Ultra-luxury car manufacturer Rolls-Royce has unveiled a new design to its iconic Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament as part of its shift to fully-electric vehicles. The company announced that the streamlined version of its figurehead would be making its debut in its upcoming all-electric Spectre luxury coupe.
Rolls-Royce first unveiled the Spirit of Ecstasy around 111 years ago. The first version appeared in its 1911 to 1914 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost. The company then made some changes to the design in 1939. Since then, the design of the famous mascot has remained unchanged, with Rolls-Royce making slight updates to its in 1995 for its Silver Seraph model. Rolls-Royce made the announcement on the 111th anniversary of the creation of the original Spirit of Ecstasy figurine.
The new design of the figurine is now small when compared to the original. It has also been designed to be sleeker, lower, and more aerodynamic. Rolls-Royce designers said the change was necessary to make the upcoming electric Spectre the company's most aerodynamic car model ever.
Rolls-Royce claims that the redesign had contributed the Spectre's record drag coefficient of just 0.26. The car manufacturer said customers will be able to take a closer look at the new design when the Spectre goes on sale in 2023. Rolls-Royce announced that the new figurine would be installed on all future models. The company's existing line-up of cars, including its Dawn, Cullinan, Ghost, Phantom, and Wraith, will continue to have the original hood ornament.
Compared to the existing figurine, the new one will be 1.5 centimeters shorter. The new figurine is 82 millimeters tall, while the figurine on the Cullinan, Ghost, and Phantom is 95 millimeters tall.
Apart from its height, the most drastic change Rolls-Royce aficionados will notice is the figure's actual stance. Rolls-Royce designers said the new figurine now closely resembles the original sketches made by designer Charles Sykes. While the original figure stood with its feet together and is bent at the waist, the new design has one of its feet forward, and its body tucked much lower. Rolls-Royce designers said the stance makes the figurine look like a "true goddess of speed. The robe of the figurine has also been re-sculpted to make it more realistic and aerodynamic.
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös claimed that the Spirit of Ecstasy is the world's most recognizable automotive emblem, and it was important for them to update its design to reflect how the company is evolving. Rolls-Royce previously announced that it plans to replace its line-up with fully-electric models by 2030.
