One-off Rolls-Royce Phantom Oribe is a gorgeous collab with Hermès
Commissioned by a Japanese billionaire, this stunning Phantom was inspired by private jets and 16th century antiques.
Rolls-Royce somehow seems to one-up itself with every special edition and bespoke creation, and the latest one is no exception. This is the Phantom Oribe, a one-off that was designed and developed as a collaboration between Rolls-Royce and the legendary Paris-based fashion house Hermès. It was commissioned by Yusaku Maezawa, a Japanese billionaire Rolls describes as an "entrepreneur, art collector and supercar enthusiast." He also just happens to be the first person planning to take a commercial flight to the moon, he holds the world record for the most retweets on Twitter and he wanted the Phantom to be a "land jet" that would complement a private jet that he also recently ordered. Talk about goals.
The car gets its name from Oribe ware, a type of Japanese pottery from the 16th century that Maezawa collects. These artifacts typically have a cream and green glaze, so Rolls-Royce spent months developing a gorgeous new Oribe Green color specifically for this car. Rolls-Royce says it's making the paint available to be used on Maezawa's jet, too. It's accented by cream paint on the lower bumpers and side skirts, which is an interesting effect I haven't seen on a Rolls before -- and it works. There's also contrasting pinstriping along the lower panels and the upper shoulder line.
As with any Rolls-Royce, the real drama comes when you step inside. This isn't just a car with some Hermès badges and special leather -- Rolls-Royce says it was a "deep, genuine" collaboration that saw its craftspeople and designers working hand-in-hand with Hermès'. Nearly every surface is covered in Hermès Enea Green leather, and I mean every surface. Beyond just the seats, door panels and dashboard, the green leather is found on touchpoints like the column shifter, climate control knobs and "duchess handle" door pulls. It's also applied to areas you wouldn't normally see or touch such as the champagne cooler, the parcel shelf and the glovebox and trunk lining.
Some components like the carpets and front seats are finished in Seashell White to add some contrast and tie in with the exterior color scheme. In a first for Rolls-Royce, the armrests, door panels, console accents and headliner are covered in cream Hermès Toile H canvas, which looks incredible and brings a texture not usually seen in luxury cars of this level. The headrests and rear foot cushions have special Hermès piping, and the glovebox lid has an embossed Hermès script.
The speaker grilles are etched directly into the wood trim.
But the most incredible part of the Phantom Oribe is the wood trim. Honestly, just calling it "trim" undersells how impressive it is. Huge panels of Open Pore Royal Walnut are found on the doors, and instead of featuring separate metal speaker grilles, Rolls-Royce perforated the wood in the pattern of the speakers to let the sound through. The same wood is used on the rear picnic tables and the center and rear consoles, and the dashboard has lots of gloss cream veneer.
Hermès is especially known for its equestrian themes, and that's represented in the Phantom's most extravagant feature: the Gallery. This glass-covered section at the top of the dashboard can house anything from wood or metal trim to custom sculptures and artwork, and for this car Hermès commissioned a piece inspired by Pierre Péron, an artist who created many of Hermès' famous scarf designs. It's a giant piece of Royal Walnut wood with two horse heads that have been hand-painted on in a slightly abstract way. Crazy as it sounds, it's actually fairly subtle and ties in well with the rest of the interior.
Further proof that car guys are the same as horse girls.
Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös says the Oribe was "creatively challenging and technically demanding," adding that the collaboration with Hermès "represents the very best of our respective craftspeople and capabilities." Given how well the Oribe came out and the fact it seems like everyone that worked on the project genuinely enjoyed it, I'm guessing we'll start seeing more collaborations between Rolls-Royce and Hermès (and other fashion houses) in the future.
Oh, and if you're wondering about how much the Oribe costs, don't bother. Rolls-Royce obviously won't say, but given that a normal Phantom EWB starts at around $550,000, it's not a stretch to assume this one-off is at least double that. But hey, that's chump change when you're rich enough to fly to the freakin' moon.
