Rose Phantom, the Bespoke Rolls-Royce That’s Like a Moving Garden

At least, that’s what both Rolls-Royce and the owner of the car would like us to think. They’re calling it Rose Phantom, a one-of-a-kind Rolls that comes with one million stitches in satin embroidery across the roof, the dashboard and the doors.

Businessman Ayad Al Saffar lives in Stockholm, Sweden, where he owns a watch store chain. In a prepared statement, he says he waited 35 years to own a Rolls-Royce and, now that he does, he wanted something out of the ordinary for himself and his family.

And that, he got: Rose Phantom has roses in different stages of development and butterflies stitched on the interior. Al Saffar, in case you didn’t realize, also has a thing for flowers – so much so that he named his children after them. In fact, his daughter, Magnolia, was involved in the creative process for the Rose Phantom, choosing this very delicate shade of blue, Peacock Blue, for the exterior.

The roses featured are not your regular kind, though. It’s a special kind of rose, bred specifically for Rolls-Royce and on display at the rose garden at the Home or Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, West Sussex, and called – predictably – Rose Phantom. Because of this, the name of the bespoke car, Rose Phantom, acquires a deeper meaning, as it is envisioned as a moving garden. Except for the smell.

The exterior is painted Peacock Blue with Charles Blue accents, of which Rolls-Royce says they’re the start of the flower motif on the car because the car’s line “intertwines organically like the stem of a rose.” The calf leather rear seats come with extra cushioning and are in the same shade of blue.

The pattern of flowers is asymmetrical, unlike what you’d see in a well-manicured garden. Flowers are represented from blossom to bloom, and appear to be growing across the roof. It’s a stunning but still-delicate frenzy of flowers. Fiber optic lights inside the room give it a starry aesthetic.

“There is a transcendent beauty when a rose garden is in full bloom,” Rolls-Royce designer Ieuan Hatherall explains. “The patron wanted to create that same feeling of awe; an abundance of flowers to lift the spirit and celebrate nature's decadent beauty, in the Rose Phantom's serene interior.”

The intention was, from the very start, to create a work of art that would immerse whoever is experiencing into a new world. Art, as we all know, can be divisive, so don’t feel bad if you think the combination of baby blue and so many flowers can be a tad overwhelming or maybe even tacky. But one thing is not up for debate: the amount of work and attention to detail that went into customizing this Rolls is impressive, regardless of what you make of the final result.

As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the only beholders that truly matter here are Al Saffar and the people at Rolls-Royce.

“Our extraordinary craftspeople at the Home of Rolls-Royce have achieved, with this car, something which can only be described as sublime,” Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Müller Ötvös says in the same statement. “This is undoubtedly one of the greatest Rolls-Royce Phantoms of its generation.”

Now, if you like the Rose Phantom and are thinking you still have time to save up to buy it when the owner grows tired of it and is looking to trade up, you’re out of luck. Al Saffar has been dreaming of this special kind of Rolls for years and he invested a lot of time (and money) into the project, which he created with and for his family.

Money can buy almost anything, but not this Rose Phantom. “It became an amazing piece of art, and I will never ever ever sell this car,” the businessman says.