Rolls-Royce Rocks Into Its Second Century With Phantom Centenary

To mark the 100th anniversary of one of the most iconic motor cars, Rolls-Royce introduces the Phantom Centenary—a rare, hand-built collection limited to just 25 models. Developed over three years, Phantom Centenary represents a century of innovation expressed through craftsmanship, artistry, and storytelling.

Among its first-ever design innovations are 3D marquetry, 24-karat gold leafing, and multi-layer ink processes, marking three Rolls-Royce firsts in woodworking. The interior also features laser-etched leathers inspired by early Phantom blueprints, bamboo twill upholstery, hand-woven textiles, and custom embroidery illustrating defining moments and owners from Phantom’s century-long story.

Above, 440,000 stitches form a mulberry tree motif—an homage to founder Henry Royce’s garden, where his earliest design meetings were held. “This project uses new techniques to blend metal, wood, paint, fabric, leather, and embroidery into a single, stunning composition,” says Phil Fabre de la Grange, Head of Bespoke at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. “The surfaces read like a book revealing 100 years of history, rich with symbolic references for clients to admire and decipher over many years.”

Rolls Royce Unveils An Interior Of Stories

Inside, the Centenary Collection celebrates Phantom’s evolution through couture-inspired textiles and heritage-driven detailing. The interior recalls the earliest Phantoms, when chauffeurs’ seats were upholstered in hardwearing leather while the rear cabins were lined in rich fabrics. In this contemporary homage, Rolls-Royce designers envisioned the front seats as a sketch, and the rear as a painting.

The front seats are trimmed in white leather, laser-etched with black linework depicting scenes from Phantom’s history. In contrast, the rear seats are crafted in fabric—a contemporary reinterpretation of the famed 1926 Phantom of Love model. This homage to French decorative arts features a high-resolution printed textile and was “conceived as a contemporary interpretation of a handwoven tapestry,” explains Celina Mettang, Bespoke Colour and Material Designer at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. “The rear seats tell Phantom’s story through carefully curated details, captured in textiles and embroidery. Every embroidered element was digitally redrawn by artisans who selected specific stitch applications for every stroke. For example, in the horse motif, we used spaced stitches to recreate hair texture, then dense stitching to define muscle. One motif went through 24 iterations before we were satisfied.”

The printed design layers scenes from Phantom’s past: a map of central London; imagery of the French Riviera; and depictions of seven Phantoms from Phantom I through VII. These are accompanied by seven subtle embroideries, each representing an influential owner in Phantom’s history—researched over five months in partnership with a historian. Executed in over 160,000 stitches, the motifs were designed to blend seamlessly with the textile, appearing to float above it in thread. Every section of the rear seating was individually printed, embroidered, and cut into 45 fabric panels, aligned with Savile Row-level precision to follow Phantom’s curves. Designers refined more than a dozen digital iterations to ensure perfect harmony and tonal balance, adjusting Pantone-matched hues for each panel to account for natural fabric variation.

The Door Panels: Journey In Wood

Rendered in stained Blackwood veneer, the door panels chronicle Phantom’s most significant journeys. Each door tells a chapter. Artisans studied the flora of Australia and Southern France—eucalyptus leaves, pines, cypress, and ferns—to embed subtle natural details throughout the composition. Each gold-leaf dot marks the sites of founder Royce’s homes, while the roads between them are traced in 24-karat gold leaf, precision-cut and inlaid within the wood marquetry.

“We drew on an extraordinary range of sources—original texts, diaries, photographs, and paintings—to create a composition that weaves together many threads of Phantom’s story,” says Katrin Lehmann, Bespoke Colour and Material Designer at Rolls-Royce. “New technology developed for this project, including 3D ink layering, allowed us to add details at a scale never before possible—some just 0.13 millimeters high—from a boat sailing across the sea to location names on a map.”

Each set of doors took over a year to complete, combining 3D marquetry, 3D ink layering, and gold leafing—three Rolls-Royce firsts. Using 50 individual veneer elements, artisans created depth and light interplay through multi-depth laser etching, subtle ink layering, and raised motifs. Some details stand barely above the surface, while others appear to hover in midair. Rolls-Royce designer Celina Mettang says, “The Centenary is our love letter to Phantom—it’s automotive romance, where every detail holds memory.”

Rolls-Royce Draws On 100 Years Of Design History