Hats off to: The Spirit of Ecstasy and London sculptor Charles Sykes! His exquisite figurine has adorned the front of Rolls Royces for the best part of a century. It was based on another small statue representing Lord Montagu of Beaulieu’s mistress and secretary Eleanor Thornton called The Whisperer, which sat atop the radiator of one of his limousines. It’s a lot smaller these days for safety reasons and disappears into the bodywork at the touch of a button. Apparently Henry Royce didn’t approve because it got in the way of the view.