first-ever Rose Gold Spirit of Ecstasy figure. It was created, says Rolls, specifically for this ‘valued patron.’

The second extended-wheelbase Phantom is called A Moment in Time. The highlight is, again, on the gallery, where an incredible, flowing sculpture machined and polished from a single solid billet of aluminium echoes the flow of a piece of silk being pulled through water.

We’re not kidding. Rolls photographed the piece of silk underwater, committed the visual data to a digital 3D rendering that artists Based Upon then turned into a clay model. Then followed a wax version, and finally the stunning metal version. Not that it’s the only highlight: the six-layer paint is topped by a blue glass-infused clear coat for a blue crystal look.

Also on the stand will be a new Dawn Aero Cowling, designed for the four-seat soft-top Rolls. The hand-made, leather-trimmed unit covers the rear seats to turn the Dawn into a two-seater with lockable storage compartments beneath aerodynamically sculpted cowls.

The shape of the lightweight carbonfibre cowls, which reach from the forward edge of the folded roof’s cover to the rear of the front seats, helps to channel air with minimal turbulence, because you own a Rolls and have no time for any such uncouth unpleasantness as buffeting.