Friday Flashback: This was once the most read interview and feature with Tom Purves, who served as the chief executive officer of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Ltd from July 2008 until 2010, after a long career leading BMW operation in North America. I flew to Singapore to conduct the interview during the car launch and flew back. Glory days when media had... budget!
Why today? I was at the dentist and rifling through a magazine and found this article.... and the interview was by me!! He was great chat. I've stated this several times, my features are as good as the subject and person I'm interviewing. I always credit the speaker more than my... typing.
The latest car to roll off the finest production line in the world was showcased for the first time in Asia in Singapore, at an exclusive event hosted primarily for correspondents from leading Asian magazines and newspapers. Even among the most severe critics and car enthusiasts, the new Rolls-Royce 200EX was greeted with applause and breathtaking adulation. It is a gorgeous car. A powerful machine. An icon. The timing of the release, however, did come into question, among many other issues. We sat down with the CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, Tom Purves, for an exclusive one-on-one chat.
Just before I walked into a private business conference room to meet one of the most powerful and certainly most enigmatic figures in the automotive world — even before the other gathered VIPs — I caught a sneak peek of the new Rolls-Royce 200EX. In a grand ballroom, images of the new wonder car were being hoisted by four men carrying huge canvases bearing beautiful photographs of the sleek new machine. They were taking them to the room prior to the event and grunted, huffed and puffed their way across the Capella resort in Singapore, adding the finishing touches to the venue in the private rooms that would later be revealed to the media and the teeming car dealers. Seeing that briefly put into perspective the grand efforts that have gone on behind the scenes to launch a new car.
The new Rolls-Royce succeeds the Phantom Coupé, which did great business and was well received by the finest collectors and automotive media scribes. So when most people in the industry received invitations to see an even newer model within months, we cocked an eyebrow in surprise. We were told repeatedly that it is not a better or newer version, merely a sister car, part of the family of Rolls-Royce models.
Even before the unveiling, it was safe to say the car would be great. Rolls-Royce’s legend is bigger than the car itself, and rightfully so. But it was the timing that raised questions. Since last November, even the wealthiest people in the world have tightened their belts and purse strings as the words “economic downturn”, “Madoff”, “recession” and “depression” have become part of everyday vernacular. Let us not forget that a Rolls-Royce, whatever the model, shape, size or vintage, does not come cheap. As Jerry Garrett of The New York Times once said of one of Rolls-Royce’s previous, younger, less expensive models: “Money talks, and ‘Drophead Coupé’ is a US$407,000 way to say ‘convertible’.”
Unlike other luxury cars such as a Porsche, BMW, Bentley or the stretch limousines that litter Hollywood, a Rolls-Royce is for the collector of collectors, the über-wealthy, the truly famous and fortunate — certainly not for the nouveau riche. No matter how new the model or how techno-savvy, sinewy and sophisticated it may be, Rolls-Royce is patronised by classic, old-moneyed people with a refinement and sophistication that comes from heritage, lineage and, perhaps most notably, power.
So how will this car be received in China? As we go to press we do not yet know, as the 200EX, the latest experimental car from Rolls-Royce, was presented at the Auto Shanghai show on 20 April 2009. It is a contemporary four-door saloon that indicates the direction for the RR4, a new model series from Rolls-Royce due for production in 2010.
According to the press release: “RR4 will be powered by a brand-new 6.6-litre turbocharged V12 engine unique to Rolls-Royce. The engine will be combined with an eight-speed automatic ZF gearbox. This new drivetrain will significantly improve fuel and CO₂ efficiency over the already class-leading Phantom series of cars. Engine power will be upwards of 500 bhp.”
Prior to that event in mainland China, correspondents from India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, China, Japan and Hong Kong were invited to Singapore to preview the 200EX. Given its significance, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ CEO Tom Purves and the chief exterior designer Marc Michael Markefka flew in to host the event.
