Meet the Rolls-Royce Scintilla, a Phantom with a legend attached

To celebrate its 120th birthday, Rolls-Royce has issued a special edition of its Phantom sedan: the Scintilla. It sings the glory of the company’s iconic bonnet ornament, the Spirit of Ecstasy, which is apparently based on a real-life statue.

According to the legend, Rolls-Royce Managing Director Claude Johnson saw the sculpture of Niké of Samothrace as he went to Louvre. He asked Charles Sykes to come up with a similar-looking mascot for the company. This is how the antique statue known as the Winged Victory of Samothrace came to sit on the hood of nearly every Rolls-Royce vehicle assembled in the past century.

The Scintilla sports a special version of this hood ornament coated in a ceramic layer said to be reminiscent of the Parian marble that the original statue was chiseled from. The bi-color exterior scheme reflects the shades of the sea near the Isle of Samothrace in Greece, where the statue was discovered in the 19th century.

The interior gets a makeover with prevalent leather and cloth upholstery. The seats and the doors bear intricate stitching ornaments composed of as many as 869,500 stitches in five colors and different thread thickness. The company says the stitching work alone takes over 40 hours to complete. The ceiling bears a “starry sky” motif typical of all recent RR creations, and the dashboard is decorated with custom graphics composed of seven ceramic-coated aluminum bands. Opening the glove compartment reveals a quote by Claude Johnson that he used to describe the company’s mascot 114 years ago.

Only 10 such cars will be made. Only the company’s most dedicated clients who are subscribed to the Rolls-Royce Private Office service will be able to place an order.