Modern Rolls-Royces come with a brilliant anti-theft mechanism to prevent the Spirit of Ecstasy from being stolen. Check it out.
The Spirit of Ecstasy is the bonnet ornament sculpture on Rolls-Royce cars. It is in the form of a woman leaning forwards with her arms outstretched behind and above her. Billowing cloth runs from her arms to her back, resembling wings.
There is no doubt in the fact that Rolls-Royce cars are a spectacle in itself, but if there is one element that has been highly fantasised, written and spoken about relating to the car, it is the ‘Spirit of Ecstasy’ hood ornament. The Flying Lady has been synonymous with the marque British brand since 1920 and is available in stock stainless steel, while customers have spruced up their iterations in complete gold or crystal which are available as optional extras, with certain examples worth over $10,000 (over Rs. 6 lakh).
No wonder then, the Silver Lady is highly desired by enthusiasts and thieves alike. However, while you may have seen logos of luxury car makers like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi and even Porsche being stolen from the vehicles; there are never complaints of the Spirit of Ecstasy being stolen and that is because Rolls-Royce won’t let that happen.
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Attention to detail has always been one of the attributes of buying a Rolls and the folks at Goodwood have thought this through as well. Since the brand was resurrected in 2003, all modern day Rolls-Royce cars have the hood ornament mounted on a spring-loaded mechanism which will automatically detract into the radiator shell, should the 3-inch icon if struck from any direction. This makes is almost impossible to steal the Flying Lady.
Moreover, the driver can also raise or lower the Spirit of Ecstasy emblem with the touch of a button, in order to ensure its safety. The hood ornament is a part of every Rolls-Royce that comes out of the British car maker’s facility in the UK right from the flagship Phantom to the new Dawn convertible and continues to stun everyone with its presence. Just one of the reasons why Rolls-Royce cars are all the more desirable we say.
Why You Can’t Steal The Spirit Of Ecstasy ?
If someone were to ever try to steal the Spirit Of Ecstasy off of a modern Rolls-Royce, they would fail completely thanks to a brilliant anti-theft mechanism that lays beneath it. Upon applying any sort of pressure to the sculpture, it automatically retracts beneath the hood and out of sight, replaced instead by a body-colored lid panel. Every Rolls-Royce from 2004 onward comes standard with this feature, and it also serves as a safety precaution to prevent injuries to pedestrians that could potentially be hit by the protruding sculpture.
