It was 111 years ago Rolls-Royce registered the patent for Spirit of Ecstasy hood mascot. Now after more than a century, the iconic mascot has been refined to take it closer to the drawings by the original designer, Charles Sykes. The question is, why would the luxury automotive brand want to tinker with the Spirit of Ecstasy which captures the likeness of Eleanor Thornton?
That’s because Rolls-Royce is heading into the future with its line-up of electric cars. To position itself as a luxury electric brand, the Spirit of Ecstasy hood mascot is now remodeled with a more dynamic and slightly lower stance. It will adorn the hood of the first electric Rolls-Royce dubbed Spectre, which is slated for a 2023 reveal.
Redesigned Spirit of Ecstasy
The iconic statuette embellishing the bonnet of all Rolls-Royce models will now have an aerodynamic shape – in particular the wings which now appear more lifelike. The feet are now apart, one being ahead of the other, and the body tucked a bit lower than the previous logo. This position signifies the focus of the speed goddess on the road ahead. Not only that, this flowing shape reduces the car’s drag coefficient which on the prototype is said to be around 0.26.
The ornament has a total height of 82.73mm which is smaller than the predecessor measuring 100.01mm tall. Torsten Müller-Ötvös, chief executive of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars the figurine is the perfect emblem to signify the bold electric future. Like the brand, it has also moved ahead with time while sticking to its inherent nature and character.
Racing into the electric future
As per Rolls-Royce, the silhouette took 830 hours to design and test in the wind tunnel, while keeping the styling of the maiden creation by Charles in the 1900s fully intact. Just for the records, this is not the first time the Spirit of Ecstasy has undergone modification. In the past too there have been subtle changes to the size and shape. The statuette in the kneeling posture being one.
The new Rolls-Royce hood ornament will be seen on the Spectre models, but the present line-up of cars (Ghost, Phantom, Wraith, Dawn, and Cullinan) will adorn the current design. This figurine also triggers the Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge launched by the brand’s artistic program “Muse” which challenges designers to reinterpret the symbol using fabric.
