Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars - Strive for perfection. This book is published for the exhibition in the BMW Museum in Munich and is a tribute to the artistic skills of the people behind Rolls-Royce and their credo. A book review on Rolls-Royce Motor Cars: Strive for Perfection by Marcel Haan.

Many automotive artists state that car designers are artists as well. A car can be a piece of artwork unto itself. This sentiment definitely applies to Rolls Royce. For over 100 years this brand has designed and created cars while ultimately striving for perfection.

The credo of Sir Henry Royce was, “Strive for perfection in everything you do. Take the best that exists and make it better. When it does not exist, design it.” His eternal words are still lived by today.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

This book Rolls-Royce Motor Cars: Strive for Perfection was published for the exhibition “Strive for Perfection” in the BMW Museum in Munich. It is actually a catalogue providing a wealth of information on the history of the company, the design philosophy, the evolution of the Rolls-Royce marketing strategy throughout the years, as well as a list of all the various models.

The book itself is perfectly designed with paper specifically selected for the handmade drawings and different paper for the text and photo prints. Photographer and designer Johannes Riedel has done an outstanding job of reflecting everything the Rolls Royce brand stands for in his photos. They vary from close ups of the dashboard to engine details to the vehicle as a whole. He has a keen eye for choosing the perfect angle for a photo to capture the lines of each specific model.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

Andreas Braun is responsible for the text in both German and English. With a PhD in art history, he connects the technical aspects of each vehicle with the art. The many design sketches are complemented by detailed description of the production process and provide the reader with great insight in the creation of the car.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

Is this book as perfect as the cars? Well, the devil is in the details they say and with a black background behind so many photos, to many pages had a staggering amount of dust, left from the printing and book binding process – though this may be my only complaint.