I toured Rolls Royce's new NYC 'Private Office' where wealthy buyers can customize their $500,000+ cars see inside
- Rolls-Royce has opened its first US Private Office in New York City.
- Clients are invited to the lounge-like studio to design their dream bespoke car.
Rolls-Royce's first US-based "Private Office" has opened in New York City.
From the kitchen's exposed brick wall to stunning skyline views and perfectly placed Assouline coffee table books, every inch of the space smells of a wealthy Manhattanite's apartment (Byredo's Fleur Fantôme candle, to be exact).
Ironically, you'll quickly notice there are no Rolls-Royce cars in sight, save for a handful of miniature models.
This isn't a showroom or dealership.
The British automaker's new outpost isn't a street-level showroom where prospective buyers can see a Phantom or Ghost up close.
It's where clients go (if they've been invited) to transform their new Phantom, Spectre, Ghost, or Cullinan into a multimillion-dollar piece of bespoke drivable art.
Like most Private Office clients, it'll likely be their third — or 33rd — Rolls-Royce purchase.
The Private Office is on the 8th floor of a nondescript building in New York's industrial-chic Meatpacking District.
The glitzy automaker sells about 5,000 to 6,000 cars annually, roughly a third of which go to North America, its largest market.
In 2023, commissions averaged about $500,000 — a $200,000 increase from five years prior, Gerry Spahn, the company's head of communications, told BI.
Only a handful — those well over the average cost — are complex enough to require the technical expertise of its design studio, known as the Private Office.
With the help of its designer, the options for your future dream car are endless.
The team can color-match your ride to your favorite sweater, inlay your pet's paw print onto the veneer, or, as one koi fish collector requested, etch a fish into the treadplate that illuminates when the doors open.
In the month since it launched, the office has already seen several clients, including someone who wanted 2 commissions, Gina Koutros, head of the office, told BI.
The Private Office aims to pad the buyer's design process with a comfortable, high-end experience complete with cozy couches, a large dining table, and exclusive material samples.
Prefer milk chocolate over dark? Splenda over Stevia? Rolls-Royce will know and have the options prepared before you walk through its doors.
Most Rolls-Royce commissions are negotiated at a restaurant or the client's office or home — not the dealership.
The Private Office plans to cater client meals from local Michelin-recognized restaurants and chefs to replicate this intimacy.
"If a client wants to spend two or three hours with us, go, and then come back for a glass of Champagne, this place is there for them to come in and feel like they're in someone's home," Koutros said.
It just so happens that this "home" has an in-house Rolls-Royce designer and a wall of 42 chrome fins, a reference to its iconic grilles.
There are several other Rolls-Royce Easter eggs throughout the office.
Look closely, and you'll notice that the abstract wall-mounted art in the hallway is actually a 3D model of its UK factory.
It's also tactile, made of materials you can find in its cars, such as lamb's wool and mother of pearl.
The most colorful reference, located by the entrance, is another callback to the cars' manufacturing process.
The cluster of dichroic crystals — collectively called "90 Pairs of Hands" after the number of people who work on each Rolls-Royce vehicle — bleeds various colors at different lengths throughout the day.
Clients could see all of the art piece's iterations by the end of their design process.
The office expects a couple hundred visits yearly. Most would be from repeat guests as they chip away at their vehicle design.
If you request a design or materials that have been done before — such as the leather, veneer, and thread samples available at the studio — you could drive away with your car in about six to eight months, Spahn said.
Bespoke demands like a hand-painted dashboard or the creation of a new color could extend the delivery date.
If you request the use of an uncommon material that requires safety and durability tests, the wait could increase to two years.
Especially personal touches for an especially personalized car.
Common commission requests include the celebration of birthdays and weddings.
Cara Vitry, the company's regional bespoke designer, told BI that one client is doing both — customizing their Phantom to celebrate their recent marriage renewal and the birth of their daughter.
The starlight headliner would match the night sky of their daughter's birth, and pieces of the wedding dress would be encased inside the gallery. It would also feature a one-of-a-kind color created by sampling the couple's wedding photos.
"Our clients bring the stories, and we craft the stories into a commission that they can drive in," Vitry said.
One buyer visits New York four times yearly to meet with the portfolio manager handling their inheritance.
Another frequently commutes from Miami to New York, while some are farmers from the Midwest (according to Koutros, some of Rolls-Royce's top clients work in agriculture).
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the automaker had yet to deliver a million-dollar car in the US, according to Spahn.
Now, it's just another day at the automaker's Private Office.
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