Rolls-Royce gets Personal at 2010 Paris show

Cars like the Fiat 500 and Mini may be available with pick ’n mix customisation options, but those are mere bolt-on Mr Potatohead additions compared to the kaleidoscopic wizardry available to Roller owners.

Showcasing its ‘personalization programme’ (personalization with a ‘z’ for the Americans, programme with an ‘mme’ for us stick-in-the-muds) at the 2010 Paris motor show, Rolls-Royce has served up five bespoke examples of its current range.

Heavens, no. But some of the details are quite, well, niche. A flagship extended-wheelbase Phantom in gunmetal grey is trimmed with logo-embroidered ‘sunrise’ leather, while its white dials and clock face sport mother of pearl centres. Custom-inscribed kick plates complete the tweaks, appropriately reading ‘Mondial de l’Automobile Paris 2010’, although ‘Drive on the Right’ wording is another option for gin-soaked rosbif seniors en route to Antibes.

A Phantom Drophead in metallic white with red leather, a Phantom Coupe, and two Ghosts round off the line up of cars, and there’s a bespoke Rolls-Royce picnic set on show, too.

Such productions are, to some extent, a reaction to what company boss Torsten Müller-Ötvös calls the “a totally new type of customer”, attracted to Rolls-Royce by the “more approachable” Ghost.

By Richard Webber