At the very summit of Bespoke, creation is no longer about embellishment, but about authorship. With Phantom Arabesque, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars writes a new chapter in contemporary craft — one that fuses Middle Eastern architectural heritage with a technological breakthrough never before seen on a motor car.
Commissioned through the marque’s invitation-only Private Office in Dubai, Phantom Arabesque is a one-of-one Rolls-Royce Phantom Extended, conceived as a cultural artefact as much as a grand tourer. It honours the region’s enduring design language through a newly patented laser-engraving technique, developed at the Home of Rolls-Royce, and unveiled here for the first time on a fully engraved bonnet.
This is not decoration applied; it is craftsmanship embedded.
A Language of Geometry and Light
The inspiration is Mashrabiya — the intricate latticework that has shaped the visual and functional identity of Middle Eastern homes, palaces and courtyards for centuries. Traditionally carved from wood, these geometric screens provide privacy while allowing light and air to circulate freely — an architecture of intelligence as well as beauty.
For Phantom Arabesque, Mashrabiya is reinterpreted with quiet authority. Its geometry appears across the motor car in multiple expressions: as the world’s first laser-engraved Rolls-Royce bonnet, as a bespoke marquetry artwork housed within the Gallery, and as a constellation of subtle motifs woven throughout the interior.
“Mashrabiya is one of the Middle East’s most enduring design languages,” explains Michelle Lusby, Bespoke Lead Designer, Private Office Dubai. “We were inspired not only by its beauty, but by the way it manages privacy, light and airflow. Our aim was to interpret these qualities in a way that feels culturally rooted and unmistakably Rolls-Royce.”
The World’s First Laser-Engraved Bonnet
At the heart of Phantom Arabesque lies a technical achievement five years in the making. Developed by the marque’s Exterior Surface Centre, the newly patented laser-engraving process represents an entirely new Rolls-Royce craft discipline.
Drawing inspiration from the Italian sgraffito technique, where layers are carefully removed to reveal contrasting tones beneath, the bonnet begins its life in a darker shade, sealed beneath multiple layers of clear coat. A lighter top colour is then applied, before the Mashrabiya pattern is engraved with microscopic precision to a depth of just 145–190 microns.
The darker tone beneath is revealed gradually, creating a richly tactile, three-dimensional surface that shifts as light moves across it. Each engraved section is hand-sanded to perfection, ensuring sculptural consistency and a finish that invites touch as much as admiration.
“Laser engraving allows us to create a surface that is both technically precise and visually alive,” says Tobias Sicheneder, General Manager of the Exterior Surface Centre. “Phantom Arabesque is the first expression of a technique that opens entirely new creative possibilities for future clients.”
Finished in Diamond Black with contrasting Silver upper surfaces, the exterior is completed with a single hand-painted Short Coachline carrying a Mashrabiya motif, an illuminated Pantheon Grille framed in Dark Chrome, an uplit Spirit of Ecstasy, and 22-inch part-polished alloy wheels.
An Interior of Composed Restraint
Inside, Phantom Arabesque is defined by serenity. The Gallery, stretching the full width of the fascia, houses a bespoke marquetry artwork crafted from Blackwood and Black Bolivar wood, echoing the Mashrabiya geometry with architectural precision. An offset clock, finished in a complementary dark hue, punctuates the composition with quiet confidence.
The interior palette is intentionally restrained: Selby Grey and Black leathers, black seat piping and carpets, and Mashrabiya motifs embroidered discreetly into the front and rear headrests. Starlight Doors glow softly, trimmed with Selby Grey piping and black contrast stitching, while illuminated treadplates reveal a cross-section of the bonnet engraving.
A Singular Commission
Phantom Arabesque has been delivered to its Middle Eastern commissioning client, where it now takes its place within a private collection – not simply as a motor car, but as a moving expression of heritage, innovation and authorship.
In Phantom Arabesque, Rolls-Royce proves once again that true luxury lies not in excess, but in meaning. Here, architecture becomes automobile, craft becomes culture, and the future is written with a laser, micron by micron.
