New Rolls-Royce Wraith Kryptos invites owners to decipher encrypted message
New limited edition model was born from one of the firm’s designers’ passion for cryptography.
Rolls-Royce has revealed a new limited-edition model for its Collection Cars range, which celebrates one of its designers’ passion for cryptography.
Just 50 examples of the Wraith Kryptos will be built, and include design features that appear like unconnected aesthetic touches, but actually include cryptic messages that can be deciphered.
Only the designer and Rolls-Royce’s boss know the answer to the code, which sits in a sealed envelope in a safe in the office of the CEO at the firm’s Goodwood headquarters. Clients can submit their attempts to crack the code through the firm’s members-only app.
The message begins on the Spirit of Ecstasy on the bonnet, with a green enamel engraving, and also includes front bumper inserts and interior. The exterior paint job is Delphic Grey, with hidden blue and green mica flakes that show through in sunlight and contain a hint to answering the hidden message.
Rolls-Royce Bespoke Designer, Katrin Lehmann, said: “The name Kryptos is derived from Ancient Greek, referring to something unseen, hidden and coded, mythical even. Ciphers can be traced through millennia, capturing the imagination of some of the world’s most brilliant minds.
“As a designer, I’ve always been fascinated by the notion that you can communicate messages that are understood by only an elite few, using symbols, pictograms, and ciphers. Finding the key becomes integral to appreciating the full meaning of an item that can otherwise be viewed simply as a work of art.”
Torsten Müller-Ötvös, CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, added: “The brilliant and creative minds of our Rolls-Royce Bespoke Collective have excelled once again, creating an extraordinarily contemporary and compelling iteration of Wraith.
“The Wraith Kryptos Collection, on first glance, is a statement of dynamism. On closer examination, a series of messages are hidden behind a unique Rolls-Royce cipher. I look forward to seeing whether any of our clients will crack the code!”
