This is the world’s first old electric Rolls-Royce. Lunaz’s paintings are the first in a series of rolls-Royce zero-emission antique cars carefully restored and redesigned to come with the Phantom V and Silver Cloud, the 1961 Phantom V being John Lennon’s favorite model. Only 30 will be commissioned and made at home in Silverstone in the UK.
Welcome to the post-coronavirus luxury landscape. At its new dawn, it is claimed that this abused and abused concept constitutes much more than vulgar demonstrations of wealth. The trend is already evolving. This crisis, the global pause of transience it has caused, as well as the ambiguity of what will happen when the typhoon passes, has just highlighted the willingness to reconsider consumption. From now on, designers, aestes and flavor makers announce that original luxury is at the forefront of progress, which is desirable and exotic, but also uncommon and considerate.
But first a little bit in Lunaz’s electric Rolls-Royce. Production has already begun on the electrified Phantoms and Silver Clouds, and costs are expected to start at approximately $657,000 and $450,000 respectively for both models. In addition, the 30 cars can be specified in a variety of chassis styles: four-door limousine, two-door coupe and seat coupe with a sloping head.
Lunaz’s portfolio already includes old electrified and restored Jaguars and Bentleys. “The time has come for an electric Rolls-Royce,” says the company’s founder, David Lorenz. “We respond to the desire to mix a beautiful vintage design with the ease of use, reliability and durability of an electric powertrain.”
Lunaz is the antithesis of hyperconsumume and fast fashion. Created in 2018, the whole project of this British logo is to bring new life to some of the oldest and most exotic creations in automotive history to make it applicable and desirable to existing and long-term consumers. Lunaz is not a vain project either. The electric motors are designed, manufactured and manufactured under the direction of Renault’s former Formula One technical director, Jon Hilton. Since the announcement of her first car last year, the demand for restored and electrified old cars has been so high that Lunaz has had to double its stake in Silverstone’s headquarters.
So far, the 1961 Rolls-Royce Phantom V (shown here) has completed the restructuring process. This means a complete restoration, as well as the integration of the brand’s exclusive powertrain and a set of hardware and software updates. The force comes from Lunaz’s 120 kWh battery, which offers a diversity of more than three hundred miles. For the Silver Cloud electric project, an 80 kW/h battery provides a sufficient life of more than three hundred miles, while all models can be recharged at home and use fast charging.
Each Rolls-Royce Lunaz is returned to bare metal, scanned in 3-d, weighed and fully restored before the conversion and reengineering procedure begins. In this way, consumers can customize their cars under the direction of design director Jen Holloway. That said, it is essential to maintain the character of the classics. This extends to each and every detail, adding the weighting of the device that was exhaustively designed to run a new engine with the same haptic feedback as the original.
“My design technique is explained through Sir Henry Royce’s philosophy that “little things do perfection and perfection is nothing,” says Holloway, who has worked with Aston Martin’s Q department, as well as high-end maritime aviation and high-end audio projects. Your team works directly with customers to advise them on color, fabric, and design specification decisions. “We are working to create applicable expressions of the most important cars in history.”
This first 1961 Rolls-Royce Phantom V coming off the production line comes with a two-tone color palette: Midland Grey in the most sensitive grey and Cinereous on the back of the car. The hand-painted pink color serves as a line separating the two and is fostered through a phone from the Bakelite era of the same tone as the former owner of the car, now restored but changed to an encrypted and fashionable cell generation for added privacy.
The car is built in an eight-seat configuration with a front seat for 3 occupants, a rear seat for 3 and two casual seats. The interior echoes the theme of the outside. Silver grey leather comes from sustainable resources: the team of internal specialists has replaced the classic seat trim with a Whisper double-striped, silver-grey fine-striped trim detail. The characteristic pink outer line appears in unforeseen places, such as inside the clamping handles.
Elsewhere, the original carpentry has been restored and finished with an undeniable satin remedy and compensated with rose gold inlays. The remedy extends to the door covers, front fairing and picnic table folders attached to the privacy department separating the driver’s cab and the rear passenger. The rear mats are traditionally made of alpaca wool, a durable curtain that is rarer than cashmere and softer than lambskin. Finally, in the typical Phantom form, the minibar can be traditionally built to be compatible with the owner’s favorite drink, in this case, an express tequila logo.
These would possibly be restored classics, but Lunaz cars are also designed to take advantage of newer technologies. In this Rolls, there is a fully built-in info and entertainment formula that adds navigation; The sound can be divided between the rear and the front, while the modern air conditioning formula can dictate other air settings depending on the personal tastes of the occupants. Two screens are integrated into the picnic tables of the privacy division, allowing rear occupants to watch videos and screen mirrors from cellular devices.
Lunaz’s Rolls-Royce is a healthy expression of this new wave of luxury involved. Alex Innes, head of the pinnacle of luxury design at Rolls-Royce Coachbuild, calls the new post-opulence mode. In a recent interview during the Zoom block, he told me: “Ours is a giant company and not of scale and, in any case, this trend highlights this element. Our consumers are more involved with the price of an object before integrating it into their lives. The trajectory has accelerated since the appearance of the coronavirus, has reported our representation as a brand, but also our long-term product development.
And it makes a lot of sense to have a quiet, silent Rolls-Royce Phantom. After all, the brand’s flagship vehicle is the expression of giant road transport and conversion to electric only amplifies this message while making the vehicle more applicable to our new generation involved with the weather. Lorenz believes his company’s project is “defining the long term of the classics.” He says: “We maintain the afterlife by adopting the long term, making the most beautiful vehicles in history an applicable proposal.”
Watch the video on the manufacture of Lunaz’s Rolls-Royce Phantom V
Learn more about the Lunaz logo here, learn how Rolls-Royce defines the new era of luxury as post-opulence and see how post-hedonism is leading global yacht design.
I explore the links between design, innovation and customer culture. For twenty years, my writings have made the impression in foreign media, adding Forbes Lifestyle and W
I explore the links between design, innovation and customer culture. For the more than twenty years, my writings have been broadcast in foreign media, adding Forbes Lifestyle and Wallpaper. I write lifestyle books, direct Design Talks and act as a forecaster and logo representative at Spinach Branding.