A blend of retrofuturism and modern luxury

Halcyon, a British automotive manufacturer providing remastering services for classic Rolls-Royce and Bentley models, may be only two years old, but
its design ambition is rooted in heritage.

Its first demonstration of this ambition is the Highland Heather commission, a project limited to 60 unique projects, each with a 12-month build process and £420,000 price tag.

Lead designer at Halycon, Patrick McCallion, joined the company on day one, already set on the Highland Heather commission. His decade-long background in design consultancies across both automotive and aviation — including private jet interiors — meant that he arrived
at Halcyon with a broad knowledge of luxurious craftsmanship.

McCallion
believes that research is everything. “You can’t just mash modern and classic
together,” he said. “You have to go back to the drawings, the materials and the
technical regulations. Then you can push things forward.”

This Rolls-Royce Corniche restomod follows this philosophy. McCallion’s aim was to design something that
felt like it could have existed in the 1970s, when the original car was
released, but with modern craftsmanship and technology subtly woven in. He
calls it “retrofuturism”: designing the future as imagined in the past.

Respecting the Rolls-Royce heritage

The Highland Heather commission began with extensive research. McCallion sifted through sketches, clay models
and period photographs to understand the original designers’ intent. “It’s
about knowing what they were trying to do, what the budget or the technology at
the time didn’t allow them to do — and then asking, ‘what if?’”

Key to the design was keeping Rolls Royce’s signature
look intact. The dashboard silhouette was retained, but McCallion stripped away
decades of incremental add-ons that had cluttered the interior.

Material choices also evolved. Rather than the highly
polished veneers of the past, Halcyon developed a matte finish – a more
contemporary and tactile expression of wood.

Moreover, the team had to work around the car’s
existing body-on-frame architecture. “We couldn’t change that, so it was about
making the most of the opportunities we had within those constraints,” McCallion commented.

The power of storytelling

McCallion wanted the design to portray a story.
For him, it was personal. He drew inspiration from the journey he has taken
many times: from Northern Ireland, through Scotland, down to the Midlands and then
Surrey, where the Halcyon headquarters is located. “That’s the story I wanted
to put into the car,” he mused.

It also led him to the muted purple palette, as the Purple Moorland exterior colour is drawn from
Scottish heather and stormy skies. The ripple motif across the gallery also
draws directly from Scottish highland rivers he admired on those drives.

The story also ties back to Rolls Royce’s own heritage
as the company’s 1907 reliability trials involved long-distance runs from
Crewe to Scotland. Even the plaques inside the car tell a story, with one
including the name of McCallion’s hometown in Northern Ireland in
tiny lettering. “It’s a little nod to me,” he smiled. “But the idea is that customers
can put their own stories into the car too.”

Bespoke craft & retro details

Halcyon’s
approach allows customers to tailor almost every element. The interior gallery
can be made from materials such as leather, mother-of-pearl or even solid gold.
Details like plaques and patterns are equally open to personalisation.

Retro cues are everywhere. Switchgear references 1970s hi-fi systems, with aluminium knobs and scalloped surfaces designed for
tactility. The convertible roof toggle delivers a satisfyingly mechanical clunk click.
Seat backs can be finished like Eames chairs in wood, or with teak boat
detailing – a reference to the convertible’s natural harbour setting.

The steering wheel, developed with Moto-Lita, pushed the
supplier into new territory. “They’re brilliant, but this was more bespoke than
anything they’d done before,” McCallion commented. “We really had to get into the details.”

Even small touches were carefully considered. Buttons and
toggles were shaped so drivers could recognise them by feel in the dark. “In
the old days, you didn’t need to look at a button to know what it did. We
wanted to bring that back,” he stated.

And then there are the more playful details. The original
car had a little cubby for a whisky decanter with four shot glasses – a very
Rolls Royce flourish yet perhaps not so legal nowadays. “We kept the space but
repurposed it,” McCallion
explained. “It’s not for whisky anymore, but you can customise the space to still
find a nice surprise there.”

Technology is also wrapped in retro styling. Screens are
integrated like CRT televisions, referencing 1970s sci-fi aesthetics. McCallion calls it ‘reinventing the past’:
imagining what could have been dreamt up back then and delivering it with
today’s materials and precision.

User experience & future direction

Though this
is an EV restomod, technology is kept discreet. Instrumentation has been adapted for the electric powertrain, with digital displays hidden
behind classic watch-style bezels. “We designed all the graphics bespoke,”
Patrick notes. “It’s cleaner, less distracting – but everything’s still there.”

Drive modes echo the brand’s understated character.
Instead of technical jargon, there’s ‘Touring’ for long
journeys and ‘Spirited’
for more dynamic driving. Beneath the veneer lies a 500-horsepower motor and
adaptive suspension. “It’s a lot quicker than you’d expect a Rolls Royce to
be,” McCallion admitted.

Despite the performance, he insists analogue controls
remain essential. “Analogue interfaces just work better with human tactility.
Haptic buttons might feel modern, but they’re not as natural.”

McCallion
believes electrification aligns well with Rolls Royce’s character. “Silent,
effortless cruising, it doesn’t work so well for Ferrari or Lamborghini, where
the noise is part of the brand. But for Rolls Royce? It’s perfect.”

Looking ahead, Halcyon plans to expand bespoke options
further, from tailored audio systems to additional storage solutions.
Collaborations with specialist suppliers are also part of the roadmap, pushing
craftsmanship in new directions.

For McCallion,
the philosophy stays the same: respect heritage, embrace storytelling and
ensure every detail connects past with present. “Every detail has to tell a
story,” he summarised. “That’s what makes it special.”