THE BIGGEST UNVEIL FOR THE SMALLEST ROLLS-ROYCE
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has unveiled a seminal new
concept in luxury, crafted for one very special customer, St
Richard’s Hospital Pediatric Day Surgery Unit in the marque’s
home town of Chichester, West Sussex.
The appropriately-named Rolls-Royce SRH will allow children
awaiting surgery to drive themselves to the operating theatre,
through the Pediatric Unit corridors which are lined with
‘traffic signs’. The experience of ‘self-drive to theatre’ aims to
reduce child patient stress.
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars welcomed two test drivers from
the Pediatric Unit at St Richard’s Hospital, Molly Matthews
and Hari Rajyaguru, to the Home of Rolls-Royce. Molly and
Hari viewed the car being unveiled in style at the company’s
Goodwood Studio in the same manner for all Rolls-Royce’s
VIP customers. This exclusive event served as final validation
and pre-delivery inspection of the Rolls-Royce SRH ahead
of the official handover to the patients, their families and the
devoted day surgery team at St Richard’s Hospital.
In true Rolls-Royce style, the two children and their families
enjoyed VIP hospitality with one notable addition to the usual
customer experience. Molly and Hari both enjoyed first drives
on the Rolls-Royce production line, an exceptionally rare
privilege usually reserved for the marque’s Chief Executive
during the validation process for new model families, and
most recently actioned for the forthcoming Phantom 8. Molly,
Hari and their families returned home in the chauffeured
luxury of Rolls-Royce Ghosts.
“We are a proud member of the community here in West
Sussex. The Pediatric Unit at St Richard’s Hospital, Chichester
70 | The Gentleman Magazine
does such vital work in providing essential care to young
people and their families,” said Torsten Müller-Ötvös, CEO,
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. “We hope that the RollsRoyce SRH
will serve to make the experience for young people during
treatment a little less stressful.”
Created from the ground-up by the dedicated Bespoke
Manufacturing team, the Rolls-Royce SRH presents to its
very important customer a landmark study in Bespoke
luxury. Akin to the conception of every Rolls-Royce Bespoke
commission, a restless desire to understand the customer’s
requirements informed every aspect of the design. The
car is therefore specified with a two-tone paint-scheme of
Andalusian White and Salamanca Blue and finished with a
hand-applied St James Red coachline.
The interior space is appointed with the same finesse and
attention-to-detail afforded to every Rolls-Royce patron,
with the two-tone steering wheel, seats and self-righting
wheel centres perfectly colour-matched to the St James Red
coachline. A top speed of 10mph is achieved in seconds
courtesy of power derived from a 24 volt gel battery that
propels the car with the same whisper-quietness as Rolls-
Royce’s magnificent V12 engines. For those preferring a more
sedate journey, the speed setting is variable and can be limited
to a statelier but no-less exhilarating 4mph.
Sir Henry Royce’s famous credo: “when it does not exist,
design it,” echoes around the marque’s home in Goodwood,
with this spirit highly evident in the conception of the
RollsRoyce SRH. The Bespoke Manufacturing team devoted
over 400 hours of their own time to developing and hand-
crafting this most extraordinary Rolls-Royce.