![]() “In her new form she is more streamlined and graceful than ever before-the perfect emblem for the most aerodynamic Rolls-Royce ever created, Torsten says, “and for gracing the prow of our bold electric future.” The drag coefficient (cd) is a mere 0.26, something which will help improve battery efficiency and speed.Īnd, that figure is expected to improve as testing continues. The Spectre is the Rolls-Royce’s most aerodynamic vehicle ever. Since then, many subsequent owners of those older cars have added them to make them look more like what people think of as a Rolls.Īnd now, the British marque is celebrating its 111th birthday by unveiling a new, more aerodynamic version of the Silver Lady.Īerodynamics appears to be the big reason for the design changes. In fact, it was an option you could purchase through 1939.Īnd less than half of the 20,000 cars sold during that period came with one. Interestingly, company founder Sir Henry Royce disliked mascots/hood ornaments of any kind and The Honorable Charles Stewart Rolls died in a flying accident in June 1910, so he never even saw the Spirit of Ecstasy.Īnd back then, buying a Rolls-Royce didn’t ensure your car would get the hood ornament. They are made by specialists in Southampton, England. The existing design will continue to adorn the Ghost, Wraith, Dawn, Phantom, and Cullinan and their Black Badge variants. The new version created for the Spectre will appear on all future models. Her base shape, stance, and positioning of her robes have also changed over the decades, according to Rolls-Royce. By the 1960s, she had changed eight times and then measured a shorter 4 5/16 inches tall.Īnd, the distance from her nose to the tip of her outstretched robes shrank as well, from 5 inches to just three. In fact, the original 1911 mascot was 6 7/8 inches tall. Keep in mind that this is not the first time Rolls-Royce has altered the Spirit of Ecstasy. Once the mold is constructed, the wax model is melted away, and molten metal is poured into the mold. The lost-wax process is a form of metal casting that starts with a wax model used to create a mold. It’s an ancient procedure that actually dates from the third millennium B.C. ![]() Today, these very special hood ornaments are still made the way Sykes made them, using the lost-wax process, aka cire-perdue. He even hand-polished each one! Back then, Rolls-Royce had limited production, making this task easier for one man to carry out. Until 1939, each individual Spirit of Ecstasy was made by Sykes himself. To keep her authentic yet contemporary, designers turned to stylists at Goodwood for their input on everything from her hair and clothes to her posture and facial expression. Of course, being a Rolls-Royce emblem, the process was highly detailed and painstaking. ![]() Interestingly, the new Spirit of Ecstasy was digitally sculpted to better capture the essence of Syke’s original drawings. “She leans forward, expressing our relentless pursuit of progress, and her dress gracefully flows in the wind, echoing the serenity of our products in motion,” said Anders Warming, director of Design, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. Her robes – no, they are not wings – have been revised to make them more realistic and aerodynamic. Today, she stands with one leg forward, as if braced for the wind. When originally sculpted, the Spirit of Ecstasy stood with her feet together, legs straight and tilting at the waist. In fact, it closely resembles the drawings made by her creator, illustrator, and sculptor Charles Sykes, in the early 20th century. The new version is lower, more dynamic, and … historically accurate. The new version measures in at just 3.26 inches tall, compared to her predecessor’s 3.94 inches. In her new shorter form she is more streamlined and graceful than ever before - the perfect emblem for the most aerodynamic Rolls-Royce ever created, according to the CEO. “(But) like our brand, she has always moved with the times while staying true to her nature and character.” Today’s Spirit of Ecstasy remains “the embodiment of our brand, and a constant source of inspiration and pride for the marque and its clients,” said Torsten Müller-Ötvös, chief executive officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. The brand’s reimaging of the classic automotive mascot comes 111 years after the Spirit of Ecstasy was first registered as the specific intellectual property of Rolls-Royce. But we’ll get to that later… As part of its 111th anniversary, Rolls is unveiling a smaller, more aerodynamic Spirit of Ecstasy that will be part of the new Rolls-Royce Sceptre – the venerable British brand’s first battery-electric vehicle. Or would it?īack in the brand’s early days, not every car carried the mascot. It just wouldn’t be a Rolls-Royce without a Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament.
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