rolls royce spirit ecstasy hood ornament

REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth

The image of a Rolls-Royce has long been inseparable from the famous hood ornament of a woman with her arms spread out behind her, her clothes billowing in the wind.

The statuette, officially known as The Spirit of Ecstasy, dates back to the early days of the automaker, and was created by British sculptor Charles Robinson Sykes.

Sykes made the first version of the hood ornament for motoring enthusiast Lord Montagu. His model was Montagu's secretary and mistress, Eleanor Thornton, according to The Telegraph.

Soon after, Rolls-Royce, annoyed that its customers were making up their own hood ornaments, commissioned Sykes to create a similar statue for all its cars. The Spirit of Ecstasy has been standard on Rolls-Royces since the 1920s.

Since 2003, Polycast Limited, based in Southampton, has been responsible for making the Spirit of Ecstasy. Today, it churns out about 5,500 per year.

Reuters photographer Stefan Wermuth went behind the scenes to see how they do it.