0:04 This artisan will spend 7
0:05 and 1/2 hours recreating the night sky on the ceiling of this Rolls-Royce.
0:10 But, it isn't just any night sky.
0:12 She's specifically replicating the stars over southern England on January 1st, 2003.
0:18 >> It does contain 1,040 holes,
0:21 which means that every single hole I have to manually drill.
0:26 >> This feature alone starts at over $10,000
0:29 and it's one of the thousands of detailed customizations Rolls-Royce offers.
0:34 An entry-level Rolls-Royce begins at around $370,000,
0:38 but with so many options to personalize, the price can skyrocket from there.
0:43 Some collectors don't even keep track of how much they spend.
0:46 >> Yeah, I don't I don't even know.
0:48 Oh, we don't care.
0:50 As of right now, we have three, you know, and my husband's like, "No,
0:54 no more."
0:55 >> The automaker's $30 million drop tail
0:58 and $28 million boat tail are reportedly the most expensive cars ever commissioned.
1:04 In some cases, the work doesn't stop there.
1:06 >> >> Buyers will spend more taking their Rolls-Royces to outside companies for even
1:10 more customizations.
1:12 >> >> When I got the Spectre from Rolls-Royce, it was $625,000,
1:15 and then the upgrade with Mansory was about $700,000.
1:20 >> So, what exactly are Rolls-Royce customers paying for?
1:26 And what makes buyers come back for more?
1:30 >> When our clients uh interact with us, they don't need a car.
1:34 They've typically got lots of cars.
1:36 They want to create a masterpiece, and that could be happening here.
1:41 >> For VIP and select American clients, it's where creating a bespoke Rolls-Royce begins.
1:47 >> When a client first walks in,
1:49 the first thing I notice about them is their energy.
1:52 It is kind of kind of like mind reading.
1:55 Some clients, when they walk in, they don't know what they want.
1:58 Rebecca knows what she wants.
2:00 >> I'm a purple girl.
2:01 I love my cars purple.
2:04 I also like them to stand out.
2:06 >> She's here with her husband Carey,
2:08 who enjoys the experience as much as the cars.
2:11 >> We were expecting an office environment
2:13 and then the first thing
2:14 when I walked in it was like,
2:15 "No, this is like a house."
2:16 >> Yes, definitely.
2:17 >> You you feel comfortable.
2:19 >> Rebecca has already commissioned two cars with the design staff here.
2:23 >> One of our cars that we have is this Anthilla.
2:25 They did one of 10.
2:27 >> Today, Rebecca is back for her third custom car, a purple Cullinan SUV.
2:33 >> And the detail, can I see the detail of the Yes, see.
2:38 And there you can see the shine, too.
2:40 And I didn't know about the um designs
2:43 that you could do inside the leather,
2:46 the perforations.
2:47 >> Rolls-Royce's perforation technique involves punching thousands of precisely sized holes into leather to
2:53 make complex 3D patterns.
2:56 >> The interior really reflects the outside >> >> um of the two-tone,
3:01 Arctic White being on the top
3:03 and then the Twilight Purple being the body color.
3:06 I can actually imagine Rebecca wearing like an outfit that's this combination.
3:12 >> Oh, yeah, definitely.
3:14 >> Getting to know each client well enough to build a car for them
3:18 is the hardest part of the job.
3:20 Then comes the actual design work.
3:23 >> Everything starts with a pen
3:24 and paper for me
3:25 and I got like two sets of monitors
3:30 and then also I've got my laptop
3:32 and then another uh rendering tower
3:35 and a Cintiq,
3:35 which is like a touch screen um monitor.
3:38 >> The Cullinan starts at over $440,000, but with all the customizations,
3:45 the final price >> Yeah, I don't I don't even know.
3:48 But we don't care.
3:50 We know.
3:51 >> >> Designs like these come together overnight.
3:54 A bespoke Cullinan can take 9 to 12 months on average.
3:58 Rebecca will be back soon to start planning her fourth car,
4:02 a coach-built Nightingale.
4:03 Rolls-Royce is only manufacturing 100 of them,
4:06 and the price is expected to start around $9.5 million.
4:12 And with deliveries beginning in 2028, her Nightingale will take years.