As we sit down for a chat, I ask the newly appointed CEO Tom Purves (previously Chairman and CEO of BMW (US) Holding Corp. and President of BMW of North America, LLC) about the challenges of launching a new luxury car in this market, and whether any dramatic changes were made or budgets reconsidered.
He says: “The fact of the matter is, a project like designing a new model for Rolls-Royce has been in the making for years. The design, the execution and the construction have been progressing for much longer than the current economic climate, so the short answer is no. No changes. We went ahead as planned.”
Experimental models have always played a significant role in the history of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, from the first — 1EX, built in 1919 — to the most recent — 101EX, built in 2006. Unlike a concept car, the experimental models developed by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars have always been fully functioning vehicles, residing in a tangible world of wood, leather and metals rather than clay and foam. EX cars offer designers and engineers the opportunity for real-world innovation and have been used to showcase new components and engineering techniques as well as exterior and interior designs.
“Modern automotive engineering is a balance of creativity, innovation and application. 200EX is an opportunity to assess these new ideas,” explains Helmut Riedl, Director of Engineering. Tom Purves adds: “We have more in common with aircraft and shipbuilding than we do with other cars. The fact is, we’re in the luxury business; we build aspirational products and, by the nature of that, they become very expensive.”
Leaning back into his chair, he continues: “We also know that our customers who buy our cars are influenced by everything going on around them, including style and luxury, which are heavily influenced by things outside the auto business. Customers also need to be understood. The Rolls-Royce customer has a different style and motivation from most other car customers. If you’re a Ferrari customer, for example, you are probably 90 per cent sure to be a car fan, because you would have to be a car fan to want to own a Ferrari!”
But isn’t that true of a Rolls-Royce customer too?
“Yes, but there’s also more,” agrees Purves. “Our customers come from a wide range of professions. Beyond that, they are from all walks of life. We have a large number of entrepreneurial business people — self-made ones — many heads of state, royalty, film stars, pop stars and athletic stars. Success is a common thread.”
There are many expensive cars on the market, but Rolls-Royce has become a status symbol more than perhaps any of its competitors. Has the car always been a status symbol?
“Historically, if you go back to the beginning, when Mr Henry Royce bought a French car, he was very disappointed with it. He said, ‘I could make a better car,’” says Purves with a little chuckle. “He set about doing it. His aspiration was to build a better car. Whether he wanted to build the best car in the world is unknown; he wanted to build a better car. He was a brilliant engineer. Having built a few cars in the past, he knew that a certain size and structure would probably be everything that people wanted at that time. It eventually became known as the ‘Silver Ghost’. Until about 1924 it was pretty much unchanged for decades because it was so good. It established Rolls-Royce as the pre-eminent luxury car. And at the time it was definitely the best, aiming to be the best of all. From about 1906 it had set the tone for Rolls-Royce: to be the best.”
Indeed. However, when it comes to experimental cars we do not need to turn the dial back too far. 100EX was the first experimental car unveiled after Rolls-Royce Motor Cars was relaunched under BMW Group ownership in 2003. Revealed at the Geneva Motor Show in 2004, the two-door, four-seat convertible was built to mark 100 years of Rolls-Royce motor-car design and engineering. Just two years later, 101EX was presented, exploring modern coupé design.
Following on from this success, the same group of designers and engineers has created 200EX, itself pointing the way to RR4, a new Rolls-Royce model scheduled for production in 2010.
The brief for 200EX was to create a modern, lithe and dynamic Rolls-Royce that bears all the hallmarks of the great cars that have gone before it: effortless performance, unparalleled refinement, exquisite quality and confident design.
As the limelight fell upon the car for the select crowd in Singapore and again at the auto show in Shanghai, you could literally tick off each aspect of the car’s shiny ambitions: it had the refinement, quality and design all present and correct. The exterior design is dominated by large, uninterrupted surfaces, while finely sculptured horizontal lines add definition and geometric precision. In combination, the upward-sweeping sill line and low-cut roof create a powerful profile. The tapered rear is enhanced by powerful shoulders and flanks that draw in sharply, narrowing as they flow from the rear wings to the taillights.
