Rolls-Royce Pininfarina Hyperion

Named after Hyperion, one of the Titans of Greek mythology, this one-off creation of Pininfarina was built at the request of Roland Hall. He apparently decided that his Rolls-Royce Drophead Coupe wasn’t so special anymore, so he commissioned the good folks at Pininfarina to make his Roller look more fly than his neighbors’. The result: the interesting (odd?) creation you see here.

One thing of note: Andrea Pininfarina, CEO of Pininfarina S.p.A., died while the car was being made. Roland Hall has decided to dedicate the car to his memory.

According to the press release, Pininfarina’s inspiration came from the classic luxury cars of the 1930’s. They wanted to emulate those classic proportions on the Hyperion— hence the long, surging hood, the smooth, fluid sides, and the classic two-seat grand tourer configuration. To accomplish this, Pininfarina made a rather big change to the interior of the original Rolls, because remember: though the Drophead is a coupe, it still has four seats. Pininfarina removed the rear seats, moved the cabin about 16 inches back, and then proceeded to remodel to whole exterior of the car:

The sides have new creases for aesthetic pleasure, and the whole profile sort of slopes backwards (to create the “surging” effect). Combined with a classic “berlinetta” tail (cut-off but still sloping), the whole car imparts a rather lazy, languid feel, as well as elegance and sophistication. The taillights have been redesigned, they are now long and thin whereas they were short and squat. Pininfarina’s are much better I think. Sportier.

Now we come to the most interesting part of the car: the front. Pininfarina’s design for the nose is rather controversial, and you can see why. Gone is the Rolls-Royce stateliness and sense of power, it is replaced by elongated, somewhat alien looking recessed headlights. The grille is still the same, but the whole face has been slightly inclined. Pininfarina also got rid of the fog lights; basically the front is now simpler and with a rounder, smoothed out feel. Some love it, others hate it, but what the hey: it’s Mr. Hall’s money, and he can have his Roller look whatever the hell he wants.

The last major exterior modifications were to the roof, which needed to be repositioned (it still folds back), the hood, which now has two small compartments to store Mr. Hall’s hunting rifle, and the doors, which are made by luxury boat makers out of solid wood. Oh, and all the external modifications that you see are done in that most glorious of materials: carbon fiber.

And finally, the interior is unchanged (for how could you ever truly improve on the luxury of a Rolls-Royce?), save for the two-seat configuration. As a final exclusive goodie, a wristwatch designed specifically for the Hyperion by watchmaker Girard-Perregaux is stored in the dash, where it can be removed and worn if Mr. Hall ever feels like his collection of Armani and Gucci silk suits aren’t quite flashy enough.

Specs
(all data is that of the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe)

Price: Suffice it to say that YOU most definitely cannot afford it.

Engine: 6.8 liter V-12

Top Speed: 155 mph (electronically limited)

Horsepower: 453

Torque: 531 pound-feet

0-60 mph: 5.6 seconds

Mileage: 11 city/18 highway mpg

Filed Under: Modified cars • Pininfarina • Rolls-Royce