Rolls-Royce's Spirit of Ecstasy

The 'Spirit of Ecstasy' is the name of the mascot on Rolls-Royce cars. It is in the form of a woman leaning forwards with her arms outstretched behind and fluttering cloths run from her arms to her back, which looks like wings.This Lady, often called "Emily", "Silver Lady" or "Flying Lady" has adorned the front of Rolls-Royce automobiles for the past century is modeled on a real woman; she is Eleanor Velasco Thornton.There is a story behind this famous Rolls-Royce mascot. Eleanor Velasco Thornton was the beloved of automotive pioneer John Walter Edward Scott-Montagu and the editor of the illustrated magazine The Car. Eleanor was Lord Montagu's secretary, and their love was to remain hidden, limited to their circle of friends, for more than a decade. The reason for the secrecy was Eleanor's impoverished social and economic status, which was an obstacle to their love. John Walter Montagu, succumbing to family pressures, married Lady Cecil Victoria Constance, but the secret love affair continued. Eleanor died on 30 December 1915 while she was accompanying Lord Montagu on his journey to India.Lord Montagu commissioned his friend Charles Robinson Sykes to sculpt a personal mascot for his Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost and Sykes chose Eleanor Thornton as his model. Sykes originally crafted a figurine of her in fluttering robes, pressing a finger against her lips, to symbolise the secrets of their love. The figurine was consequently christened 'The Whisper'.The very first Rolls-Royces did not feature radiator mascots; they simply carried the Rolls-Royce car logo. Claude Johnson, the then managing director of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, was given to see that all Rolls-Royce cars come with appropriate mascot. He turned to Charles Sykes to produce a mascot which would adorn all future Rolls-Royce cars and become generic to the marque, with the specifications that it should convey "the spirit of the Rolls-Royce, namely, speed with silence, absence of vibration, the mysterious harnessing of great energy and a beautiful living organism of superb grace..."Charles Sykes felt that a more feminine representation might be apt and chose The Whisper as the mascot of all Rolls-Royce cars. He decided to modify 'The Whisper' into a version similar to today's; 'The Spirit of Ecstasy'. He called this first model The 'Spirit of Speed'. Charles Sykes called it "A graceful little Goddess, the Spirit of Ecstasy, who has selected road travel as her supreme delight and alighted on the prow of a Rolls-Royce motor car to revel in the freshness of the air and the musical sound of her fluttering draperies." He presented the mascot to the company in February 1911.Sykes' signature appeared on the plinth and was either signed "Charles Sykes, February 1911" or "Feb 6, 1911" or "6.2.11". Even after Rolls-Royce took over the casting of the figures in 1948 each Spirit of Ecstasy continued to receive this inscription until 1951.Over the years "The Whisper" evolved to the current "Spirit of Ecstasy" also known as "Ellie in her Nightie," suggesting Eleanor's influence as Charles Robinson Sykes' muse.
Henry Royce, one of the two founders of Rolls-Royce, was ill during the commissioning of the 'Spirit of Speed'. He did not believe the figurine enhanced the cars, asserting that it impaired the driver's view and was rarely seen driving one of his company's vehicles adorned with the mascot. Hence, Royce made sure it was officially listed as an optional extra, but in practice it was fitted on almost all cars after that year, becoming a standard fitting in the early 1920s.As automobiles change with time, the Spirit of Ecstasy was no exception. It was silver plated from 1911 until 1914 when the mascot was made with nickel or chrome alloy to dissuade theft. The only departure from this came in Paris at the competition for the most apposite mascot of 1920, where a gold-plated version won first place. Gold-plated versions were subsequently available at additional cost.Although it seems unchanged, the mascot had eleven main variations in its life. Lowered height of coachwork forced subsequent reductions in the mascot size. Consequently, several alternations in the original design were made. Sykes was once again commissioned by Rolls-Royce in the 1930s to make a lower version of the mascot to suit the sports saloons.The 'Kneeling Lady' mascot was unveiled on 26 January, 1934 and was as undeniably a reflection of Eleanor as it was a symbol of the Rolls-Royce. It also bore on the plinth the inscription "C. Sykes, 26.1.34", the date when the first piece was finished. This version was, however, discontinued after the Silver Wraith, the Silver Dawn and Phantom IV models, in favour of a smaller version of the original standing mascot, and so it remains to date.In the United States the mascot is called 'The Flying Lady'. The Flying Lady was a modified version of The Spirit of Ecstasy figurine to make it bow a little farther in order to protect the bonnet.Today's Spirit of Ecstasy stands at 3 inches and, for safety, is mounted on a spring-loaded mechanism designed to retract instantly into the radiator shell if struck from any direction. There is a button within the car which can retract/extend the emblem when pressed. She can be made of highly polished stainless steel, sterling silver or 24-carat gold, the sterling silver and gold being optional extras.The only two Rolls-Royces this mascot does not appear on currently is the first Phantom IV delivered to the then Princess Elizabeth in 1950 and Princess Margaret' 1954 Phantoms IV.The Spirit of Ecstasy is certainly the most attractive and probably the best known motor car mascot in the world.