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Rolls-Royce reveals new Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament for electric era

It’s a big day in Rolls-Royce land, as the mega-luxury British car company just revealed a new Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament to grace its future vehicles. In the world of automobiles, the Rolls-Royce hood ornament is one of the most iconic, and now itÂ’s getting a new look for the electric era. Or as Rolls prefers, “she” is getting a new look. The first Rolls-Royce vehicle to wear this new Spirit of Ecstasy will be the upcoming Spectre electric car. Its design is tied to the brandÂ’s electrified future, too. Rolls-Royce says the new design is sculpted to both look and be more aerodynamic than the outgoing model. Instead of standing with legs straight, tilting at the waist and feet together, the new ornament is “braced for the wind, one leg forward, body tucked low.” Height-wise, the new ornament is 82.73 mm tall, while the outgoing ornament was 100.01 mm tall. Plus, the robes (they're not wings!) flapping behind her have been reshaped to be more aerodynamic and look more realistic. Left: Current Spirit of Ecstasy; Right: New Spirit of Ecstasy Why is aero such a great focus? Well, aero is everything when it comes to electric car range and efficiency. Rolls-Royce says its current Spectre prototypes have a drag coefficient of just 0.26, making the Spectre the most aerodynamic Rolls-Royce ever. That figure is expected to be even better once the production design is finalized, Rolls says. “111 years ago today, the Spirit of Ecstasy became an official part of Rolls-Royce,” says design director Anders Warming. “Yet, she has come to represent a spiritual direction for our brand. Her form perfectly captures the marque – she leans forward, expressing our relentless pursuit of progress, and her dress gracefully flows in the wind, echoing the serenity of our products in motion. For Spectre and beyond, she becomes lower and more focused; braced for unprecedented speed and the exciting future her presence will define.” The ornament is the product of 830 hours of design modeling and wind tunnel testing. Instead of drawing it out on paper or real-life sculpting, though, this Spirit of Ecstasy was designed via digital “sculpting” on a computer. That said, the actual construction of the ornament will continue to be finished by hand after undergoing its “lost wax casting.” This hand finishing process means that even in the age of computers, Rolls promises that every single ornament will be minutely different from the next — itÂ’s about charm.

Rolls-Royce gets Inspired by Film with latest Wraith special [w/video]

"You like me, you really like me!" If Rolls-Royce could tune its exhaust note to speak those words, (in Sally Field's voice, no less) we get the feeling it would. But since it can't it has done what it does best: launch a special edition. In this case, it's called the "Inspired by Film" edition, and it's based on the Wraith. Its creation was inspired by And the World Stood Still, a rather dramatic promotional video that accompanied the Wraith's launch two years ago. The film, which you can view below if you missed it the first time around, involved 100 DSLR cameras, 36 computers and nearly a mile of cabling, orchestrated in Barcelona to capture the spirit of the Rolls-Royce fastback. It was decorated with a Gold Award by the International Visual Communications Association and was recently admitted to the National Archive of the British Film Institute. So to mark the occasion, Rolls is rolling in to the New York Auto Show with this special edition. Taking the Silver Screen theme quite literally, it's decked out with two-tone silver paint, a solid silver Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament and grey leather with ebony and aluminum trim. The special edition will be available to order right after its debut in Manhattan, and of course comes with the 6.6-liter twin-turbo V12 churning out 624 horsepower to make the Wraith the fastest, most powerful production model in the company's history. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. ROLLS-ROYCE WRAITH 'INSPIRED BY FILM' DEBUTS AS LAUNCH FILM IS ACCEPTED INTO BFI NATIONAL ARCHIVE 31 March 2015, Goodwood The groundbreaking Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Wraith launch film, 'And the World Stood Still', has been accepted into the BFI (British Film Institute) National Archive, the world's most significant collection of film and TV. To celebrate the event, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has created Wraith 'Inspired by Film', which will debut at the 2015 New York Auto Show tomorrow, 1 April 2015. The film, which won a Gold Award at the 26th International Visual Communications Association (IVCA) Awards, caught the attention of the BFI's Senior Curator for Non-Fiction Films, Patrick Russell, who considered it a striking piece of contemporary cinematography and so decided to accept it into the archive. "We are delighted to see Rolls-Royce's Wraith launch film enter the BFI's collection," commented Russell.

The cars of notorious dictators

It's good to be the king, at least until your people have had enough of you. Last week, we brought you famous presidential cars. This week, we're going to the opposite end of the political spectrum, looking at what history's mad men drove throughout their repressive and violent regimes. These dictators were absolutely powerful, and absolutely corrupt. More nightmares for their people than rulers, their iron-fisted control gave them the ability to satisfy any wild desire with nearly limitless funds. While they all splurged on luxury goods, cars were a particular passion of many dictators. Cars make a powerful statement to the public about wealth, status and control. It's how you are presented at ground level to your adoring masses or mortal enemies. A custom luxury car with plenty of armor plating reinforced the specialness and "otherness" of the ruler to friend and foe alike. Muammar Gaddafi, Libya, 1969 - 2011 Lybia's President for Life Muammar Gaddafi fancied himself not just a car enthusiast, but a car designer for the masses as well. He supposedly designed a car called the "Saroukh el-Jamahiriya" or Libyan Rocket. It had a 230-horsepower V6 and the nose and tail of a rocket. He was trying to produce a safer car. What makes it safe car? Tough to say. Not a lot was ever released it. Apparently the el-Jamahiriya did come with airbags and collapsible fenders in case of a collision. A spokesperson said "The invention of the safest car in the world is proof that the Libyan revolution is built on the happiness of man." We'll just have to take his word for it. When he wasn't designing his own cars, Gaddafi was ordering up custom rides, large and small. Besides a heavily armored BMW 7 Series and a Mercedes S-Class stretch limo, Gaddafi had this custom Fiat built at a cost of $260,000. The gold in the trim is real gold (of course) and comes with some touches that are pure Gaddafi. For instance, the Fiat badge was replaced with an outline of the continent of Africa, with Libya cut out in green. Rebels seized the Fiat and Gaddafi's other trappings of power after putting an end to Gaddafi's 42 years in control. Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, Haiti, 1971 - 1986 Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier was the second-generation dictator of Hati from 1971 to 1986. He made life hell for his people for 15 long years, starting when his father died when he was just 19 years old. Imagine if Justin Beiber was given a tiny island nation to run.