There must be an angel

The mascot often found on the radiator cap of a Rolls-Royce motor car is officially called "The Spirit of Ecstasy". Some think it's an angel but it's an ecstatic young woman, clad in a voluminous and diaphanous gown, leaning forward into the airflow. If you look closely, you can see her pony-tail, her toes, and even her fingertips through the flimsy robe that forms her "wings".

She's most often called "The Flying Lady"or the "The Flying Angel". There are one or two other names used by some, but they tend to be a little too frivolous and disrespectful: "Nellie in her Nightie" is but one.

In the days before and after World War One, when all cars had exposed radiators, it was hugely fashionable to put fancy ornaments on the radiator caps. There were biplanes with rotating propellors, fat policemen, tasteless nudes, golfers, elegant Lalique crystal; a million varieties. Many of them were trashy and cheap, lowering the tone of the car, so Rolls-Royce commissioned Charles Sykes to produce a classy one.

It was available from 1911 as an option from the Factory, and most owner chose to accept the option. In later years it became standard. Rolls-Royce is probably the last manufacturer to have a radiator cap on top of a radiator (even though both the cap and radiator are dummies now), hence somewhere to put a mascot. Today a Rolls-Royce buyer would feel swindled if the new car didn't come with the mascot.

But not all owners use the official mascot, even today. The Queen has a silver mascot of St George slaying the Dragon on her official Rolls-Royce cars. A number of Silver Ghosts whilst touring in Scotland in 1997 sported a Scottish lion mascot especially commissioned for the event. One owner has a mascot of Toad of Toad Hall, that fanatical motorist from Wind in the Willows, on his Silver Ghost.

Many owners have alternative mascots they use for special events, but in the main the Spirit of Ecstasy is what you'll see on the radiator.