Hardly the first Rolls Royce with gold plating. Some have taken it farther using solid gold pieces.
http://autos.yahoo.com/news/-8-1-million-gold-plated-rolls-royce-redefines-excess.html
The plebeian chrome-plated door handles, trunk-lid trim, hinges and hardware on the rear picnic tables were replaced with 265 pounds of solid 18K gold
If any consolation, most of the value of the car is actually in the gold.