New Rolls-Royce Phantom Scintilla pays homage to the Spirit of Ecstasy

Sometimes it seems like luxury car brands churn out one-offs and special editions like Peugeot trying to flog base-spec 205s back in the 1980s, but the latest model from Rolls-Royce is far from being a sticker pack and some jazzy seat trim.

The Rolls-Royce Phantom Scintilla Private Collection won’t be cluttering up any dealership forecourts near Goodwood with special offer banners in the windscreen either, as the brand is building just ten examples and each have already been allocated to Rolls-Royce ‘Private Office network’ clients around the globe.

Based on the Phantom Extended, the Scintilla Private Collection pays homage to the celebrated Spirit of Ecstasy perched up there atop the grille. Rolls-Royce says it ‘evokes the wonder of the Spirit of Ecstasy’s fleeting presence’ with ‘interior features… inspired by the apparent movement of her robes’.

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Those interior features are probably the best place to start, since they’re the most remarkable aspects. First there’s the ‘Gallery’, the element of a Phantom’s dashboard in which customers are open to personalising. For these commissions, a pattern has been formed from seven ceramic-coated aluminium ribbons, entitled ‘Celestial Pulse’, spanning the dashboard, with edges polished to a mirror finish to catch the light.

The doors are not simply a way to get in and out, but are patterned with an embroidered motif created by Brienny Dudley comprising 633,000 stitches, with a pattern that the company says appears to glow and sparkle at night. This is complemented by a similar pattern on the seats, with another 236,500 stitches, bringing the grand total to 869,500, and more embroidery than Chanel’s atelier.

Rolls-Royce’s Starlight Headliner returns here too, with 1,500 fibre optic stars with their own flowing animations, plus more than 4,000 extra perforations through which the metallic silver fabric behind can be seen. The rear picnic tables feature a blended iridescent and matte finish, with 19 coats of lacquer, and are the result of 190 hours’ work per car.

Outside, meanwhile, you’ll find a two-tone Anadlusian White and Thracian Blue theme. Thracia, history fans, was an ancient region incorporating most of modern Romania and Bulgaria, plus the now-Greek island of Samothrace – the latter apparently serving as the primary inspiration for the Scintilla’s colour scheme. There’s a hand-painted coachline, and the 22-inch disc wheels are pinstriped in Spirit Blue. The traditional Pantheon grille is topped by a ceramic, marble-like finish.

Alongside this, the Phantom’s powerplant is almost a side-show, but the familiar 6.75-litre turbocharged V12 makes a reappearance here, good for 563bhp, 900Nm of torque. And if you care for such things, a 0-62mph time of 5.4 seconds.

Naturally, Rolls-Royce has not revealed a price for the Phantom Scintilla, but with the ‘standard’ car starting at more than £400,000 before you even flick through some paint and trim swatches, the final figure is surely somewhere between that and a pound for every one of those 869,500 stitches.

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