Rolls-Royce Motor Cars today unveils the Alpine Centenary Collection Car to North American attendees at Quail, A Motorsport Gathering. Part of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance weekend.

A century ago, four Rolls-Royce Silver Ghosts embarked on the Austrian Alpine Trials, the most arduous test of automotive endurance of the time.

In performing without fault over 1,820 grueling miles of near impassable mountain terrain, the Rolls-Royce Works Team and privateer entrant James Radley helped cement the marque’s reputation for peerless reliability and mechanical excellence, a reputation the company proudly retains today. The Silver Ghosts’ performance establishing Rolls-Royce as creator of the ‘Best Car in the World’.

The Bespoke department at the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, England celebrates these endeavours with the North American launch of the Alpine Trial Centenary Collection.

The first time a Bespoke model has taken inspiration from a heritage Rolls-Royce, this limited edition of Rolls-Royce Ghosts features exquisitely crafted design cues that pay tribute to the 1913 Alpine Trials cars. The exterior paint hue, for example takes close inspiration from Radley’s Silver Ghost, a car that will participate in this year’s reenactment of the 1913 Alpine Trial, as part of the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Works Team.

The Radley car’s distinct black grille and wheels are also replicated across the collection – the first time a painted grille has adorned a contemporary Rolls-Royce motor car.

The cabin plays host to Bespoke details that elegantly tell the story of the Alpine Trial. The clock displays the stages of the rally and timings, whilst inlays to rear picnic tables and the front fascia express the topography and distances of the Alpine route. Each element is meticulously hand-crafted and researched to ensure accuracy, epitomising hallmark Rolls-Royce attention to detail.

A hand-painted coachline referencing the four Rolls-Royces that took part in the rally and headlining, colour-matched to the hood of Radley’s car, completes a beautiful homage.

“The 1913 Alpine Trial was an extraordinary moment in the rich history of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars,” said Torsten Müller-Ötvös, CEO Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. “The standards of engineering and pioneer spirit required to achieve such feats stands as inspiration to everyone associated with the marque. The Bespoke Alpine Trial Centenary Collection is a fitting tribute to these achievements. It is testament to the enduring quality of a Rolls-Royce motor car that this 2013 car will be joined by a participant in the original trials, the 1913 Radley Silver Ghost.”

In June of 2013, the Alpine Trial Centenary Collection Car joined the original James Radley Silver Ghost and 46 other enthusiastic competitors in the 100th Anniversary rerunning of the original Alpine Trials Rally. Through 17 days and more than 1,800 miles, 47 magnificent Silver Ghosts wafted their way through the Alps, accompanied by the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars ‘Works Team’, An event which will live in the memories of those that saw the marvel at first hand for many years to come.

History was brought to life by the intrepid owners as they piloted their machines with consummate skill up challenging Alpine passes and across the borders of five countries, before emerging in Vienna just as the original competitors did exactly 100 years before. The 2013 Centenary Alpine Trial was also graced with British Royalty, Lords and Ladies, Ambassadors and participants from 12 countries as far flung as Australia and the United States.

 

HOME OF ROLLS-ROYCE COLLECTION DEBUTS AT QUAIL

On 1 January 2013,Rolls-Royce Motor Cars celebrated 10 years of production at the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, England. To mark this latest chapter in the marque’s 109-year history, the very first vehicle of a special collection of Ghost and Phantom family models, conceived and designed by the Rolls-Royce Bespoke team, will be unveiled this month.

The first Home of Rolls-Royce Collection car will make its world debut at Quail, A Motorsports Gathering on Friday 16 August at 10.00 am in the form of a timeless Phantom Series II saloon.

The Home of Rolls-Royce Collection celebrates the meticulous design, engineering and craftsmanship employed in the production of every car that leaves Goodwood.

“The Home of Rolls-Royce Collection showcases what makes Goodwood a unique centre of manufacturing excellence,” said Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. “A perfect blend of traditional crafts, cutting-edge technology and world-class Bespoke design has driven our success over our first 10 years. In this time, Rolls-Royce has taken its place as creator of the world’s pinnacle super-luxury goods, an achievement built on the passion and commitment of every craftsperson employed at Goodwood. This beautiful collection is a fitting way to celebrate an extraordinary decade.”

A ‘celebration’ motif, presented in hand-crafted marquetry on the front-fascia marks this landmark year in Rolls-Royce history. Using methods akin to the artistry of fine furniture makers, the effect is achieved through a process that marries cutting-edge technology with traditional craftsmanship.

Individual pieces of wood veneer are laser-cut to ensure precision. A craftsperson then painstakingly assembles the 170 sections made up from 11 varieties of woods, ensuring they perfectly express the vision of the marque’s Bespoke design team. A fastidious process of quality control follows, utilising the world’s most accurate measuring tool – the human eye.

In 2012 – a second successive record year for the marque – over 3,500 hand-built Rolls-Royce cars, exclusively created at Goodwood, were exported to all five continents. This is celebrated throughout the collection with a compass motif that expresses the Home of Rolls-Royce’s position as a global centre of manufacturing excellence.

The pattern is also intricately embroidered into the armrests and console lid. 112,533 stitches are applied by precision embroidery machines that make 1,000 individual stitches per minute – however, such is the complexity of the pattern it takes over an hour to finish each individual piece. In total, 672 metres of thread is used with 450 pieces of individual leather to create the cosseting interior of the Home of Rolls-Royce Collection Phantom.

Co-ordinates engraved into tread plates, the bezel of the Spirit of Ecstasy and umbrella handles further express Goodwood’s place as the only manufacturing centre for the world’s pinnacle super-luxury marque.

A hand-painted coachline, culminating in a half-compass motif completes the exterior. Forming the final stage of a week-long, 22-stage painting process, coachlines are hand-applied by one highly-skilled craftsman using squirrel hair brushes. Normally this takes three hours – however the intricacy of this very special Bespoke design means the time taken to complete the process doubles.

The beauty and craftsmanship of every Home of Rolls-Royce Collection car runs much deeper than the hand polished painted surface of one of the 44,000 available exterior paint colors. The lightweight aluminium space frame that is at the core of every Phantom features 120 metres of precision hand welding and insures that the Home of Rolls-Royce Collection Phantom provides a refined driving experience. The 453bhp 6.75L V12 heart not only provides effortless acceleration but does so with the refinement of being able of supporting a British one pound coin stood on its edge on top of the running engine, as was originally specified by the Rolls-Royce engineers.

The Home of Rolls-Royce Collectioncars are currently being hand-built at Goodwood with delivery of the first customer cars to begin later this Autumn.