Culture & Education | Wednesday 19 April, 2017 2:50 pm |

The Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, West Sussex, is the subject of the second chapter in a series of short films. In the film the world is introduced to Rolls-Royce’s global centre of luxury excellence, a place where artisans practice the art of true luxury. The new film was premiered at www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com on 7 April 2017, 12.00pm BST.

 

Academy Award-winning actress Kate Winslet once again becomes the voice of the Spirit of Ecstasy, leading us on a journey to a place where colourists and sculptors, designers and engineers collaborate under one roof, with a single objective… to deliver perfection.

 

Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, commented, “The Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, West Sussex, is a source of inspiration for artists, patrons and craftspeople alike. It is with pleasure that we premiere the second in our series of short films entitled ‘The House of Rolls-Royce’. We are honoured that Academy Award-winning actress Kate Winslet will once again give voice to the Spirit of Ecstasy.”

 

At the Home of Rolls-Royce, materials are sourced with no concession to compromise. The craftsmen and women are guided by the philosophy of co-founder Sir Henry Royce, to “Take the best that exists and make it better. If it does not exist, design it.” It is here that Rolls-Royce constantly raises the standards by which all other luxury goods are judged and where it reinforces its proud standing as the most celebrated luxury house in the world.

 

The film opens the doors of the West Sussex landmark, inviting viewers to witness the legends and mythologies of Rolls-Royce, to a place that draws on 113 years of design experience, and where every Rolls-Royce motor car is meticulously and proudly crafted by hand. Indeed, it takes 60 pairs of hands more than 400 hours to build a Rolls-Royce and this can more than double, depending on the complexity of a Bespoke commission.

 

Rolls-Royce brings together the finest materials, cutting-edge technologies and the unrivalled expertise of dedicated designers and craftspeople. For example, the leather in a Rolls-Royce takes 17 days to hand-craft and comprises 9 bull hides; only 1 in 100 hides is chosen for quality. Over 20,000 wood combinations are available, with each set of veneers taking over a month to handcraft. For the exterior, patrons select their own hue. Each five-metre-long coachline takes one specialist – Mark Court – three hours to hand paint using a brush made from ox and squirrel hair.

 

One of the marque’s most popular Bespoke features – the starlight headliner, is comprised of 1340 individually hand-woven fibre-optics. Typically, it takes one day to craft but a personalised commission can take much longer to complete. Any shape can be created in ‘stars’, such as the constellation at the time of a patron’s birth, or the outline of a company insignia.

The first of the House of Rolls-Royce short films was premiered in December 2016 and shared the story of how the Spirit of Ecstasy, the enigmatic symbol of Rolls-Royce that graces the bonnet of every car we create, came to be not only the Rolls-Royce muse, but also a symbol that represents the very best of the best, becoming a great icon of luxury excellence.