Rolls-Royce marked the UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day in April with Making A Legend – a new book exploring how today’s generation of Rolls-Royce motor cars is designed and handcrafted at Rolls-Royce’s Global Centre of Luxury Manufacturing Excellence in Goodwood, England.
An important and worthy addition to the extensive Rolls-Royce literary canon, the impressive tome takes in a broad sweep of the company’s history, featuring cars from the marque’s very earliest days in the 1900s, right up to the gorgeous new Ghost launched in 2020.
The book provides an intimate, highly contemporary account of life at the house of luxury, with the aim of connecting readers with the people who make ‘the best car in the world.’ The narrative follows the process of transforming a customer’s idea into a finished product, through interviews with individuals from all departments including bespoke designers, skilled craftspeople, and assembly specialists.
Emmy-winning automotive journalist Harvey Briggs, novelist Simon Van Booy and photographer Mariona Vilarós were granted unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to Rolls-Royce‘s facilities and people over several months before the Covid-19 pandemic struck.
“When the authors approached us with their proposal for this book, we welcomed them with open arms. Simon and Harvey are both distinguished writers with great perceptiveness, integrity, and enthusiasm. They joined us at the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, West Sussex, where we gave them our full support, granting access to whatever and whoever they wanted to see and talk about. Their words, combined with the images captured by Mariano Vilarós, make this a definitive history of the marque, right up to and including, the present day. Its publication represents a worthy addition to the literature of Rolls-Royce, a fine celebration of our unique products and people, and a perfect book with which to acknowledge World Book Day,” said Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
Over almost 300 lavishly illustrated pages, every detail of how a Rolls-Royce motor car is designed, engineered, and meticulously hand-built, is examined. Chapters include Design and Customisation, Paint and Finish, Chassis Assembly, Woodwork; there is also an entire section devoted to the Spirit of Ecstasy, the figurine that has graced the bonnet of Rolls-Royce motor cars for over 100 years.
Briggs, who grew up in America’s Motor City, Detroit, and has reviewed every new model since Wraith in 2013, recalls being surprised at how much work is still performed by hand, even in the assembly process. He shared: “The first time I visited Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, I was in awe of the exceptional creativity and skill of the people who design and build these remarkable cars. I knew I had to tell those stories.”
Van Booy added, “The friendly perfectionism for craft, displayed by everyone we interviewed and Mariona photographed, was inspiring to the point where we knew the book had to be something rare and marvelous and functional – rather like a Rolls-Royce itself.”
Making A Legend is published in hardback by ACC Art Books, and is now available from select book retailers.
Author Profile
- Helen Siwak is the founder of EcoLuxLuv Marketing & Communications Inc and publisher of Folio.YVR Luxury Lifestyle Magazine and digital women's lifestyle magazine EcoLuxLifestyle.co. She is a prolific content creator, consultant, and marketing and media strategist within the ecoluxury lifestyle niche. Post-pandemic, she has worked with many small to mid-sized plant-based/vegan brands to build their digital foundations and strategize content creation and business development. Helen is the west coast correspondent to Canada’s top-read industry magazine Retail-Insider, holds a vast freelance portfolio, and consults with many of the world’s luxury heritage brands. Always seeking new opportunities and challenges, you can email her at [email protected].
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