-For the famous and powerful, appearance can be everything, and for those willing to live in a malleable reality shaped by stacks of cash and globs of ego, there is the Rolls-Royce Phantom Limelight Collection. The latest in a series of limited-production bespoke editions to emerge from the company’s home in Goodwood, England, it’s aimed at making life more tolerable for those with little reason to complain in the first place.
Inspired by what we now commonly call the spotlight, the “Limelight” moniker is a direct reference to the British invention of the illumination principle behind the “limelight effect.” This transformed theater productions in the 1820s, as once the actors trodding the boards got a taste of the fame achieved by being in the spotlight, there was no looking back.
-As for the car, Torsten Müller-Ötvös, CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, claims the designers have “delivered authentic luxury by thinking deeply about the lifestyles of the powerful people who operate in the public eye and move swiftly from engagement to engagement as part of their daily life. The result is a beautiful, discreet motor car in which those for whom the world is waiting can prepare, relax, and arrive in the finest luxury and style.”
-As to the preparation part of things, personalized and gender-specific compartments have been conceived for the rear doors to keep the necessities of modern celebrity life at hand. In standard—if such a thing exists at this level—fitment, ladies get a concealed perfume compartment, whereas the fellas get a safe place to store spare watches. Additional pockets can be configured as needed, and a universal vanity pouch is available to hold jewelry, credit cards, eyewear, and makeup. We’re guessing stacks of monocles will fit nicely, as well.
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-Once all of your personal effects have been properly stored, it’s time to chillax in the reclining seat, which was designed with input from medical professionals for the optimum relaxing position, and consequently ditches the aircraft-style flat-bed seat concept. The first appearance of the new Barc-a-throne in a Rolls-Royce vehicle, it allows the backrest to recline to 27 degrees, while a calf and footrest emerge from the floor to maintain what Rolls calls the “perfect relaxed posture.”
Two color schemes are available. One features “seashell” and navy-blue leather and light-colored tone-on-tone stitching, while the other reverses the colors. The centers of the seats, the door inners, rear console, and the backs of the picnic tables each feature a complex embroidery pattern. A two-veneer wood finish—smoked chestnut and piano seashell, they say—is employed here for the first time in a Roller because it can be. The finishing touch is a bespoke clock that matches the exterior finish.
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Ultimately, it’s all about arriving, and the Limelight’s “rich but stealthy” blue paint and nine-spoke wheels will dazzle the fans and paparazzi alike. Rolls says the hand-painted stripe with a diamond motif creates a “three dimensional illusion of a diamond bracelet draped over the surface of the car,” if you’re into that sort of thing.
-If the Rolls-Royce Phantom Limelight Collection is the type of gilded cage you need to get some respite from the constant onslaught of admirers, have one of your minions get on the phone promptly, as dealers are taking orders now and just 25 of these will be built. The unspecified price no doubt falls firmly into “if you have to ask” territory.
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