All-new Rolls-Royce Ghost dashboard mimics a starry night

MANILA: In development for the last five years, the second-generation Rolls-Royce Ghost will come with many new features, including a novel planar suspension and an illuminated fascia.

In order to mimic 850 stars lighting up the cabin suite of the all-new Ghost, an illuminated fascia has been developed and installed on the passenger side of the dashboard. It uses 152 LEDs mounted above and beneath the fascia and a 2-mm thick light guide that features more than 90,000 laser-etched dots to ensure that the light homogenously while also creating a twinkling effect.

When the vehicle is not in operation the constellation and wordmark are completely invisible. To make this possible, three layers of composite materials are used. The first is a Piano Black substrate, which is laser etched to remove the black coloring and allow light to shine through the Ghost wordmark and star cluster. This is then overlaid with a layer of dark tinted lacquer, hiding the lettering when not in use. Finally, the fascia is sealed with a layer of subtly tinted lacquer before being hand polished to achieve a perfectly uniform 0.5mm thick, high-gloss finish, matching other high gloss accents incorporated into the interior. 

Engineers have been working on it for two years and have put in 10,000 collective hours in order to deliver this ‘Post Opulent’ design feature.

“Illuminated Fascia is perfectly in tune with the Post Opulent design direction we pursued with new Ghost. This elegant and minimal aesthetic is a specific response to the layer of clients who respond to Ghost: men and women who share a desire for a clean, pared-back expression of Rolls-Royce. Like the rest of the motor car’s progressive design, this hidden-until-lit feature hides the complexity required to create a sense of effortless luxury with a simple decorative statement,” said Lead Bespoke Designer, Michael Bryden.

Photo from Rolls-Royce

Also read: Rolls-Royce CEO pens letter teasing all-new Ghost