Brand Story

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I ROLLS ROYCE TAKES PERSONALISATION TO THE NEXT LEVEL AS IT ENGAGES WITH A SELECT NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS EACH YEAR TO CREATE THEIR DREAM MACHINES

BY SANKET UPADHYAY 50 INDIA TODAY SPICE u AUGUST, 2016

t is a glorious morning, true Englishstyle. I chide myself inwardly as I step into hallowed space for luxury car lovers; the Mecca of all things beautiful.

I feel a sense of déjà vu as I am instantly transported to the art room in my school.

Away from the tough headmistress, the regimental assembly, the confounding science labs and the rigorous physical training sessions was a quiet room where imagination wasn’t frowned upon. Walk in and you would find carelessly stacked canvas boards, imperfectly yet passionately painted pots, students bent over their sketchbooks giving shape and colour to their thoughts, nudged and encouraged by a patient, soft-spoken teacher. At the Rolls Royce Motor Cars headquarters in GoodWood, England, faced by the tall, thin, bespectacled and mild-mannered Gavin Hartley, the man who heads bespoke, I was back in the art room. Whatever your wheel dream, you can fulfill it here, as the brand takes the art of bespoke to new heights.

customer wants. Some are very clear about what they want from their car but others are more tentative so we try and understand what they could possibly like through the course of a conversation and then offer solutions.” Apparently there are a few customers who are so sure about their preferences that there’s absolutely no creative ambiguity when it comes to spelling out their Rolls Royce dream. He cites the example of a customer who wanted the interiors of his Rolls Royce to be kitted out in parrot green leather. Of course, the bespoke department obliged. Another wanted to experiment with various types of leather, so the bespoke room made sure they had leather ranging from snake to crocodile, even ostrich.

SAY HELLO TO YOUR ROLLER

Whatever your wheel dream, you can fulfill it here at the Rolls Royce headquarters, as the brand takes the art of bespoke up a notch to unimaginable heights with a range of services.

Hartley and his team still follow the idea of ‘tailor made’ in letter and spirit. They sit you down to get a sense of what you want. He says, “The idea is to understand what the

Personalise the rolls royce sign that sits at the head of the bonnet

There is almost nothing that can’t be customised at Rolls Royce

COLOUR NO BAR

The bespoke room also has a wall full of dummies, an array of colourful cars to give you an idea of what your car would look like.

Shaped like a real roller and crafted with

AUGUST, 2016 u INDIA TODAY SPICE 51

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You can create your own swanky bar in your dream car

the same metal and coloured using the same paints, it’s as close to the feel and texture of a real car as it gets. Want to experiment with two colour tones? No problem. Don’t like the stock shades? Just say the word, or rather shade, and it will be created for you. They even go as far as to name the shade after you.

“We had a customer who walked in with her dog and said she wanted the car painted in the exact shade of red as her pet’s fur,” a Rolls Royce official says. They took a strand of canine hair and whipped up a colour to match it. The happy owner not only got the desired red, but a certificate saying it’s her colour and the company will not use it on any other car unless permitted by her. Isn’t this degree of individuality hard to maintain? According to a spokesperson, “The people who drive the brand value exclusivity and the fact that their car is the only one in the world like that.”

WOODEN DREAMS

You want the insignia of your private estate on the wood panel? You want a three-dimensional impression of the New York skyline?

Falcon, tiger, bull, unicorn? It’s easy. Just ask for it. While others would tattoo or paint it, Rolls Royce engraves it into the wood during the meticulous design stage. This ensures that what you have is not just handmade and special but absolutely unique.

52 INDIA TODAY SPICE u AUGUST, 2016

THEMED WHEELS

Theme cars are common. But then, there is the Rolls Royce way of doing things that makes these the opposite of common. For instance, a man walked in and demanded a space-inspired car. What RR created was nothing short of a space rocket. From the colour on the outside, to the subtle touches on door handles and the dash, everything was unique. In fact, some of the parts used on the dashboard were made of the toughened material used only in spacecrafts.

OVER-THE-TOP DEMANDS

The craftsmen at bespoke can make yours wishes come true. “A customer wanted a neon yellow coloured boot. We told him it was impractical but he was adamant, so he got his Roller complete with a yellow boot,” says a member of the bespoke team. Another customer wanted a picnic basket. What he got was so dazzlingly refined, you could mistake it for a precious jewellery box. It sat in the boot and slid out smoothly, giving the humble picnic basket a royal makeover.

Given this extreme customisation, it is little wonder that Rolls Royce caters to no more than 35 such customers annually. They take anywhere between three months to a year to deliver the perfect car, not just an expensive car but one that’s an extension of you.