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2024 was the Year of the Dragon, which, sorry to say for everyone else, is definitely the coolest of the Chinese zodiac signs. (I’m a Rooster, which I at least enjoyed as we grew up with pet chickens.) To mark the conclusion of the lunar Year of the Dragon, a “discerning” Rolls-Royce client in China commissioned a one-off Phantom Extended with wild dragon art throughout.
Rolls-Royce says the car “offers a contemporary rendition of the ancient Chinese legend of two dragons with a pearl — a motif with complex symbolism and great cultural significance, celebrated in art, architecture, and literature throughout East Asia,” which “stands as an embodiment of the success and personal philosophy of the commissioning client.” If you think the best way to do that is through a huge custom Rolls-Royce? I say hell yeah, brother. And don’t worry, this isn’t the result of some white British dudes designing something based on Chinese culture. The project was directed by Shuai Feng, the lead bespoke designer of Rolls-Royce’s Shanghai Private Office, who said “Our goal for this project was to express China’s most revered symbols and the client’s personal iconography impactfully yet respectfully, while also subtly incorporating Rolls-Royce’s design handwriting.”
Here’s what Rolls says about the dragon legend in question:
The design theme is inspired by an ancient legend, dating back over 3,000 years, that tells of two dragons, protectors of the human realm, who were gifted a divine pearl by the gods for their good deeds. Rather than greedily claiming the treasure for themselves, the dragons deferred to one another – a scene that came to symbolise kindness and generosity of spirit. Moved by the dragons’ loyalty, the gods then bestowed upon them a second pearl, which the creatures absorbed before ascending as deities themselves.
While the dragons symbolise power and good fortune, the pearl is a symbol of purity and perfection. As these two elements are captured together, the interplay of the dragons signifies the harmonious balance of Yin and Yang – two complementary forces united in the pursuit of enlightenment and a fulfilling life.
Named the Phantom Dragon, it doesn’t look especially, uh, special from the outside, at least not any more than a “normal” Phantom does. The paint, called Iced Diamond Black, has a special satin finish, and I’m glad the customer kept all the brightwork — I actually think satin black paint looks sick on cars with tons of chrome trim.
Step into the front seats, which are finished in Ardent Red leather (the rear seats are plain black), and you’ll start seeing the dragon stuff. In the Gallery — the area at the top of the Phantom’s dashboard in which customers can dream up their own works of art that are featured behind tempered glass — there’s a custom piece of marquetry made up of 297 individual pieces of four different types of wood. It depicts the two dragons flying through the clouds, guarding the pearl, represented here as the clock. The base layer is made of smoked eucalyptus, the 0.5-mm-thick outlines are sycamore that is filled with ash burr, and “shadows” made from Black Bolivar make the dragons look three-dimensional.
The same types of wood are found on the door panels and center console, though without any more dragons, and the owner’s family name written in ancient Chinese calligraphy is embroidered on the headrests in a contrasting color. The centerpiece is the Starlight Headliner, which uses 1,344 fiber-optic lights (768 red and 576 white) to create an “abstract” artwork of the two dragons. There are also 24 shooting stars in the headliner, of course.
2025 is the Year of the Snake, which has a ton of potential for a good Rolls-Royce spec. How would you commemorate your zodiac sign with a car?
