Roll-Royce crypto mystery partially solved
The year before last, Rolls-Royce launched the special “Kryptos” model. Encrypted messages are hidden in it. The US American Brian Oberg has now apparently solved part of it.
The fact that cryptology is used in advertising is nothing new. When the Rolls-Royce company used this tool in 2020, I was still surprised, because I didn’t necessarily expect this from this provider. It’s just a pity that I don’t have the necessary small change to buy the advertised product. This is the special model Rolls-Royce Wraith Kryptos, in which encrypted messages are hidden. Only 50 copies of this car were built. Of course I blogged about it.
By the way, I wrote a book chapter about Rolls-Royce back in 2004, in my work “The Cult Factor”. It wasn’t about cryptography, although I was already dealing with this topic at that time. I don’t know whether this was the reason for the idea of encryption at the English manufacturer of noble cars.
The first code
Almost everywhere in the cryptos Rolls-Royce there are patterns which resemble Morse code. Some of them are composed of four elements (-, _, = and -). An example can be found on the neckrest:
Quelle/Source: Rolls-Royce
An indication of the meaning can be seen in the following graph:
Quelle/Source: Rolls-Royce
Apparently, the string -=- stands for the letter R. Rolls-Royce has also confirmed in a press release that the string attached around the radiator mascot stands for KRYPTOS:
Quelle/Source: Rolls-Royce
The second code
However, one also finds patterns in and on the “Kryptos” which cannot be decoded directly in the way described:
Quelle/Source: Rolls-Royce
A year ago, a blog reader named Brian Oberg, whom I unfortunately do not know personally, posted the following comment on my article about Rolls-Royce Wraith cryptos:
Hello, my name is Brian Oberg. I am a Senior Nuclear Safety Analyst at the Hanford Site in Washington State. I’m a member of the American Cryptogram Association and I have solved the codes on the Wraith Kryptos fascia by looking at online photos. I spoke with the Rolls-Royce Kryptos designers this morning and they have asked me to help keep the secret.
Elonka Dunin has thankfully brought to my attention that there is a video on YouTube where Brian Oberg meets a “cryptos” owner and explains the solution to him:
Unfortunately, it is not clear from the video how exactly the encryption works. However, we do learn (12:16) that the Alan Turing quote “Machines take me by surprise with great frequency” can be read on the outside of the “crypto”. At 21:00, there is also an Excel spreadsheet that probably represents a key.
Also, Elonka provided me with a graphic showing the ceiling of the “Kryptos” interior. She obtained this image from Brian Oberg. Here it is:
Quelle/Source: Rolls-Royce
Unfortunately, I do not know more about this topic. In particular, I do not know of any source that gives an overview of the encrypted messages in a “Kryptos”. I also don’t know if all 50 copies have the same symbols.
Does any reader know more? Can anyone reproduce the decryption shown in the video? Does anyone know of any other cryptograms from a “Kryptos”? Comments are always welcome.
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Further reading: Rolls-Royce launches online game inspired by new car model, Kryptos
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