Phantom shakes its tail feathers with stunning dashboard gallery
Interior designed by company that usually outfits jets, yachts
You know it’s fancy when even Rolls-Royce refers to a car as “opulence,” because when every single one of your cars is built to the level of a Rolls it takes something big to stand out. Like this car, just delivered in Abu Dhabi, that the automaker has chosen as an example showing just how many times they can use the word bespoke in a single press release.
The Rolls-Royce Phantom, named Iridescent Opulence, had its finish designed by Swiss materials specialist Nature Squared. The company normally puts its talents toward household furniture and surfaces but will apply its upcycled, renewable, and sustainable materiel expertise to yachts, jets, and now cars.
While the iridescent exterior paint is what catches the eye, it’s “The Gallery” inside that gives inspiration for the paint and truly sets this Phantom apart. More than 3,000 tail feathers, from a bird species not identified but chosen after “extensive research was carried out to identify a sustainable species of bird with a rich dense plumage which would provide an opulent interior to adorn Phantom’s Gallery,” were selected and then individually shaped before being hand sewn into fabric. 3D printing was used to “emulate the musculature of a natural wing behind the feathers. Then there’s the clock, inlaid with Mother of Pearl to emphasise the texture of the feathers. All of it sitting under glass that runs across the dashboard of the Phantom and assembled in a Clean Room at Rolls in Goodwood.
Brand manager for the Rolls dealer in Abu Dhabi, Tarek Moataz, said that the region was one of the strongest markets for bespoke Rolls products, and we think they might get a few more orders soon as someone will want to out-stage this one.