‘Flying Lady’ : The ‘Spirit Of Ecstasy’ Has Adorned The Bonnet Of Every Single Rolls-Royce Car Since 1911

‘Flying Lady’ : The ‘Spirit Of Ecstasy’ has adorned the bonnet of every Single Rolls-Royce Car since 1911. 

The bonnet ornament depicts a woman leaning forwards with her arms outstretched behind and above her.

Today, the ‘Spirit Of Ecstasy’ is offered in selected finishes : solid silver, 24-carat gold-plated and black carbon fibre.

Commissioned in 2008, the asking price of a ‘Flying Lady’ made of 150 carat diamonds and platinum was $200k.

Rolls-Royce Motors is celebrating the ‘Spirit of Ecstasy’, the marque’s famous bonnet ornament – also known as the Flying Lady – which depicts a woman leaning forwards with her arms outstretched behind and above her.

Currently the most recognisable emblem on its current lineup, including the Phantom, Ghost, Cullinan and Spectre, the British marque’s ‘Spirit Of Ecstasy’ has adorned every single Rolls-Royce car since in 1911.

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According to Rolls-Royce, the original ornament was created when motoring pioneer, John Douglas-Scott-Montagu commissioned sculptor, Charles Robinson Sykes, to create a personal mascot for his 1909 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost.

Inspired by Sykes’ assistant, Eleanor Velasco Thornton, the “Spirit of Ecstasy” mascot appears as an ethereal young woman leaning forward eagerly, her arms stretched back behind her, with flowing robes appearing to give her wings.

The “Spirit of Ecstasy” was permanently fixed on the bonnet until 1970s after bonnet ornaments was banned in some countries, including Switzerland, for safety purposes.

To solve this issue, Rolls-Royce designed a retraction mechanism, which hides the “Spirit of Ecstasy” away into the bonnet, when touched and during collision to prevent pedestrian injuries.

Today, Rolls-Royce’s the iconic bonnet ornament, the ‘Spirit Of Ecstasy’, is offered to patrons in carefully selected finishes : solid silver, 24-carat gold-plated and black carbon fibre.

A one of a kind a ‘Flying Lady’ made of 150 carat diamonds and platinum was commissioned back in 2008. The asking price then was $200k dollars, which was more than the price of a brand new Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600 SUV in 2021.

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