Rolls-Royce has announced a redesign of the Spirit of Ecstasy, the "Flying Lady" perched at the end of the bonnets of its cars. The announcement comes 111 years to the day after the figure's original sculptor, Charles Sykes, first presented the design to the company.
Smoother shape
The reworking of the iconic emblem sees her adopt a stance with one foot forward, with her body tucked lower, while her billowing robes (commonly mistaken for wings) have also been subtly changed.
As is the case currently, the new figures are set to be made by a technique known as "lost wax casting" with each one being finished by hand meaning that every example of the Spirit of Ecstasy is very slightly different.
The revised Spirit of Ecstasy will make its debut on the 2023 Rolls-Royce Spectre, the company's first all-electric car that is currently undergoing testing. The Spectre will, Rolls-Royce says, be the firm's most aerodynamic model yet with the new mascot suitably redesigned for more efficient airflow. The new 82.73mm figure will, thereafter, be used across the whole Rolls-Royce range of cars.
According to the company's CEO, Torsten Müller-Ötvös:
"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 by staying true to her nature and character. In her new form, she is more graceful and streamlined than ever before - the perfect emblem for the most aerodynamic Rolls-Royce ever created, and for gracing the prow of our bold electric future."
History of Rolls-Royce's "Flying Lady"
This isn't the first time, however, that the Spirit of Ecstasy has hunkered down.
When Charles Sykes first presented the design for the original seven-inch-tall Spirit to Rolls-Royce in 1911, he based the design one of his previous works, a grille ornament created for a British aristocrat Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, the figure of which was modelled on Montagu's mistress, Eleanor Thornton. Rolls-Royce, at the time, felt that some of the ornaments with which owners were adorning their grilles were inappropriate and wanted to produce something a little more dignified of their own.
By 1934, the company had decided that for their latest generation of cars, a seven-inch ornament was much too large, and so commissioned Sykes to create a kneeling version to give drivers a better view of the road. This wasn't especially popular, and in 1953 the company reverted to a smaller version of the original.
These days, unlike previous silver-plated, chrome and nickel examples, the Spirit of Ecstasy is made from highly polished stainless steel and can retract inside the car at the touch of a button or in the event of a collision.
Eleanor Thornton, the figure's inspiration, died in 1915 after the ship on which she was travelling was torpedoed by a German U-Boat, however with the latest take on the Spirit of Ecstasy, her likeness, it seems, will endure for some time to come.