Photo: Rolls-Royce
With a little more than 6,000 cars sold in 2022, Rolls-Royce is anything but a high-volume automaker. Its vehicles aren't incredibly rare either by overall production figures. Still, we'll never see two identical Rolls-Royces on the road. That's because each automobile, whether a Ghost or a Cullinan, is built to customer specifications. In short, every Rolls-Royce is unique.
But even so, some examples stand out more than others. The silver model you see here may appear mundane from a distance, but it's a true one-of-one designed to celebrate the company's link with the city of Manchester. Meet the 2023 Manchester Ghost, a fully bespoke creation loaded with unique features.
Described as a project that "celebrates the historical resonance of the city of Manchester," the four-door commemorates the moment when Charles Rolls and Henry Royce first met in the Midland Hotel on May 4, 1904. That's when the company's founding fathers agreed to create "the best motor car in the world."
In the typical Rolls-Royce fashion, the Machester Ghost isn't flashy on the outside. The British brand went with a traditional silver exterior. However, the turquoise coachline, wheel pinstripe, and brake calipers add a dash of color. So does the Manchester Bee motif on the C-pillars, also finished in the same bright hue.
The theme continues inside the cabin with turquoise details on the seats, headrests, dashboard, and center console. The color works well with the black-and-white upholstery, giving the cabin a distinguished yet modern look. The Machester Bee appears again on the seats. At the same time, the rear-seat center section has landmark locations embroidered in tone-on-tone thread.
The dashboard's illuminated fascia is also unique, with no fewer than 10,000 laser-etched dots depicting an aerial view of Manchester. The most prominent dot is the location of the Midland Hotel. The display also pays tribute to "This is the Place," a poem by Tony Walsh dedicated to Manchester.
But that's not all. While regular Rolls-Royce models have illuminated "stars" on the headliner, the Manchester Ghost depicts a Graphene lattice pattern. That's an allotrope of carbon consisting of a single layer of atoms arranged in a hexagonal nanostructure. What's it doing in a Rolls-Royce? This incredibly lightweight and strong material was first isolated at the University of Manchester in 2004.
And it's not the only science-related feature in this car. The illuminated treadplates sport the letters "MCR" inscribed in binary, a tribute to "Manchester Baby," the world's first electronic stored-program computer. Also built at the University of Manchester, it ran its first program in 1948 and kickstarted the development of the Ferranti Mark 1, the first commercially available computer.
Rolls-Royce doesn't say whether the Manchester Ghost will be sold to a customer or will remain with the Manchester-based dealer that ordered it, but it's a fitting tribute to the city that hosted the founding of Britain's iconic luxury marque.
Described as a project that "celebrates the historical resonance of the city of Manchester," the four-door commemorates the moment when Charles Rolls and Henry Royce first met in the Midland Hotel on May 4, 1904. That's when the company's founding fathers agreed to create "the best motor car in the world."
In the typical Rolls-Royce fashion, the Machester Ghost isn't flashy on the outside. The British brand went with a traditional silver exterior. However, the turquoise coachline, wheel pinstripe, and brake calipers add a dash of color. So does the Manchester Bee motif on the C-pillars, also finished in the same bright hue.
The theme continues inside the cabin with turquoise details on the seats, headrests, dashboard, and center console. The color works well with the black-and-white upholstery, giving the cabin a distinguished yet modern look. The Machester Bee appears again on the seats. At the same time, the rear-seat center section has landmark locations embroidered in tone-on-tone thread.
The dashboard's illuminated fascia is also unique, with no fewer than 10,000 laser-etched dots depicting an aerial view of Manchester. The most prominent dot is the location of the Midland Hotel. The display also pays tribute to "This is the Place," a poem by Tony Walsh dedicated to Manchester.
But that's not all. While regular Rolls-Royce models have illuminated "stars" on the headliner, the Manchester Ghost depicts a Graphene lattice pattern. That's an allotrope of carbon consisting of a single layer of atoms arranged in a hexagonal nanostructure. What's it doing in a Rolls-Royce? This incredibly lightweight and strong material was first isolated at the University of Manchester in 2004.
And it's not the only science-related feature in this car. The illuminated treadplates sport the letters "MCR" inscribed in binary, a tribute to "Manchester Baby," the world's first electronic stored-program computer. Also built at the University of Manchester, it ran its first program in 1948 and kickstarted the development of the Ferranti Mark 1, the first commercially available computer.
Rolls-Royce doesn't say whether the Manchester Ghost will be sold to a customer or will remain with the Manchester-based dealer that ordered it, but it's a fitting tribute to the city that hosted the founding of Britain's iconic luxury marque.
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