Photo: Rolls-Royce
“Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast.” Or, in our case, let him uncover the secret code Rolls-Royce hid on the special version of the Wraith called Kryptos.
It was back in July when the British carmaker embarked on an adventure no other company in the business, as far as we remember, ever embarked. Using the Wraith as an excuse, Rolls hid a secret cipher on various points of the car, from the Spirit of Ecstasy to the color scheme and even on the fabric on the seats.
Now, nobody really knows what this cipher, once cracked, is supposed to reveal, apart from the fact that it should be an enlightening conclusion. Well, not nobody, because two people “at the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood know the full resolution of the sequence” - the designer and the company’s CEO - know it.
Because to date “no successful decryptions“ were made by all the others, Rolls decided it’s time for some hints, so the carmaker dropped the first “subtle clue.”
“Wraith Kryptos is a Rolls-Royce Collection like no other. It is embedded with a cryptographic cipher and filled with mystery and intrigue. Today, we reveal the first clue for clients as they begin to receive their cars around the world,” said in a statement Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
More to the point, we’re told the Spirit of Ecstasy figurine used on the car has the word Kryptos written on it, in code. Once deciphered, each of the seven characters of the word should become clues to solving the mystery.
The company also said “the embroidery on the headrests translates as the double-R monogram, rendered in the cipher,” adding that armed with this knowledge people will have an easier task ahead.
Given how limited – and expensive – these cars are, the chase to solve the cipher is not for everyone. Only people buying these cars are allowed to take part, and they have until February 2021 to submit their takes on the matter.
Now, nobody really knows what this cipher, once cracked, is supposed to reveal, apart from the fact that it should be an enlightening conclusion. Well, not nobody, because two people “at the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood know the full resolution of the sequence” - the designer and the company’s CEO - know it.
Because to date “no successful decryptions“ were made by all the others, Rolls decided it’s time for some hints, so the carmaker dropped the first “subtle clue.”
“Wraith Kryptos is a Rolls-Royce Collection like no other. It is embedded with a cryptographic cipher and filled with mystery and intrigue. Today, we reveal the first clue for clients as they begin to receive their cars around the world,” said in a statement Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
More to the point, we’re told the Spirit of Ecstasy figurine used on the car has the word Kryptos written on it, in code. Once deciphered, each of the seven characters of the word should become clues to solving the mystery.
The company also said “the embroidery on the headrests translates as the double-R monogram, rendered in the cipher,” adding that armed with this knowledge people will have an easier task ahead.
Given how limited – and expensive – these cars are, the chase to solve the cipher is not for everyone. Only people buying these cars are allowed to take part, and they have until February 2021 to submit their takes on the matter.
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