The Dunhuang Mogao caves in China’s Gansu province lie along the fabled Silk Route and house a huge collection of ancient Chinese mural art dating from the 4th century AD to the 14th century AD. Rolls-Royce has presented three bespoke vehicles as a tribute to this ancient legacy. The set of three cars includes a Phantom Extended, a Black Badge Cullinan, and a Black Badge Spectre.
Each of the three feature colours is inspired by the local Chinese landscape, art, and culture on the exterior, and is adorned by a special recurring design motif – Silken Spirit, designed by Shuai Feng, the designer at the marque’s private office in Shanghai. The highlight of the artistry, however, happens inside the cars, on the gallery that graces the dashboard.
In the Phantom Extended, the hand-painted gallery artwork presents a landscape painting on black leather, adorned by the Silken Spirit. It seeks to evoke the movements of celestial apsaras who appear in Buddhist literature. The bespoke starlight headliner features 1,344 fibre optic stars and 192 shooting stars. On the outside, the Phantom sports a bespoke shade of Ningye Purple that draws on the deep purple skies above the Great Wall as it passes through some of the remotest regions of the land, along with a contrasting English White.
The Black Badge Cullinan Series II, on the other hand, is painted a vibrant Danqian Pink with black Silken Spirits adorning the coachline and the C-pillar. On the inside, the cabin sports a contrasting palette with the front seats finished in blushing pink, while the rear seats are finished in navy with blushing pink piping. The bespoke starlight headliner forms the visual bridge between the front and the rear, harmonising the two spaces. The omnipresent Silken Spirit in this case is an abstract illuminated graphic. It also makes its appearance in stainless steel on the technical fascia at the rear of the cabin.
The Black Badge Spectre features a dual-tone paint job – Diamond Black and Qingshan Blue. The latter is inspired by the mountain blues depicted in the murals of Mogao. The cabin is finished in black leather and turquoise to match the illuminated grille, which is also finished in turquoise. Like in the Phantom, the bespoke starlight headliner features 1,344 individually placed ‘stars’ and 192 shooting stars.
This trio represents Rolls-Royce’s nod to the legacy of ancient Chinese master craftsmanship and seeks to form a relationship between the Orient and the Occident.
