Expat Michigander Jack White is a man all about the colour schemes. A handful of years ago, he explained to Guitar Player, “Sometimes, I want anything to preserve myself centered. Getting every little thing in the White Stripes be red, white, and black centers me, and keeps me on that a single path. Copper centered me on the Raconteurs.” He’s also been identified to rock a western fringe like no one considering that Nudie Cohn passed on to the excellent shirtwaist factory in the sky. Seemingly inspired by White’s aesthetic verve, Rolls-Royce has announced a run of 9 Al-Adiyat automobiles.
Regardless of the Arabic name, the run of 9 Wraiths and 1 Phantom Coupé seems much more like a British take on the vehicles that Cohn constructed for stars like Buck Owens and Roy Rogers. Much more restrained than Cohn’s 6-gun-and-silver-dollar-bedazzled Pontiacs and Cads, the fleet of Rollers nonetheless packs a lot more than a whiff of 1960s Technicolor Nashville. In truth, if we learned something for the duration of a recent trip to the UAE, vehicle tastes and selections in the Gulf are maybe a lot more related to our personal than anywhere this side of Canada. They’ve even got questionably customized Mitsubishi Galants, just like Bakersfield.
According to Rolls, “ ‘Al-Adiyat’ is the noise produced by a powerful horse when its hooves strike stone.” And horsey bits are indeed everywhere. If they’re not extreme, they’re at least prominent. The front headrests feature embroidered equines, the sill plates and clock are emblazoned with gold-plated horseshoes, whilst other small details suggest numerous things of tack. We would not be the tiniest bit surprised if some enterprising sheikh commissioned an opulent Conestoga wagon to tow behind his. Enterprising sheikhs, if you are reading this, please commission opulent Conestoga wagons to tow behind your Wraiths. It could be the hype new thing for this year’s National Day.
Though the Al-Adiyats function all the mod cons and then some, there’s one feature we doubt Rolls-Royce has believed to contain. If the Goodwood crew has ginned up horns that blare the opening trumpet line from “Conquest,” we’ll eat our 10-gallon hats. And our twelve-gallon ghutrahs.
Al-Icky Thump: Rolls-Royce’s Al-Adiyat Automobiles Aren’t Mere Wagons to Mexico
