Rolls-Royce launch the Phantom Scintilla private collection, one of its 'most personal vehicles to date'

Hot off the press: Rolls-Royce unveils a brand new, ten car private collection — inspired by the manufacturer’s iconic Spirit of Ecstasy figurine — at the Monterey Car Show 2024. Rolls – Royce has unveiled one of its most personal vehicles to date, the Phantom Scintilla — inspired by the manufacturer’s iconic Spirit of Ecstasy figurine. The winged woman, who draws parallels to The Winged Victory of Samothrace , a Greek marble masterpiece, carved in 190 BC, came about in 1910, when Rolls – Royce ’s managing director, Claude Johnson, commissioned sculptor Charles Sykes to bring to life a fitting mascot for the brand.

The decision came about in part because in the early 20th century, it had become fashionable for drivers to affix personal mascots to their cars, some of which Rolls – Royce deemed inappropriate. And in a twist of fate, as well as classical sculpture, Johnson also drew inspiration from a real-life woman, Eleanor Velasco Thornton, whose lover, John Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu asked Sykes, a year prior, to make him a radiator mascot for his own Rolls – Royce Silver Ghost. The ensuing design, The Whisper , depicted a Thornton-like figure in fluttering robes with one forefinger against her lips to symbolise the couple’s secret love affair.

Only three to four castings of The Whisper survive and only two are known about today, so there’s something fitting about the fact that Rolls – Royce have crafted just ten of the Sci.