If anyone ever questioned the value of personalization in the luxury car sector, results revealed by Rolls-Royce today will certainly put an end to all doubt. The super-luxury car maker revealed that its Bespoke business has become more successful than ever with nearly 95% of all cars purchased last year personalized by their owners in some form.
Rolls-Royce has been playing up to the individualization trend for some time. It offers everything from two-tone color palettes and specific pin striping, to crystal champagne flutes in the trunk and a gold-plated sprit of Ecstasy mascot to adorn the long hood of its cars. Recent commissions have included an exterior paint color perfectly matched to a customer’s favorite eye shadow and a wood-veneer sourced from the tree of another’s estate. The possibilities are seemingly only limited by the depth of one’s pockets.
“Customers often task us with designing cars themed around a particularly passion or interest,” said Gavin Hartley, Bespoke Design Manager. “The customer leads the creative process, working in collaboration with us to create a highly personal, one-off masterpiece. As Bespoke designers we take great satisfaction in turning these dreams into reality.”
While the company increased partnerships with other luxury manufacturers — such as the recent Waterspeed Collection (which will adorn just 35 Phantom Drophead Coupés) and the yet to be revealed collaboration with specialty boat builder J-Craft — the company has also remained steadfast in its ambition to remain the bespoke leader, with the company’s own Dubai Brand Manager, Mohammed EL-Arishy, working with the in-house team to develop the Chicane Phantom Coupé, a vehicle incorporating materials and design cues that evoke Goodwood’s motorsport history.
As a result of the global offering, Rolls-Royce expanded its Goodwood facility by 3100 square meters last year, adding more skilled craftsman and designers to accommodate its growing business. Bespoke take-up increased in 2013 as customers for Phantom and Ghost commissioned higher levels of bespoke content on their cars and, in its first year of availability, 90% of Wraiths were purchased with bespoke options.
Middle-Eastern owners lived up to their reputation of demanding the most individual cars in the world with 99% of both Ghosts and Phantoms featuring various levels of bespoke content. Levels of personalization on Phantom were highest around the world compared to other Rolls-Royce models, with 98% of North American customers and 95% of European owners creating bespoke Phantoms. Asian buyers were third in line, with 86% creating bespoke Phantoms for themselves.
Ghost, by its more informal nature, had a slightly lower bespoke content outside the Middle East, with 96% of European buyers, 79% of North Americans and 54% of Asian owners individualizing their cars.
All three models surpassed their revenue targets in 2013 with an overall revenue increase of 30% over 2012.
“The success of this operation here at Goodwood continues to attract more discerning individuals from all over the world to our marque,”” said Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. “[It] reaffirms our decision to expand our Bespoke offer over the last three years.”
2013 saw a high number of Bespoke Collection cars unveiled to the world, amongst which the most memorable were the Celestial Phantom, the Alpine Trial Centenary Ghost and the Home of Rolls-Royce Collection, which made its debut at the exclusive Quail motorsports gathering held during last summer’s Pebble Beach weekend.
