Rolls-Royce has announced its famous Spirit of Ecstasy mascot is receiving a major redesign for its first electric model
The original Spirit of Ecstasy was based on The Whisper, a sculpture created by Charles Sykes for his employer, John Montagu who founded the motoring magazine The Car Illustrated in 1902. Montagu and his office manager, Eleanor Velasco Thornton had a 13-year affair and while there are variations to the story surrounding the origins of the mascot, it’s generally accepted that the Spirit of Ecstasy is based on Eleanor and came about thanks to a friendship between Montagu and Claude Johnson, the then managing director of Rolls-Royce. It could all be the stuff of a Hollywood movie, but the mascot was registered in 1911 before first appearing on the Silver Ghost.
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