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Photo: Rolls-Royce
We now know that solar eclipses are fleeting, but natural, occurrences that take place when the Sun is temporarily obscured by our nearest celestial neighbour, the Moon. In ancient history though, the Sun’s temporary disappearance was often attributed to quarrelling gods, or particularly ravenous mythical creatures (depending on who you asked).
It’s no wonder that many people today retain vestiges of some unexplainable awe in the face of a solar eclipse – awe that luxury British marque Rolls-Royce seeks to recapture with their bespoke collection, which gets its name Ekleipsis from the Greek word for ‘eclipse’.
The Ekleipsis is a variant of Rolls-Royce’s Ghost and the brand’s latest addition to its edgy Black Badge Line. It will only see an extremely limited run of 25 examples.
What sets the Ekleipsis apart is its custom Lyrical Copper livery, which is based on – what else, but the otherworldly hue of a total solar eclipse, by way of a powdered copper pigment that presents as inky black until hit with light, at which point it turns iridescent.
The orange glow peeking through the edges of a solar eclipse are represented with Mandarin accents on the inserts below the grille, the hand-painted coachline, and the brake callipers.
Photo: Rolls-Royce
The celestial phenomenon takes centre stage once again in a fully bespoke Starlight Headliner, where most of an array of 1,132 lights are used to create a bright corona around a lunar silhouette.
Moreover, the Headliner comes to life when the vehicle’s coach doors are closed and the engine is started, replicating the sequence of a full solar eclipse.
The animation lasts all of seven minutes and 31 seconds – said to be the longest possible duration of a total solar eclipse – before the twinkling stars are fully restored. According to Rolls-Royce, this complex sequence took more than a year of development and three prototypes to create.
Photo: Rolls-Royce
A further 100 man-hours were spent adorning the fascia of the Rolls-Royce Black Badge Ghost Ekleipsis with precisely 1,846 laser-etched stars, which twinkle merrily as they draw the eye to a brilliant focal point: A custom timepiece that features a 0.5-carat diamond on its bezel.
As of press time, all 25 examples of the Ekleipsis have been purchased by clients around the world, which means your only chance of catching one of these celestial-themed beauties in the flesh might be, well, as rare as a solar eclipse.
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