Rolls Royce has pulled back the covers on its latest auto model, the Phantom Scintilla Private Collection. Based on the Phantom Extended Wheelbase, the special variant that is slightly longer than its original model, this ultra-limited series pays homage to the house’s famous mascot, the Spirit of Ecstasy.
It goes without saying that the Phantom Scintilla Private Collection is a highly desirable and unforgettable auto whose collective value will most likely be driven up by its limited number — only ten of it will be produced. But a closer look into its entire production process reveals how the British marque is constantly able to achieve this, and why this new model would be snapped up quickly regardless of global socio-economic conditions.
Want an insight into how Rolls Royce and other luxury brands keep on releasing sold-out and sought-after products? Here’s everything we gleaned from the making of the Phantom Scintilla Private Collection that we think plays a huge part in its desirability
They listen constantly to their clients
This is the first step luxury brands, and indeed every brand, (should) follow. People will not buy a product or subscribe to a service that does not satisfy their desires or respond to their needs.
On the surface, it appears that this new Rolls Royce auto is just another product that demonstrates the savoir-faire of the brand, and Chris Brownridge, Chief Executive, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars affirms that this is indeed the case. “These rare and collectable motor cars … illustrate the boundless ingenuity and skill of the creatives and craftspeople at the Home of Rolls-Royce.” But he also adds that all this show of skills is in response to what their clients want and need, sometimes even before they know it.
“Crafting exquisite Bespoke products and shaping extraordinary experiences directly responds to the requirements of today’s super-luxury consumers … and stimulate ideas among our clients for their own commissions. Our global network of VIP-only Private Office outposts, where our designers collaborate directly with our clients to co-create the most extraordinary motor cars, wherever they are in the world … [is an] approach that will continue to shape our business.”
They gather the best in the field into one room
To build and design the Phantom Scintilla Private Collection, Rolls Royce assembled a team of individuals whose exact expertise and experience were needed to bring the idea to life.
One of such is Celina Mettang, Bespoke Colour and Material Designer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. Per her LinkedIn profile, Ms Mettang has had an impressive run in auto design in several luxury auto firms before Rolls Royce, including internship roles at BMW and Daimler AG, now the Mercedes-Benz Group AG, and a full-time role at Porsche. There is also Brienny Dudely who started out as a leather sewing apprentice at the marque and has worked her way up to a bespoke craftsmanship specialist.
Ideas abound, but only the right people can bring them to life. Luxury brands know this and always hire the best of the best to bring their dreams to life.
They find a unique angle and craft a compelling story around it
It is one thing to make a unique product, but it is quite another to get the public’s attention and sell it to them.
Marketing the product is the way to go, but no marketing effort can be really successful without a captivating story with an interesting hook. Rolls Royce nailed this by picking a single unique angle for the Phantom Scintilla Private Collection – the Spirit of Ecstasy – and weaving its entire design concept, as well as marketing story, around it.
Presenting a product with a captivating story creates an unforgettable experience in the minds of everyone who listens to it, and opens up the minds of potential clients to all the possibilities it contains.
They create attractive designs and use the best materials to bring them to life
It is said that people buy with their eyes first before they engage other senses in their purchasing journey. It explains why every luxury brand will spend years perfecting the final designs of their products and use the best materials available to keep these designs fresh even after years of extended use.
According to Rolls Royce, the continuous graphic in the interior of the Phantom Scintilla Private Collection is inspired by the Spirit of Ecstasy’s expressive, dynamic form and took “more than two and a half years of close collaboration with our Bespoke design team to achieve the right level of detail, texture and tactility in the embroidery.”
The result is a ‘painting with thread’ applied over six layers that comprises 869,500 stitches and takes over 40 hours to complete. This graceful graphic moves through the cabin, gracing the doors and seats.
For its starlight headliner, Rolls Royce chose a unique pattern inspired by the Spirit of Ecstasy’s flowing gown and brought it to life using 1,500 hand-fitted, fibre-optic ‘stars’. These are further accentuated by 4,450 perforations deliberately made larger than usual to reveal glimpses of a metallic silver fabric beneath to create a subtle interplay of light.
Other eye-catching designs abound everywhere in the vehicle, from the aluminium artwork on the front fascia to the graphic present on the rear picnic tables. All these turn what would have simply been a luxury auto into a beautiful work of auto art that leaves indelible memories on anyone who experiences it.
They never stray far from their DNA
The Rolls Royce Phantom Scintilla Private Collection is undeniably a Rolls Royce, even with all of the design elements that have been incorporated to set it apart. It is as Frank Heyl, Director of Design at Bugatti says of the new Bugatti Tourbillon: “It would have been easy to … tear everything up, let’s start with a completely different direction and go another way. But … then we looked at that and thought, ‘Yeah, but then it’s not a Bugatti.’ It’s not just because you can, that you should.”