2011 Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe Masterpiece London review and pictures

Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe Masterpiece London review:

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars proudly presents a very special Phantom Drophead Coup?, hand-built by craftspeople at the home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, England. The highly bespoke model was designed to capture the essence of a perfect weekend get-away, offering drivers and their passengers the ultimate luxurious and relaxing experience in roof-down motoring.

As well as bespoke luggage, the Masterpiece London 2011 Drophead Coupe features a one-off Asprey jewellery box, housed discretely in the glove compartment. Designed for rings, cufflinks and earrings, it presents stylish and secure storage for these essential valuables before drivers and their passengers sink back into sumptuous leather seats, set the roof down and head out of town.

The model was created for Masterpiece London 2011 and hosts a suite of additional bespoke design details, including teak decking, engraved tread plates and Spirit of Ecstasy with inscription that marks the centenary of the world's most famous bonnet icon.

The Masterpiece 2011 Drophead Coupe is also the first Rolls-Royce to be presented in Mazarine Blue, a bespoke finish that joins a palette of 44,000 shades already available to clients ordering Phantom models. This eye-catching colour takes inspiration from the Mazarine Blue butterfly, a whimsical creature at home in continental Europe, which can still occasionally be seen wafting by in the South of England.

The luxurious natural-grain leather interior comes in Seashell with Navy Blue contrast for floor and door panels with embroidered R-R logos finished in headrests. With roof down, the car reveals its yacht-inspired teak decking, with mother-of-pearl inlays throughout cross-banded Santos Palissander wood veneers. White instrument dials, rotary controllers and clock finished in mother-of-pearl complete the design.

"We are delighted to present this outstanding Rolls-Royce at Masterpiece London 2011," said Torsten Muller-Otvos, CEO Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. "Craftsmanship and attention to detail shine through in features developed at Goodwood and in partnership with Asprey. It's a model that demonstrates the breadth of our bespoke offering, where the only limit to what we can deliver is a client's imagination."

Asprey Jewellery Case

The Asprey jewellery case, which fits neatly into the passenger glove compartment, took two working days to finish, using a hide of softest grade-one suede cut into 15 separate pieces.

Its central earring holder is detachable and can be interchanged for use with clip earrings or stud styles. There are also two additional sections for elegant cufflinks, and a separate compartment for the owner's most precious rings. An embossed silver foil Asprey stamp finishes this stunning one-off feature.

Bespoke Luggage

Designed in Goodwood, the bespoke luggage set can be found nestled neatly in the picnic boot of the Masterpiece London 2011 Drophead Coupe. The leather used to craft this bespoke set of four cases is of the highest quality and employs a traditional approach in its creation.

Hides were carefully selected for the firmness and grain structure then tanned in pits, a slow artisanal way of producing hard-wearing yet supple leather ? and a process that takes four months to complete. The result is beautiful; a substantial material, in deep Navy Blue, that is also resistant to hard wear. Moreover the leather has a distinctive and intense aroma of vegetable tannins that come from the mix of bark, wood and berries used to stabilise and pigment the hides.

Masterpiece London 2011

Masterpiece London 2011 is held in the South Grounds of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, and the Rolls-Royce car is available for preview from Friday 29 June 2011. The fair runs from Saturday 30 June ? Friday 5 July 2011. For further details please visit www.masterpiecefair.com