Beautiful Bespoke Phantom Collection Car debuts in Southern California marking a special occasion for its owners
Glenn and Gigi Moss celebrate 40th anniversary with a light and dark duo of Rolls-Royce commissions
Discreet message on each commission marks the time and place they met and the time and place they wed
Rolls-Royce delivers commissions in private ceremony in Orange County, California
“Rolls-Royce Phantom Tempus is a motor car for those who shape the world as they seek their own place in the universe. They understand that whatever our individual gifts, talents, and opportunities, we are all gifted time – and it is up to us to make the most of every precious moment. With Phantom Tempus, we have created a space in which the strictures of time no longer apply – as illustrated by the deliberate absence of a clock. Rolls-Royce clients are not bound by time; the outside world with all its pressures and demands are forgotten. We offer our congratulations to Glenn and Gigi Moss, not only on their years together, but also on these two beautiful Rolls-Royces, commissioned to mark this special occasion.” – Torsten Müller-Ötvös, CEO, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
“I could think of no better way to mark a special moment in time in Gigi and my life together than with this duo of Rolls-Royce commissions. The beauty of commissioning a Rolls-Royce is in making it personal and intimate. Phantom Tempus provided us with a wonderful canvas to personalize the painting of our lives together. And the addition of the Rolls-Royce Dawn Black Badge commission is a statement to celebrate the fact that we will carry our passion for life long into the future. Some things are timeless, and this is what we celebrate.” – Glenn L. Moss Sr
Rolls-Royce Phantom, the marque’s pinnacle product, resides at the apex of the luxury world. Producing a Collection Car is always a seminal moment for the marque. With the Phantom Tempus Collection, the sources of inspiration are on an appropriately grand scale: time, deep space, and a theoretical physicist who changed the way to see the universe. Only 20 examples of this stunning Bespoke creation have been built at Rolls-Royce’s Global Center of Luxury Manufacturing Excellence in West Sussex, England.
To mark a very special moment in time, their 40th anniversary, Riverside California residents Glenn and Gigi Moss, have commissioned one of these rare and spectacular cars for themselves. Their Phantom Tempus was delivered to them at an exclusive celebration, together with a special Bespoke Dawn Black Badge. The beautiful pair of Bespoke Rolls-Royce’s were delivered to Mr. and Mrs. Moss by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Orange County.
The inspiration for this pair of Bespoke commissions arose from the Moss’ desire to celebrate the moment in time at which their life together began. The Phantom Tempus’ Bespoke Spirit of Ecstasy is made of solid silver, with the location and date the couple first met in 1976 engraved into the base of the statuette. Additionally, latitudinal, and longitudinal coordinates mark the precise location. Discreetly etched into the base of the black carbon fiber Spirit of Ecstasy which graces the prow of the Rolls-Royce Dawn Black Badge, is the date and location where the couple wed in 1981.
Phantom Tempus: One of 20 for Glenn L. Moss Sr
The exterior of Mr. Moss’ Phantom Tempus is presented in a bright and stunning Crystal over Arctic White. The couple chose the bright color to signify the light and infinite nature of time in their marriage. This brilliant finish is highlighted by a hand-painted black coachline, and detailing.
Upon opening the coach doors, an illuminated treadplate reads, ‘Phantom Tempus Collection — Hand built in Goodwood England for Glenn L. Moss Sr.’ The interior of the Moss Phantom Tempus carries over the ‘light’ theme with Arctic White hand-crafted leather offset by black highlights, piping, and contrast stitching. The fascia is finished in black Sparkle Piano reminiscent of the deep darkness of space glittering with the timeless brightness of the constellations.
Rolls-Royce Dawn Black Badge: Bespoke for Gigi Moss
In addition to creating a very personal Phantom Tempus, Mr. Moss asked the Rolls-Royce Bespoke Collective at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars to create a singular Rolls-Royce Dawn Black Badge for Mrs. Moss. With an exterior finish of Crystal over Bright Red, the vibrant swathe of color stands in stark contrast to the bright white hues of the Phantom Tempus. Equipped with a Bespoke Aero Cowling, the four-seater convertible quickly and stylishly transforms into a sleek two-seater roadster.
The Spirit of Ecstasy that adorns the bonnet is milled from black, high-gloss carbon fiber. This transformation to a darker aesthetic extends to certain chrome surfaces including the front grille surround, luggage compartment lid finisher, exhaust pipes and air inlet finisher. The ‘Double R’ signifiers on the Rolls-Royce badges are inverted in color, a key signifier that this car is a Rolls-Royce Black Badge model, representing the alter ego of the brand. The car’s rims are created using 22 layers of carbon fiber folded and formed to provide an aggressive style.
Complementing the treadplate of Phantom Tempus, the treadplate for this Dawn Black Badge reads ‘Hand built in Goodwood England for Gigi Moss’. The hand-crafted interior of the car is finished in full natural grain leather with black highlights and piping. The Rolls-Royce monogram is embroidered on each headrest as is the ‘Unlimited’ infinity logo which is embroidered on the Dawn’s upholstery. The centrepiece of the Black Badge cabin is the aerospace-grade, aluminum-threaded carbon fiber composite surfacing material. The air vents are darkened using the Physical Vapor Deposition process. This surfacing method is utilized to ensure that the parts will neither discolor nor tarnish over time.
This Rolls-Royce Dawn Black Badge commission provides a stunning, darker ‘alter-image’ to the light and infinite nature of Phantom Tempus, leaving the couple with a lasting memory of their very special relationship.
Phantom Tempus Collection
The design of the Phantom Tempus Collection encompasses various aesthetic and intellectual themes relating to time and the cosmos. A key component is a rare astronomical phenomenon, the pulsar, unknown until 1967 and found only in the deepest reaches of space (the nearest yet discovered is 280 light years, or 1,680 trillion miles, from Earth). These very dense, white-hot stars emit electromagnetic radiation in extremely regular pulses, making them some of the most accurate clocks in the universe.
In the Phantom Tempus Collection, this remarkable force of nature is rendered as a centerpiece in a Bespoke Starlight Headliner consisting of fiber-optic lighting and intricate Bespoke embroidery, creating the unique and beautiful Pulsar Headliner.
Another aspect of time – the illusion of its standing still – is captured in the ‘Frozen Flow of Time’ Gallery. This unique artwork is housed in the fascia from which the clock is deliberately omitted to signify patrons’ freedom from time and its limitations. A single billet of aluminum is milled to form 100 individually contoured columns, representing the 100-million-year period of a rotational spin of a pulsar star. Each column is black-anodized and hand-polished to reflect the light and set against an Arctic White background. As the eye travels along it, the whole structure, though entirely solid, appears to ripple and flex.
A description of the Gallery can be found on an engraved plaque in the glove compartment, together with a quotation from Albert Einstein, “The distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion”.
A swirling, twisting pattern of stars is presented on the interior of the doors. Created by hundreds of illuminated perforations, additional perforations in contrasting leather add a greater depth and detail to the effect, providing an atmospheric aura even when not illuminated.
