Rolls-Royce makes a splash in the world of bespoke custom automobiles with a $28 million all-new ‘Boat Tail’. The nautical-themed powerful car represents a collaborative effort between the marque and commissioning clients.
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Inspired by their 2017 bespoke custom-built Sweptail, Rolls-Royce has created an exclusive Coachbuild division to cater to patrons who want a one-of-a-kind experience. One of the three commissioning clients for the new Boat Tail are rumoured to be music industry power couple Jay Z and Beyonce. Rolls-Royce hasn’t revealed the buyers’ names but has said that the commissioning couple also owns a fully restored 1932 Rolls-Royce Boat Tail.
Photo Courtesy: Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
The creation echoes Rolls-Royce’s original Boat Tail design, but does not explicitly mimic it. The bespoke limousine is inspired by J-Class yachts and ‘Boat Tail’ Rolls-Royces from the 1920s and ‘30s.“Boat Tail is our most ambitious project yet. Coachbuild, in collaboration with its clients, has ignored all preconceived notions of possibility and set a new standard. This is Bespoke at its purest,” says Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive, Rolls-Royce.
Photo Courtesy: Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
The manual techniques of coachbuilding used by the luxury automaker offer design opportunities galore. Once the preliminary design proposal is penned by hand, a full-sized sculpture in clay allows experts to make any changes they see fit. The clay sculpture is then digitally remastered, and onto which aluminium sheets are hand beaten to create the body.
Photo Courtesy: Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
The four-seat convertible is 5.8m long and features prominent nautical references in the wrap-around windscreen, larger front and tapered rear. The exterior is swathed in a rich and complex tone of the client’s favourite colour, blue. An overtly nautical hue, the paint is embedded with metallic and crystal flakes that shine subtly in the sunshine. Details are an integral part of this bespoke creation, and even the wheels are finished in bright blue, matching the body of the car.
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The interior leather reflects the bonnet’s colour tone, the front seats swathed in the darker blue hue, with stitching and piping in a more intense shade. The dashboard features black Caleidolegno wood veneer. Luxury Swiss watchmaker Bovet 1822 and Rolls-Royce re-imagine iconic dashboard clock, with “his and hers” reversible timepieces. The timepieces are designed to be worn on the wrist or placed front and centre as the motor car’s clock. A particularly cherished Montblanc pen will reside in a discretely placed, hand-crafted, case of aluminium and leather, in Boat Tail’s glove box.
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Perhaps the most fun feature of the car is the hosting suite. The rear deck looks inconspicuous, but, at the press of a button it opens in a sweeping butterfly gesture, inspired by cantilever concepts explored by renowned architect Santiago Calatrava, to reveal a surprise. An intricate hosting suite comes into view and is appointed with the perfect accoutrements for a Rolls-Royce al fresco dining experience. Cutlery engraved with the name ‘Boat Tail’, made by Christofle in Paris, a double refrigerator houses the clients’ favourite vintages of Armand de Brignac champagne. Bottles can be rapidly cooled to precisely six degrees, which is the optimum serving temperature of the preferred vintage. The car is even equipped with a parasol! A telescopic movement opens this beautiful canopy inversely. Cocktail tables, two contemporary-style stools designed by Italian furniture maker Promemori, are also discretely stowed below. This car has everything you need for an impromptu picnic, complete with flutes of vintage champagne.
Photo Courtesy: Rolls-Royce Motor CarsPhoto Courtesy: Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