4:16 >> It's a feeling that you get when you see, you know,
4:19 the amount of work that you put into it, picking the colors,
4:22 the inside of it.
4:24 You just sort of know.
4:25 You're excited about it.
4:27 It can't come quick enough.
4:29 >> But turning Rebecca's dreams into real cars takes an extraordinary amount of human labor.
4:35 At the Rolls-Royce factory in Goodwood, England,
4:37 that labor still happens mostly by hand.
4:40 >> This is the only place in the world where we uh build these
4:43 fantastic motor cars.
4:45 It's It's very much like a I would say like a ballet.
4:52 >> Speed is not a priority here.
4:54 >> We've been doing it here at Goodwood since 2003.
4:57 Uh back then, we finalized one car per day of the 200 cars per
5:02 year.
5:03 Today, we have a the capacity to finalize up to 28 cars per day.
5:08 >> That factors out to between 5,500 and 6,000 cars a year.
5:12 For comparison, Bentley makes up to 15,000 annually.
5:16 >> We never measure volume.
5:18 For us, it's all It's all about the value,
5:20 and the value we add for the client,
5:22 the value we add to to the company.
5:25 >> Each vehicle moves through 44 distinct stations.
5:29 At high-volume car factories, each stage takes as little as a minute.
5:34 Here, the average is 32 minutes.
5:37 Workers spend months training on each station before they're cleared to work on a
5:40 car.
5:42 By the time a car reaches the end of the line,
5:44 more than 90 pairs of hands have touched it during roughly 600 hours of
5:49 labor.
5:49 Just about everything on each car can be customized starting with the paint job.
5:54 >> We do offer 44,000 different colors.
5:57 If you are not happy with one of those,
5:58 we can create a color unique for you
6:01 and it will be yours
6:02 and yours only and you will also be able to give the color a
6:04 name.
6:06 >> Color isn't the only way clients customize their paint job.
6:10 There's also the famous Rolls-Royce coachlines that can start at over $1,000.
6:16 >> Painting the coachline is one of the very last things we do
6:18 when we produce a Rolls-Royce
6:20 and it is exactly 3 mm wide.
6:23 It can take up to 3 hours per side to be do the actual
6:27 painting and as you can feel it's on top of the of the paint
6:32 and very often what you see is
6:34 that the color of the coachline is is matched to some of the color
6:37 of the interior or other little details
6:40 as as well.
6:42 >> Inside each vehicle, there's even more opportunity for customization.
6:46 One of the most iconic features of a Rolls-Royce is the star-studded ceiling.
6:51 >> Welcome to the most romantic area in Rolls-Royce starlight headliners.
6:55 >> Just one of Rolls-Royce's famous starry skies takes about 7
6:59 and 1/2 hours to complete.
7:01 The one that Yolanta is working on today resembles the night sky on the
7:05 date that Goodwood first opened.
7:07 After mapping out the stars on a premium leather canvas, it's time to drill.
7:12 >> It does contain 1,040 holes
7:16 which means that every single hole I have to manually drill.
7:20 >> Once drilling is finished, Yolanta hand weaves fiber optic strands into the holes.
7:26 >> I enjoy threading the most um patient part of building a headliner.
7:32 >> Then she trims the strands to create the stars.
7:35 >> The brightness of the stars, they are different.
7:38 So, when cutting I do use two, three cutting styles.
7:43 So, press very deeply, slightly, or simply slide,
7:47 which helps us to create more natural starlight constellation.
7:51 >> >> In recent years, Rolls-Royce has introduced shooting stars
7:55 as an optional feature of its starlight headliner.
7:58 >> So, we have eight shooting stars,
8:00 and they shoot randomly in a car roughly like in 5 to
8:04 or 8 seconds depending on the LED programming.
8:08 >> Embroidering is another avenue for personalization.
8:12 Seats, door panels, and arm rests can all be customized with bespoke designs.
8:17 >> We have cars with more than a million stitches in them.
8:22 I would say inspiration from flowers and and flora is quite popular.
8:27 >> But, it's the Goodwood marquetry team that creates some of the most impressive masterpieces.
8:33 >> Our clients can choose from approximately 30 different sets of woods,
8:38 but we do offer up to 20,000 different combinations.
8:42 >> Specialists like Audrey create bespoke wooden artwork for the doors, dashboard, and interior panels.
