Interview: Halcyon on remastered Rolls-Royce Corniche EV

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.”