Although Rolls-Royce is famously tight-lipped regarding the cost of its really customized limousines, this new, extravagantly luxurious 19-Foot Rolls-Royce Boat Tail is likely to be the most costly new automobile to date, as it was inspired by the $13 million Rolls-Royce Sweptail from 2017, but with additional intricacy. (Bugatti’s La Voiture Noire, which sold for a reported $18.7 million after taxes, now holds the distinction.) The beautiful cabriolet gets its name from its tapering tail end, which goes back to the 1920s, when vehicles like the Auburn 851 Speedster and Bentley Speed Six Boat-Tail were all the rage.
The Most Expensive New Car in History Could Be This Wild 19-Foot Rolls-Royce Boat Tail is priced at a whopping 28 million dollars.
Engineers would simply connect the hull of a boat onto the moving chassis of a vehicle in the early days of boat-tail design, creating a streamlined automobile with a nautical motif. Until recently, it was a design that had faded elegantly into the annals of history.
The new Rolls-Royce Boat Tail is 19 feet long and is built on the same aluminum spaceframe chassis as the Phantom, Cullinan, and new Ghost models. It also has the same 6.75-liter V-12 engine. Aside from that, this amazing Rolls-Royce is unlike any other on the globe.
This is one of three distinct Boat Tail variants that have recently been hand-built as client commissions, this one for a mystery guy and his wife who live in the United States and are both thought to be in the music industry. And, just before the automobile is ceremoniously handed off, I was given a sneak peek.
The vehicle’s most striking feature is the massive, hand-painted Azur blue bonnet that fades to a brighter hue. For the first time in the contemporary history, a painted Rolls-Royce pantheon grille replaces the customary stainless-steel appearance up front.
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Twin side-opening compartments in the back are hinged in the center and unfold like butterfly wings to reveal an Aladdin’s cave of treasures. A twin champagne cooler on the nearside was custom-made to suit bottles of the owner’s favorite Armand de Brignac vintage. On the other side is a set of Christofle of Paris dinnerware, as well as salt and pepper grinders, all of which are engraved with the car’s name. Rather than a chiller, caviar is kept cold in an onboard fridge with several other food compartments.
However, the crowning feature is a parasol that fits into the back of the Boat Tail to offer additional shade. The high-tensile fabric is stretched over carbon-fiber stays with a stainless-steel shaft and aluminium coupler. It was also put through its paces in a wind tunnel.
Rolls-Royce collaborated with Swiss watchmaker House of Bovet to manufacture reversible “his and hers” timepieces for the car’s owners. The simple dashboard’s focal point is a hole for one of the watches, which also serves as the Boat Tail clock.
The celestial pattern above the man’s birthplace is supposed to be visible on one side of his watch. According to Alex Innes, the head of the marque’s Coachbuild Design department, a titanium drawer beneath the “clock” hole is meant to hold another wrist watch, which is especially significant in this Rolls.
“Light steering and a narrow steering wheel are two of the excellent qualities of driving a Rolls-Royce,” says Innes. “This specific client enjoys taking off his wristwatch while driving and despised the thought of it being stored out of sight.”
The Boat Tail is a four-seat convertible with a tonneau cover in case the skies open up. The Rolls-Royce is also equipped with a removable carbon-fiber top that transforms the car into a stunning coupe. Naturally, the kit includes a lightweight aluminium hoist for the latter.