8:48 She has 15 years of experience in marquetry.
8:52 Her work is done using wooden veneers that are exactly 4.6 mm thick.
8:57 >> What is interesting is being able to choose different type of veneer.
9:01 So, we have oak there, we have walnut, so we have different texture,
9:07 different grain.
9:08 >> Once a design is finalized, the veneers are laser cut into hundreds,
9:13 even thousands of individual pieces.
9:15 Each piece is inspected, positioned, and assembled by hand like a puzzle.
9:20 Even the smallest misalignment can affect the finished image.
9:24 >> So, depending on the complexity of the pattern,
9:27 it can be like done within a few hours,
9:30 or then it can be days of of assembling.
9:34 >> After assembly, the The undergoes multiple rounds of sanding, finishing, and inspection.
9:39 It's then polished until the seams between individual pieces become nearly invisible.
9:44 >> New materials, all of them veneers, so we can have metal,
9:48 we can have mother-of-pearl,
9:50 and so we need to figure out how to cut them
9:51 because they don't have the same properties.
9:54 >> And the team at Rolls-Royce is always experimenting with new techniques to get
9:58 the perfect finish.
10:00 >> Same process, same veneers,
10:01 but we did them in a frying pan full of hot sand,
10:06 which gives the 3D effect.
10:09 >> Audrey also has a special place in her heart for this particular design.
10:13 >> Bailey was um a customer's dog, um really loved dog,
10:19 so now he has his portrait in a Spectre, and I think Bailey,
10:25 the actual Bailey, is very happy.
10:28 >> Customization has always been part of Rolls-Royce's DNA,
10:32 even if it wasn't the one doing the customizing.
10:35 Originally, the company only sold the chassis and engine.
10:39 Wealthy customers would then hire independent coach builders to create the unique bodies.
10:44 This meant no two cars were exactly alike.
10:47 Rolls-Royce launched its first car, the Silver Ghost,
10:50 in 1906 for around $5,000, or nearly $180,000 today.
10:56 In 1949, Rolls-Royce built its first complete car, body included.
11:01 But the golden era didn't last.
11:03 In 1971, Rolls-Royce went bankrupt.
11:06 By the early '90s,
11:07 annual sales had crashed from 3,300 cars a year to fewer than 1,400.
11:14 Forbes called it a charity case.
11:17 Then, in 1998, BMW stepped in.
11:20 The automaker bought the name and built a factory in Goodwood, England.
11:24 At its new headquarters, BMW didn't just modernize the engineering.
11:28 It revived Rolls-Royce's long tradition of bespoke craftsmanship,
11:32 expanding the brand's ability to build cars tailored to each customer's tastes.
11:38 Today, nearly every car leaving the Goodwood factory includes some level of personalization.
11:43 For its most exclusive clients, Rolls-Royce has even revived coachbuilding.
11:49 Cars like the Sweptail, Boat Tail, Droptail, and upcoming Nightingale aren't modified production models,
11:55 they're custom-built from top to bottom.
11:58 But even with the seemingly unlimited list of bespoke features Rolls-Royce offers,
12:02 some clients want customizations the company can't provide.
12:06 One of those clients is automotive influencer Alex Hirschi, better known as Supercar Blondie.
12:13 >> I never thought I would own a Rolls-Royce.
12:15 >> With millions of followers across social media,
12:17 she's one of the most well-known figures in the car world.
12:21 After years of highlighting newly released Rolls-Royce cars in her videos,
12:25 she finally bought a Rolls-Royce Wraith in 2020.
12:31 >> Oh, bright orange Spirit of Ecstasy.
12:34 The first moment in a Rolls, I was like, what is this sorcery?
12:39 It is magic.
12:41 It is like you're floating on a cloud.
12:44 >> Just 4 years later, she replaced it with the automaker's latest model.
12:48 >> When I saw the Spectre,
12:50 I just thought it was one of the most beautiful Rolls-Royces.
12:53 >> Like many Rolls-Royce customers, Alex spent hours selecting colors, materials, and personalized details.
13:01 But once she was finally behind the wheel, she decided even that wasn't enough.
13:07 >> My original spec was black, and on the inside was a three-tone.
13:14 Absolutely loved it.
13:16 But then Mansory came along, >> >> and I was like, yeah, let's go for it.
