Rolls-Royce Motor Cars PressClub · Article.
ROLLS-ROYCE PHANTOM DROPHEAD COUPÉ WATERSPEED COLLECTION ARRIVES AT SPIRITUAL HOME IN THE ITALIAN LAKES
Fri May 23 15:01:00 CEST 2014 Press Release
The Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé Waterspeed Collection has arrived at its spiritual home in the Italian lakes today for its European debut. Stealing the show on the opening day of the Concorso d’Eleganza at Villa d’Este on the shores of Lake Como, Waterspeed was designed to celebrate Sir Malcolm Campbell’s act of setting a new world water-speed record on the nearby Lake Maggiore in 1937.
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The Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé Waterspeed Collection has
arrived at its spiritual home in the Italian lakes today for its
European debut. Stealing the show on the opening day of the Concorso
d’Eleganza at Villa d’Este on the shores of Lake Como, Waterspeed was
designed to celebrate Sir Malcolm Campbell’s act of setting a new
world water-speed record on the nearby Lake Maggiore in 1937.
It was on the morning of 1 September 1937 that Campbell
established his legend, setting a world-record speed of 126.33mph in
the famous Bluebird K3 boat powered by a Rolls-Royce R- Engine. The
following day he went one better, piloting his craft to 129.5mph,
emphatically breaking the United States’ five-year stranglehold on the
world water-speed record. Campbell’s momentous achievement captured
the world’s attention and reaffirmed the Rolls-Royce R-engines’
record-breaking superiority after triumphs on land and in the air.
Celebrating this incredible act of British
‘Derring-Do’, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ Bespoke department has
created the Waterspeed Collection, consisting of 35 specially designed
Phantom Drophead Coupés, the first of which is displayed at Villa d’Este.
Echoing the cutting-edge technology employed in the construction
of Sir Malcolm Campbell’s Bluebird K3 craft, only the finest, newest
materials furnish the Waterspeed Collection. Brushed steel perfectly
complements an exclusively developed Maggiore Blue colour
scheme whilst hand-crafted Abachi wood inlays evoke the sense of a
boat effortlessly gliding through water at pace, whilst exterior
coachline and laser etchings inside the car bring Campbell’s
‘Bluebird’ motif back to life.
Speaking at the Concorso d’Eleganza at Villa d’Este, Torsten
Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars said,
“Sir Malcolm Campbell’s successful pursuit of world-speed records on
land and water were the result of his commitment to the most exacting
standards of British design and engineering excellence. Such
attributes are hallmarks of every Rolls-Royce motor car, ensuring the
marque’s position at the pinnacle of super-luxury manufacturing. This
special Collection serves to display the breadth of Bespoke
personalisation available to every Rolls-Royce customer.”
The Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé Waterspeed Collection
Waterspeed Collection Phantom Drophead Coupés feature
a number of exclusively created Bespoke design and engineering
features, perfectly executed to create a thoroughly contemporary
tribute to Campbell’s famous craft.
A specially created Maggiore Blue colour scheme flows
like water over all the surfaces of Waterspeed, outside and in. Nine
layers of paint are applied before an exhaustive process of
hand-sanding and the application of a cutting-edge powdered lacquer is
undertaken to ensure an impeccable finish. For the first time in
Rolls-Royce history, the exterior finish extends to the engine,
creating a visually striking homage to the power behind Campbell’s
records. The finish also adorns the car’s specially developed,
fully-polished eleven-spoke wheels, providing a subtle decorative
accent. The exterior is completed with a hand-painted coachline that
culminates in a Bluebird motif with the design taking Rolls-Royce’s
master coachline painter four hours to apply by hand.
Phantom Drophead Coupé’s traditional teak decking to the rear
makes way for brushed steel, with each piece of material individually
beaten by hand for 70 hours and then hand-brushed for a further 10.
The car’s exterior finish is subtly echoed on the interior via
accents on the dashboard that perfectly complement the Windchill Grey
interior leather scheme. The marque’s hallmark attention to detail
extends to the application of laser-engraved door armrest tunnel caps
featuring a new interpretation of Campbell’s famous Bluebird motif.
Abachi wood also makes its Rolls-Royce debut in Waterspeed. By
nature the material is cool to the touch with a satin-like tactility,
and is bookmatched at an angle to echo the wake left by a boat moving
at speed.
Further reference to Campbell’s craft is made via a new
interpretation of the famous ‘power reserve’ dial. As the driver
presses on, the dial moves backwards towards a yellow and blue zone,
echoing Campbell’s original K3 boat’s ‘going into the blue’ at maximum
engine revolutions. A Bespoke clock adorned with Bluebird’s infinity
symbol and dials hewn from a billet of aluminium evokes K3 further.
Direct tribute to the records is paid in the glove compartment,
with a debossed panel expressing the records Campbell achieved at Lake
Maggiore and Coniston Water. Finally, the steering wheel is presented
in two-tone for the very first time, with Maggiore Blue
accents balancing perfectly with traditional black leather to complete
a beautifully conceived interior design scheme.
“This very special motor car serves to pay a perfect homage to
my grandfather’s remarkable acts of British daring and endeavour,”
said Donald Wales, grandson of Sir Malcolm Campbell. “The
extraordinary attention-to-detail and commitment to engineering
excellence so evident in these motor cars perfectly echoes the lengths
my grandfather and his colleagues went to in their pursuit of the
waterspeed records."