Rolls-Royce NYC Private Office showroom caters to high-profile clients

Rolls-Royce has opened its first “private office” in the United States, a secret VIP design studio for ultra-wealthy clients who want highly personalized cars.

The private office, located in Manhattan’s trendy Meatpacking District, is at the heart of the legendary British automaker’s new strategy to boost sales and profits by selling more personalized, more expensive vehicles rather than increasing price. production. Rolls-Royce produced 6,032 cars last year, less than half the production of Ferrari, but continues to generate strong profit growth for its parent company BMW.

While Rolls-Royce customers have been personalizing their vehicles for decades, the private office takes the concept of a personalized Rolls to a whole new level. Once some customers order a car from a dealership, they can come to the private office to work with a designer to create a completely customized car – from special paint colors to their fabrics, wood, lighting and other materials favorites.

“They may want the exterior of their Rolls-Royce to match the color of their dog’s eyes,” said Chris Brownridge, CEO of Rolls-Royce. “They may want to have interior panels in the car with mother-of-pearl from their private collection. We can bring these kinds of requests to life by having direct access to the team. And the possibilities are truly endless.”

Rolls-Royce calls its highest level of customization the “Bespoke” program. Creating a bespoke Rolls can add hundreds of thousands of dollars to the sticker price, which for a Rolls-Royce Phantom is just under $500,000, bringing the full sale price of some million dollar cars.

The Private Office is reserved for the most complicated – and expensive – custom projects. This is not a dealership and no cars are on display. To access the private office, clients press a black security screen outside an unmarked building and take a secure elevator to the top floor.

With its sleek black kitchen, low-slung sofas, dining table, outdoor patio, and turntable with stacks of classic rock and jazz vinyl records, the private office feels more like a billionaire’s pied-à-terre than at a car showroom. The only clue that this is a Rolls-Royce installation is a row of shelves along the back wall displaying color samples of paint, threads, leathers, metals and a row of the famous ornaments hood “Spirit of Ecstasy” in different finishes.

The New York private office is the company’s third in the world, after Dubai, United Arab Emirates, opening in 2022, and Shanghai in 2023. The company is about to open its fourth, in Seoul, in Korea.

The idea, according to Brownridge, is to bring the expertise and design capability of its factory in Goodwood, UK, to customers around the world. This is especially important as customer demands become more unusual and complex.

A Rolls-Royce customer wanted a car inspired by flowers. The Rolls team created an extended wheelbase Phantom with a headliner covered in over a million embroidered roses. Another customer who loves Hawaii and has a favorite rare Koa wood rocking chair wanted a Koa-themed Rolls. Since Koa wood is protected in Hawaii, only dead or naturally fallen Koa trees can be harvested. Rolls spent three years waiting and searching for the right tree, then built a Koa Phantom, with the wood used for the dashboard, center console and doors. The company even made a matching picnic basket and table. Creating the entire package took over 500 hours.

“A lot of these customers would never sell their car,” Brownridge said. “It’s so personal and it means a lot to them.”

To meet the growing demand for personalized cars, Rolls-Royce is also expanding its bespoke workshops in Goodwood. Brownridge said the goal was not to produce more cars, but to produce higher-value, more personalized cars.

“As our commissions have become more sophisticated, our business has become more successful,” Brownridge said. “Our mission is really to create value for our shareholder, to create value for our business partners, but above all, to create value for our customers. Because when you produce a masterpiece for them, it means more than just an automobile. I often say that the fact that they have four wheels is almost a plus, because it truly is a work of art. »

Brownridge said that when customers build their special Rolls-Royces, they not only visit the Goodwood factory, but they also get to know the paint shop specialists, carpenters, embroidery experts and others. team members.

“Every customer I have met, they all say, what makes Rolls Royce special is that they feel like they are part of a family,” he said. “They’re not customers for us, they’re part of Rolls Royce. A lot of our customers will come to Goodwood and know the people who make their cars. It’s not just the personal connection to motoring. It’s the personal connection with the entire team that produces these magnificent things.