Rolls-Royce Finally Makes A Commission Worthy Of Its Starlight Headliner

Here be Dragons. Rolls-Royce has just revealed a one of a kind Phantom extended wheelbase with the most elaborate version of its Starlight headliner we’ve ever seen. The ceiling celebrates the Year of the Dragon with a motif full of symbolism, cultural significance, and a legend of two dragons projected into the material.

Rolls-Royce says that it “creatively and respectfully” integrated Chinese iconography into the Phantom Dragon. A 3,000-year-old legend was the inspiration for the car; the automaker tells the tale of two dragons, which were protectors of the human realm and granted a divine pearl by the gods. Each tried to gift the pearl to the other, and for their loyalty and generosity, the gods granted them a second pearl. The two then ascended to become deities themselves.

A Symbol Of Good Fortune, Purity, And Power

In China, the dragon symbolizes power and good fortune. The pearl represents purity and perfection. The two dragons together on the headliner are meant to signify balance. The red and white dragons are represented by more than 1,300 fiber optic lights. Each one has been placed in the headliner by hand, and the dragons themselves are surrounded by 24 shooting stars. While Rolls has long been able to customize the Starlight Headliner for owners, to represent the night sky on an important date or other tweaks, we’ve never seen anything like this. It might be the best use of the idea so far.

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In the dash (or The Gallery, as Rolls calls it), there are more representations of the dragons. A woodworker at Rolls-Royce spent three months cutting and shaping the veneers. The two dragons play in swirling clouds, and they are protecting the pearl. The pearl, in this case, is the car’s clock. Eucalyptus, sycamore, and ash are all used for their varying colors and grains. Black Bolivar veneer is used for the shadows behind the artwork.

Rolls Has A Long History With The Dragon

The car’s design work was handled through the Rolls-Royce Private Office in Shanghai, and it continues a long line of dragon-themed Rollers designed and built for owners in the country going back well over a decade. To complete the luxurious cabin, the car has had more eucalyptus fitted for the door panels, along with red and black leather. The family name of the client of this one-off has been embroidered into the headrests using ancient Chinese calligraphy.

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After all of that, the black exterior paint is almost a letdown. A dragon-themed airbrush mural might have been perfect here, though it could have broached the line between classic and bad taste, a line Rolls almost constantly treads.

The fire for these dragons comes from the 6.75-liter V12 that comes standard in the Phantom. It breathes 563 horsepower from its tailpipes rather than its nose and flaps its silky-smooth eight-speed automatic for forward propulsion.