Burning Questions About The Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Answered

It is said that the Rolls-Royce motor car are the ‘king of cars’, meant to elevate the status of affluent individuals, who are looking to purchase a status symbol of luxury and class. This bespoke car brand is known to customise and personalise every model to their customers’ specifications.

Vanilla Luxury puts together the burning questions that car enthusiasts had about the Rolls-Royce motor cars and Hal Serudin, Corporate Communications Manager for Rolls-Royce in Asia Pacific shares with us more.

Vanilla Luxury: How many Rolls-Royce motor car owners are there in Singapore?

Hal Serudin: As a company policy, we don’t divulge the exact number but there are approximately 400 Rolls-Royce motor cars that have been delivered to the Singapore market since 2003.

Some owners may have more than one car, others may have shipped their cars to another home elsewhere. The above categorisation separates owners from pre-2003 owners, when the cars were built by another company, and therefore might be considered ‘classic’ or a ‘vintage’  car if they were produced in the early 1900s.

Vanilla Luxury: How much is the cost of the Rolls-Royce Phantom in Singapore?

Hal Serudin: The Rolls-Royce Phantom starts off at SGD$1,778,888. However, all Rolls-Royce Phantoms are bespoke and the pricing is heavily dependent on the customer’s specifications.

Vanilla Luxury: Are all Rolls-Royce motor cars bulletproof?

Hal Serudin: Not at the outset, as bulletproofing can add unnecessary weight and impact emissions and fuel economy accordingly. Therefore, if an owner specifically requests for their Rolls-Royce to be made bulletproof, it will be undertaken by a third party.

Vanilla Luxury: How fast can a Rolls-Royce motor car go?

Hal Serudin: A Rolls-Royce motor car’s maximum speed is electronically governed to 250 km/h. However, acceleration times vary by the model,  the Rolls-Royce Black Badge Wraith, for example can accelerate from 0-100km/h in 4.5 seconds.

Vanilla Luxury: Where are Rolls-Royce motor cars manufactured?

Hal Serudin: All of our Rolls-Royce motor cars are manufactured in Goodwood, which is just outside of Chichester, in the South of England.

Vanilla Luxury: How is a Rolls-Royce motor car made? What is so special about it?

Hal Serudin: Rolls-Royce motor cars are hand built and it takes a minimum of 350 hours to build a car and anywhere from 600-800 hours if the car is bespoke. It is said that Rolls-Royce is bespoke and bespoke is Rolls-Royce. An example of this is the colour palette – a customer can choose from 44,000 exterior colours. In some cases, an owner may request a certain hue and have it named after himself.

Other bespoke features, can include the Gold Spirit of Ecstasy, special embroidering, crests and more. Rolls-Royce Lead Designer, Mike Bryden, shared with us about customers who specify the starlight headliner in the constellation that is personal to them, for example the night they were born. In one case, a customer has placed the stars of her children within the headliner.

Vanilla Luxury: Which Rolls-Royce motor car has stars on the roof?

Hal Serudin: The Rolls-Royce motor cars that can come equipped with a starlight headliner are currently the Rolls-Royce Phantom, the Rolls-Royce Ghost, the Rolls-Royce Cullinan (Black Badge) and the Rolls-Royce Wraith.

Vanilla Luxury: Which is the most expensive Rolls-Royce motor car model?

Hal Serudin: Rolls-Royce Phantom is our flagship model. To be precise, it is the Phantom Extended Wheelbase which allows for 220mm more room in the cabin than a standard-wheelbase model.

Vanilla Luxury: Is it true that not everyone can buy a Rolls-Royce motor car? Rumour has it that you have to earn a Rolls-Royce motor car, you can’t just buy one?

Hal Serudin: It is only true in the sense that customers must have the financial wherewithal to afford a Rolls-Royce car.  There are some verification steps that our dealers take to ensure the customer is bona fide but we do not restrict a customer from buying a Rolls-Royce car per se.