Rolls Royce’s Spirit Of Ecstasy, The Most Famous And Desirable Motor Mascot Recreated

111 years to the day it was first registered as intellectual property, Rolls Royce has reimagined its iconic Spirit of Ecstasy figurine to grace the bonnet of its new all-electric motor car, the Spectre. 

Rolls Royce Motor Cars’ chief executive officer, Torsten Müller-Ötvös, remarked, “The Spirit of Ecstasy is the most famous and desirable automotive mascot in the world. More than just a symbol, she is the embodiment of our brand, and a constant source of inspiration and pride for the marque and its clients. Like our brand, she has always moved with the times while staying true to her nature and character. In her new form she is more streamlined and graceful than ever before, the perfect emblem for the most aerodynamic Rolls Royce ever created, and for gracing the prow of our bold electric future.”

The figurine has been remodelled with a lower, more dynamic stance that brings her much closer to the drawings made by her original creator, the illustrator and sculptor Charles Sykes.

It also sees her physical form represent ‘The Expression’, a visual device that forms part of the marque's new visual language.

“Her form perfectly captures the marque, she leans forward, expressing our relentless pursuit of progress, and her dress gracefully flows in the wind, echoing the serenity of our products in motion. For Spectre and beyond, she becomes lower and more focussed, braced for unprecedented speed and the exciting future her presence will define,” expressed Rolls Royce Motor Cars’ director of design, Anders Warming. 

To paint a picture, the new Spirit of Ecstasy stands at 82.73 mm tall, compared to her predecessor’s 100.01 mm.

Her robes, which flow behind her in the slipstream often mistakenly characterised as ‘wings’, have been subtly reshaped to make them more aerodynamic and realistic.

Then, the most visible change is her stance, as previously, she has stood with her feet together, legs straight and tilting at the waist. 

Now, she is a true goddess of speed, braced for the wind, one leg forward, body tucked low and her eyes focused eagerly ahead. 

These changes have both practical and stylistic benefits, contributing to the Spectre’s remarkable aerodynamic properties. 

Speaking of which, the earliest Spectre prototypes have a drag coefficient (cd) of just 0.26, making it the most aerodynamic Rolls Royce ever created. 

This new expression captures the essence of Sykes’ original drawings, but rather than simply being ‘redrawn’, it has been digitally shaped by a computer modeller, working at the Home of Rolls Royce.

Their experience in this field was invaluable in developing the figurine’s elegant lifelike facial features as well as her expression, which neatly combines focus and serenity. 

Moreover, the designers also consulted stylists at Goodwood for their outlook on her hair, clothes, posture, and expression, adding an authentically contemporary aura to her dynamism and presence.

Interestingly, all figurines are made using one of the oldest known casting techniques, named ‘lost wax casting’ or ‘cire-perdue’. 

Meaning, each is finished by hand, making it minutely different from one another, continuing a long Rolls Royce tradition in which the figurines were made and polished by Charles Sykes himself.

Starting with the Spectre, the new lady will appear on all future models, however the current design is still to be used. 

Namely, the latter on the Phantom, Ghost, Wraith, Dawn and Cullinan and their Black Badge alter egos relevantly.

That said, the newly recreated Spirit of Ecstasy alongside the forthcoming Spectre resembles the marque’s all-electric future and its most aerodynamic product to date.