Rolls-Royce of the Future: The Concept Car Built for Bruce Wayne

The Rolls-Royce has long been a symbol of luxury, British refinement (even though it’s now owned by the Germans) and having far, far too much money. But it’s also a bit stuffy – regal and impressive yet lacking much in the way of excitement, like Prince Charles with hubcaps. However, a Californian designer has ‘reimagined’ the iconic car as a sort of retro-futuristic daytime-Batmobile affair. And it’s brilliant.

“I did actually kind of want it to look like Bruce Wayne’s limousine,” says Jeremy Westerlund, who designed the car when he was a student at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA. “I was looking at some of those old limousines, where you’d have the driver on the outside and your own private space inside. It goes back even to when people had their own horse-drawn carriages. I just thought there was something so elegant about that.”

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The resultant design is an enormously sleek luxury motor, with a driver perched in a little leather cockpit (who cares if he’s exposed to the elements, he’s just the help) and up to four passengers tucked away comfortably in the spacious rear area underneath the driving seat.

While Westerlund’s design has been seen by people at Rolls-Royce, there’s sadly little likelihood of it making it into production. Not least because it’s a little on the large side – if made to the original design, the car would measure over 20 feet long. “Well, it’s a luxury car, it’s going to take up a lot of room,” laughs Westerlund. “What I really wanted to do is provoke an emotion, and some people love it and some people hate it, but you’re not going to forget it.”

See more of Jeremy Westerlund’s work at coroflot.com/jw_concept

On sale: Never. 0-60mph: Depends how fast you push. Top speed: None. Price: Priceless

From the April 2011 issue of FHM India.