Art on wheels with a vintage Roller

The Life: An special edition Art Deco Rolls-Royce is up for sale in Dubai for Dh1.95 million.

The limited edition Rolls-Royce Phantom Art Deco is on sale in Dubai for Dh1.95 million. Jaime Puebla / The National
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The Art Deco movement of the roaring Twenties in the 20th century was often associated with dapper men and women representing a certain class of European and American society.

In art, it manifested itself in symbols of power and speed, referring to advances in the motor industry and communications, skyscrapers, cigarette-smoking women revelling in their new-found freedom, and jazz.

Baz Luhrmann's movie on the American classic The Great Gatsby promises to bring the era back to centre stage.

Apart from history and celluloid, there is a more tangible piece of Art Deco in Dubai up for ownership.

The bespoke Rolls-Royce Phantom Art Deco, a limited edition car, is on sale at a Dubai showroom for Dh1.95 million (US$530,975).

The Arabian blue model comes with all the trappings of Rolls-Royce elegance. Frosted interior lights were a highlight of those times, says AGMC showroom's Rolls-Royce brand manager Mohammed El Arishy.

The seats are in Piano Black leather with white trims. It also has the signature umbrella in the door.

The model was showcased at last year's Paris Motor Show to celebrate the 1925 Paris Exhibition or Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes. The name Art Deco was derived from the words Arts Décoratifs.

The car was flown into Dubai from the car's home town Goodwood in the United Kingdom especially for Art Dubai. This year the company engaged itself for the first time with the art event that ran last month. The car was part of a solo exhibition by the Iranian artist Reza Derakshani at Salsali Private Museum in Dubai.

"Rolls-Royce is a piece of art on wheels," Mr El Arishy says. "It's more than just transportation because of all the handwork that goes into it."