13:20 Let's do something crazy.
13:25 >> Mansory is a German aftermarket company that transforms ultra-luxury cars with custom bodywork,
13:31 interiors, and paint finishes.
13:34 >> Mansory is known for being a little bit loud, right?
13:37 A bit aggressive with their styling and their looks.
13:40 So, they offered, you know, the the lowering of the car,
13:43 the widening of the body panels, the accents of the wing,
13:48 the the side skirts.
13:49 Just gives it a little bit more of a mean look.
13:54 >> The first thing Mansory delivered on was color.
13:57 Like Rebecca, Alex had a special shade of purple in mind
14:01 when she went to Rolls-Royce.
14:02 >> They said, "If you get this specific color,
14:05 you're going to need to wait a year."
14:06 The first thing I told Mansory is I want this color.
14:09 It's like a beautiful purple color.
14:11 They actually call it Boracay Blue.
14:13 And I said, "Can you get this color?"
14:15 He said, "Yes."
14:16 I'm like, "Right.
14:17 I'm in."
14:18 I gave the car to Mansory literally after a few months.
14:22 And then I went away.
14:23 I spent some of my summer in France.
14:25 And then when I came back, it was ready.
14:29 >> The result was a one-of-a-kind Spectre featuring
14:32 that custom paint color
14:33 and a Supercar Blondie logo integrated into the car's exterior
14:37 and dashboard.
14:39 >> I love the personalization.
14:41 With the coach line
14:42 that they could incorporate my uh branding into the coach line on the outside
14:47 of the car.
14:48 You'll notice here on the side that it is the Equista edition,
14:53 one of one.
14:54 So, this is the only Rolls-Royce Spectre in the world
14:58 that looks exactly like this.
15:01 >> It also includes a completely redesigned hood made from a rare carbon fiber.
15:07 >> So, this is special purple carbon fiber
15:11 that took 3 months to make uh
15:14 because you've got to make sure
15:15 that all of these lines perfectly line up from this side of the car
15:19 all the way over here.
15:22 >> So, what was the final cost?
15:24 >> When I got the Spectre from Rolls-Royce, it was $625,000.
15:30 And then the upgrade with Mansory was about $700,000.
15:36 So, it actually cost more for the upgrade than the original car.
15:40 I loved the Rolls-Royce before, from factory,
15:43 but I love it way more now.
15:46 Every time I walk past that car,
15:48 I love I just I stare at it.
15:50 >> >> That's the feeling you want when you buy a car.
15:54 One thing that I absolutely love about driving a Rolls-Royce is all of my
15:59 road rage disappears.
16:02 Like, I do not care
16:03 if it takes me an extra 10
16:05 or 20 minutes to get somewhere
16:06 because I'm so comfortable in this car,
16:09 and you just feel like driving it a little bit slower.
16:11 It's just so beautifully luxurious.
16:16 >> In a world where the ultra-wealthy can buy almost anything,
16:20 Rolls-Royce sells something harder to acquire.
16:23 The feeling that something was made specifically for you.
16:27 >> It's just a different level of luxury, yeah.
16:31 >> There's been a very clear trend in luxury where either it's an experience
16:36 or you're creating something
16:37 which has personal resonance.
16:39 >> It's a trend the company is heavily betting on.
16:42 Rolls-Royce is spending $400 million to double the size of the Goodwood plant
16:47 so it can provide more of
16:48 that luxury.
16:50 >> We need more space not to build more cars,
16:52 but enable to uh actually do more bespoke commissions
16:55 and to do more special uh special projects.
16:59 >> While buyers like Rebecca keep coming back, the brand's customer base is also expanding.
17:04 For the new Spectre EV,
17:05 over 40% of owners were first-time Rolls-Royce buyers.
17:09 Their average age was 35.
17:12 >> We've seen a clear shift uh in our clientele.
17:14 In 2010, uh average age for Rolls-Royce clientele 56.
17:18 Today is it's 43.
17:20 In 2010, we had roughly 1% of female drivers.
17:23 Today it's more than 50% and still increasing.
17:26 >> Ultra high net worth individuals are accruing their wealth more quickly today than
17:32 ever before.
17:33 They're buying a Rolls Royce because they want something which is remarkable.
