Rolls-Royce is a British luxury car brand manufactured by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Ltd. It is a part of BMW AG. The company was founded by Charles Rolls and Frederick Henry Royce in 1904. They both dreamt about creating cars of the highest quality. And when they met, they got an opportunity to make their dreams come true.
Meaning and History
The British brand Rolls Royce got its name from the actual names of the founders Sir Frederick Henry Royce and Charles Stewart Rolls. The double letter R on the logo, which appeared in 1907, is accordingly the capital letters of their names.
1906 – 1934
The very first badge for the legendary British automaking company was based on classic heraldic symbols, the main element of the emblem was a crest, divided into four segments. Above it, there was a stylized lion, replacing a traditional crown. The badge was underlined by a thin ornate arch with a ribboned element in the middle.
1911 – 1934
Five years later, in 1911, the badge gained some art-deco shapes and elements. Now there were two rampant lions on the sides from the double “R” vertically ori-ented rectangular crest, and the bottom flower line was replaced by a clean and thick ribbon with “The Best Car In The World” lettering in the uppercase of a bold serif typeface, in black.
1911 – 1973
The second badge, created in the same, 1911 year, was more sophisticated and simple. It was a white crest l, outlined in black, with smooth elements on the sides. The “Double R” monogram was written in black in the middle of the badge, placed inside the vertically oriented oval frame.
1911 – 2020
Another element of the Rolls Royce visual identity was introduced in 1911. It was an additional logo, composed of a single graphical element, a lady with two wings, standing bent in profile on a light gray background with a double gray and white framing, composed of two lines of different thicknesses. This lady later becomes as recognizable as the “RR” monogram, and gets the name “Spirit of Ecstasy”.
1973 – 1998
At that time, the logo became more laconic. It consisted of only two white contiguous “R” letters on a blue background. The blue color of this logo conveyed goodwill and boldness. While white reflected elegance and nobility.
1998 – 2020
At the moment, the company’s logo looks pretty simple, but at the same time very representative. In the center of the gray vertical rectangle, there are still two letters “R”, but they are black now. Above and below them are the names of the founders of the brand.
2020 – Today
The redesign of 2020 makes the iconic Rolls Royce logo more minimalist than ever. Now it is just a black RR monogram on a plain white background, which changed to the silver three-dimensional badge when placed on a bonnet of the iconic cars. The letters are executed in thick lines with distinct edges and sharp corners of the bars.
Emblem and Symbol
“Spirit of Ecstasy” or “Flying Lady of Ecstasy” — names of the statuette, which traditionally flaunts on the hood of a Rolls-Royce. The prototype for it was the image of Sir John Montagu’s mistress — Eleanor Velasco Thornton.
After the significant success of Rolls-Royce, the car companies realized that the statuette was a very interesting idea. This is how the fashion for statuettes decorating the hoods of cars came in the early 20th century.
The Legends
Rolls-Royce 10-HP
The first car, as well as one of the models of the brand, which collectors hunt for even nowadays, is the Rolls-Royce 10-HP, which rolled off the assembly line in 1904. The plant produced 16 copies of this model. And the auction price for this car is $3 million.
Rolls-Royce Phantom V
A total of 516 copies of the Phantom V were produced. In the year of release, the limousine already managed to get the title of “classic retro”, which is the best compliment to the design of the company’s models.