“Unlike other cars, Rolls-Royce only sells a certain number of cars — not for any shortage of demand, but of supply,” says Purves. “We are in close contact with nearly all our customers and rely on their feedback and comments,” adds a company representative. This is clearly not a mass-produced product for mass consumption, but a classy one.
Short of time, as Mr Purves has been pulled into multiple interviews during his brief stint in Asia, it boils down to a rapid Q&A.
Q: What would Rolls-Royce represent in this modern age?
A: Refinement, success, elegance, style, glamour.
Q: But style and fashion are so transient and temporary. I thought Rolls-Royce has always set out to become timeless.
A: Let’s use a fashion brand as an example: Hermès. Hermès has always been in style, and yet it is an old brand. Some fashion brands actually have to be consistent — consistently good, of consistent high quality. By consistently delivering, they become more than a fashion brand; they become a promise that builds over time, and then they become timeless.
Why would you say champagne is used even more today as a celebration of success than it was 100 years ago? Because young people today love champagne; it has been passed from generation to generation. Of course there has been some clever marketing, but again that consistency of product quality is terribly, terribly important.
For a car that has to deal with the rough and tumble of the road, quality is even more important.
There’s no car company that has succeeded with purely marketing.
Q: How important is the China market this year, especially on the heels of the Western economic recession?
A: China is an important market no matter what the year. 2009 is a year of transition for us and, in the economic environment, China will play an important role, but it is a country that is as important as anywhere else. I don’t expect the greatest results and great growth overnight, but if I look ahead five years, China will become an increasingly important market. There’s no question about it. In fact, it has already done so in many ways.
Last year, in Beijing, Rolls-Royce had the third-largest single dealership in the world, ahead of Beverly Hills and London. I think we could have sold more if we could have supplied more. Yes, China is very important.
Q: There has been a lot of mumbling in the press that taxation on car ownership will go down considerably in China over the coming year. Would something like that affect you?
A: Any time you have a substantial change in areas like that, it does make a difference. Perhaps a bit less for a car like a Rolls-Royce than for other cars, but there is an effect. If the taxes go up and people have to pay a bit more, it has a sort of sticker-shock effect. But after a little while that goes away.
Q: Does the infrastructure of a city make a difference to selling a quality car like a Rolls-Royce? In capital cities with poor infrastructure, I assume that Rolls-Royce is not even available.
A: That’s a really interesting point you’ve made. I think it would be less of a problem for Rolls-Royce than it would be for some of the other expensive brands, such as an Aston Martin or a Lamborghini, that would need smooth roads.
Rolls-Royce is a good car in terms of ride quality and its ability to deal with less-than-wonderful roads. But maybe the other aspect is that people don’t want to own a car unless there’s a nice road to drive it on.
I remember years and years ago I was trying to sell cars in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) and I was stunned at the lack of response. At the airport I was sitting there with a long face — there weren’t many Europeans there at the time — and this chap came up to me and said, “What’s your problem?” I explained to him. He then said, “Ah, you’ll never sell a single car here until they open a hotel. As soon as they open a luxurious hotel, you’ll sell as many cars as you need.” Do you know, he was right?! As soon as the InterContinental hotel opened in Riyadh, we started selling cars. Customers wanted a destination. It wasn’t just enough to own the car — many there could afford to do so — but you needed to take it somewhere.
My customers from Riyadh already had Rolls-Royces in London or Paris, but they had an SUV or a Jeep or something in Riyadh at the time. You need a good theatre for the car. You need an ambience for it.
And, finally, what is the common link between a Rolls-Royce customer in the West and one in the East?
"There are two common strings among Rolls-Royce collectors: the desire to have the best,” concludes Purves, “and the ability to acquire it.”
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