Rolls-Royce Unveils Manchester Bespoke Ghost
Rolls Royce has unveiled a unique and extensively bespoke one-of-one Ghost has been designed for Manchester, to celebrate the city’s historical link with the marque.
The northern metropolis has long been an important place for Rolls-Royce: on 4th May 1904, Charles Rolls and Henry Royce first met in the Midland Hotel, in central Manchester, and it was from this meeting that the marque’s two founding fathers agreed together to create ‘the best motor car in the world’. This is the first time, however, that the city of Manchester has been chosen as the inspiration for a Rolls-Royce commission.
“I am proud to unveil the Manchester Ghost, a truly special one-of-one embodiment of artistry and skill, curated in collaboration with our Dealer Partners from Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Manchester. As Charles Rolls and Henry Royce first met in Manchester, the city has, and always will have, a potent historical resonance for the marque. Our accomplished artisans, designers and engineers at the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood, West Sussex have created a truly remarkable motor car, capturing the city’s history, and the city today, as well as celebrating some of its most remarkable accomplishments. The Manchester Ghost brings together the Home of Rolls-Royce where each motor car is hand built and the city where the original idea for Rolls-Royce was born.” said Boris Weletzky, Regional Director of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, United Kingdom, Europe, CIS.
The combined talent of the Bespoke Collective at the Home of Rolls-Royce saw designers, craftspeople and artisans collaborate over a period of two years to create this motor car. Designer Ieuan Hatherall explains:
“Manchester has always been a part of Rolls-Royce’s history. I wanted to create a highly contemporary yet elegant iteration of Ghost, honouring the significance of the city for the marque and celebrating the accomplishments of the people of Manchester whilst also incorporating the melange of Manchester’s modern and traditional architecture.”
The Manchester Bee, one of the best-known symbols of the city and emblem for the city for more than 150 years, has been a source of great inspiration for this motor car. On the exterior of this unique motor car, a Bespoke motif, inspired by the Manchester Bee and presented in Turchese, is displayed on the C pillar. Inside, the Manchester Bee theme continues, with this iconic symbol embroidered on the front and rear seat inserts.
The traditional Silver exterior of the Manchester Ghost is punctuated with a coachline in Turchese, creating a contemporary accent to the car. The pinstripe wheel centre caps, also presented in Turchese, echo the design, while the brake callipers in the same hue elegantly complete the exterior.
For the Manchester Ghost, a truly special Illuminated Fascia, with 10,000 laser etched dots, depicts an ethereal view of Manchester from above. The largest etched dot on the Illuminated Fascia represents the location of the Midland Hotel, the very place where the marque’s two founding fathers first met at the start of the twentieth century. Landmark locations in Manchester are embroidered in tone-on-tone thread to the rear seat centre and demonstrate the unrivaled capabilities of the Bespoke department.
