Rolls-Royce Hyperion by Pininfarina

The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance is an automotive charitable event, a tradition that goes on for over 50 years. Both prewar and postwar collectors come each year to Pebble Beach, California, to show off their “assets”. This year, one of the most highly anticipated concept cars at the show is going to be the Rolls-Royce Hyperion by Pininfarina.

Based on the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe, the Pininfarina Hyperion has been commissioned by one lucky and presumably very wealthy customer. The unique creation does away with the rear seats and moves the front ones, along with the swept windscreen, back by 400 mm. If you can believe it, a gun rack has been fitted in front of the cabin (yeah, we're serious), while famed watchmaker Girard Perregaux has crafted a special tourbillon timepiece for the Hyperion that can be removed from its wrist-strap and mounted in the dashboard. The car is named after Hyperion, one of the Titans of Greek mythology, to underline its architectural and figurative power. Meanwhile, word has it that Rolls-Royce could be collaborating with Zagato or Bertone on another special model as well.

The pure lines of the white gold case, inspired by a model of 1945, contain a gold bridge tourbillon. This mechanism, which is faithful to the original design created by Constant Girard- Perregaux in the 19th century, stands out for its complexity: only an expert watchmaker could assemble the cage that weighs just 0.3 grams, carrying no fewer than 72 elements. The automatic movement was painstakingly built by the company.

This, of course, is the first new vehicle from the Italian design firm to be unveiled since the untimely death of Andrea Pininfarina, August 07.2008. Andrea Pininfarina, head of the eponymous design studio, was the son of Sergio Pininfarina and grandson of the carrozzeria's founder Battista "Pinin" Farina. Andrea was killed in a motorcycle accident in Turin, Italy, not far from the company's headquarters. He was only 51 years old.