From its beginnings, Rolls-Royce has been the heart and soul of all that is considered prestigious in the automotive world.

The words "Rolls-Royce' themselves have entered the popular language to denote much more than a motorcar. When people talk of the Rolls-Royce of this or that, they are wanting to express the idea that something is the epitome of its kind. So much so that Rolls-Royce are in fact, continually fighting to keep their name from being associated with less than salubrious products and events; everything from poor imitations of their cars to gambling tournaments. This is largely due to the fact, one imagines, that anyone who has achieved a certain level of success in their chosen field, ratifies their achievement with the purchase of a certain motor car whose mere presence in a garage speaks reams about its owners' place in this world.

In fact, Rolls-Royce refers to their customers as 'Owners' - and that is with a capital 'O'. As iconoclastic writer F. Scott Fitzgerald was once heard to muse aloud: 'Rolls-Royce Owners are not like you and me', although later on he would rectify his ownership status. Indeed, Rolls-Royce Owners are not like everyday folk in more ways than just the purely financial. Stories abound, are frequently immortalised in popular legend of the customisation of Rolls-Royce vehicles to fit the various needs of their Owners: the Australian rancher who had a sliding partition installed in his so that the sheep he frequently transported would not lick his ear; the Maharajah who had his fitted with searchlights and running boards to facilitate tiger-shooting, another Maharajah, the monarch of Vizianagaram who annually blessed his silver R-R in a shower of rose petals, as the highlight of the state procession, actor Michael Caine who included the purchase of his first R-R on his shopping list next to bread and milk, and the occult tainted, anonymous Italian Owner who, wanting to make some modifications on his R-R held a seance to summon the spirit of the late Henry Royce and was allegedly advised from beyond to consult his authorised distributor.