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These Rolls-Royce Bespoke Cars Helped the British Carmaker Achieve Record Profit

Even though they didn't sell in large numbers, Rolls-Royce Collective vehicles helped the British carmaker increase its 2021 profit thanks to their high value, which, sometimes, can reach an eight-figure price tag.
Rolls-Royce Phantom Tempus 26 photos
Photo: Rolls-Royce
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Any business can increase its profit by adding a bigger margin or selling in larger numbers. Rolls-Royce is the epitome of the former direction, while mass-market carmakers are of the latter. Previously, we showed you what the carmaker can do for its customers and how it can upgrade the mighty Cullinan. Now, we are focusing on two wider series, and on the most expensive of them all.

Rolls-Royce Phantom Tempus Collection

If one vehicle should match Albert Einstein's ideas about time, then this should be the Phantom Tempus Collection. The exclusive series was built in 20 units only, and all of them were spoken for, with only two commissioned by U.S. customers. The whole idea of the car was inspired by the concept of time which, according to the genius theoretical physicist, is the distinction between past, present, and future, but "only a stubbornly persistent illusion." The full quote is engraved on a plaque inside these cars' glove compartments.

Each car's Spirit of Ecstacy statue that adorns the car's hood has engraved on it a custom date and time, unique for each owner. On the outside, all Phantom Tempus Collection vehicles sport a Bespoke paint finish named Kairos Blue that resembles the darkness of space.

Rolls\-Royce Phantom Tempus Collection
Photo: Rolls-Royce
Inside, the specific Rolls-Royce clock from the dashboard was eliminated, so customers won't feel the pressure of time. Instead, they could enjoy the unique headliner covered with a special pattern made of fiber optics that light in a display inspired by pulsars. So maybe someone who didn't care that they spent more than $750,000 for a car can afford to not care about time as well.

Rolls-Royce Phantom Koa

Jack Boyd Smith Jr. car enthusiast and his wife, Laura, spent a lot of time in Maui, Hawaii, the only place in the world where the Koa tree grows. He wished to have that rare wood inside his car, but there was a problem: it could only be harvested in private agricultural land.

Here comes the most interesting part. Rolls-Royce spent three years tracking the perfect log from a rare private collection in Hawaii to make this unique example. The car's exterior was painted in a "Packard-blue" shade that matches Mr. Smith's Packard Twelve Coupe from his collection.

Rolls\-Royce Phantom Koa
Photo: Rolls-Royce
The Phantom Koa sports 1,420 fiber optics in the headliner. As you might guess, it represents the sky above Cleveland, Ohio, on Mr. Smith's birth date.

Rolls-Royce Landspeed Collection

Apart from unique vehicles, the Rolls-Royce Bespoke Collective made limited series vehicles such as the Landspeed Collection that consists of 25 units of Black Badge Dawn and 35 of Black Badge Wraith. Both are inspired by George Eyston's 357.497 mph (575.335 kph) record achieved aboard his machine, the Thunderbolt.

Both versions wear the silhouette of the Thunderbolt laser engraved on the front tunnel, while the front fascia and the center armrest's storage compartment lid. The record speed is engraved on the car's clock mounted on the dash panel.

Rolls\-Royce Landspeed Collection
Photo: Rolls-Royce
For the Wraith, the headliner sports 2,117 individually placed fiber-optic "stars" that show the star map for September 16, 1938, above Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, when the record was achieved. It is the highest number of fiber optics ever installed in a Rolls-Royce.

Rolls-Royce Coachbuild Boat Tail

With a $28 million price tag, the Boat Tail is the most expensive new car in the world. Rolls-Royce made one for Beyonce and Jay-Z, but it is not unique. The carmaker announced in January 2022 that it is working on the second example of a Boat Tail, and we already know that there will be only three of them. The second example will be shown for mere mortals at the 2022 Villa d'Este in Italy, while the third example will not be shown, as its owner wants to keep it a secret.

The hand-built bodywork echoes a Boat Tail design, with a sloped deck at the back, where a picnic set is hidden under a twin-lid storage area. Moreover, the car comes with an umbrella that can nicely fit at the car's back, so the couple can sit and enjoy their meal near the ocean.

With these cars, Rolls-Royce Bespoke Collective clearly made quite an impressive profit for the carmaker, which announced its best year ever. Unlike other brands, Rolls-Royce is known for its exclusive products. But these are on a completely different level, and the Boat Tail is just the beginning of the Rolls-Royce Coachbuild division.
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About the author: Tudor Serban
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Tudor started his automotive career in 1996, writing for a magazine while working on his journalism degree. From Pikes Peaks to the Moroccan desert to the Laguna Seca, he's seen and done it all.
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