Rolls Royce prides itself not only on the exquisite ultra-luxury cars they build but they also take immense pride from their class leading participation in the aviation industry by building one of the most efficient engines in the world, so much so, that it can be found on a Lear jet, Boeing 787 and the Airbus A380. A Rolls-Royce powered aircraft takes off or lands every 2.5 seconds. With that, Rolls Royce has created the Phantom Coupe Aviator Collection, that was initially inspired by Charles Stewart Rolls, to reflect their involvement in the aviation indistry with the beautiful cars that they build.
The first in the collection of 35 Phantom Coupé Aviator Collection models – which feature a suite of exclusive design concepts, colour combinations and new materials – debuts today at the Pebble Beach Quail gathering in the United States.
Finished in Aviator Grey, the Phantom Coupé Aviator Collection features a contrasting matt bonnet, window and grille surround while inside, the interplay of wood and metal hint strongly at a cockpit theme. A Thommen, aviation-grade clock with blood orange needle tips is embedded in the metal foil upper fascia, complemented by matt black dials for power reserve, speedometer and fuel gauges.
The lower fascia is veneered in mahogany, painstakingly shaped by craftspeople just as the early record-setting propellers were fashioned and features Sapele contrast. Polished stainless steel veneer ‘onlays’ with bullet-shaped ends are designed to match floor mat fixings.
Between 1931 and 1933 the Schneider Trophy was held in the South of England, soaring over the Solent and the Witterings in West Sussex, a location no more than 10 miles from the current Home of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars in Goodwood, England. Collection cars celebrate the victorious S6B aircraft with transmission tunnel in anodised aluminium with exposed torx fixings and swage lines that echo the oil cooling veins on the S6B fuselage side. These highlights are repeated on collection car armrests.
The leather-lined glove compartment includes an embossed Charles Rolls quote following his first flight with the Wright Brothers in 1908: “The power of flight is as a fresh gift from the Creator, the greatest treasure yet given to man.” A centre console chrome plaque describes Rolls – only the second man in Britain to hold a pilot’s licence – simply as Pioneer Aviator, below a representation of his sweeping signature.
Fitted with leather floor mats, Aviator Collection cars have also been designed to incorporate the Rolls-Royce of cup holders. Beautifully engineered in highly polished aluminium, the designer’s aim was to deliver functionality, but with that special combination of theatre and jewellery, both of which are expected by every Rolls-Royce client.
