Rolls-Royce reveals ultra-exclusive Boat Tail model

Rolls-Royce is set to reveal its latest coachbuilt Boat Tail model at the Concorso D’Eleganza in Lake Como this weekend. It’s only the third of its kind the company has ever made and will be the last, in order to maintain the heights of exclusivity that the firm’s coachbuilding clients expect. 

This latest car was commissioned as a tribute to the buyer’s dad, who started out in pearls. Rolls has praised the client’s “extensive knowledge of luxury”, which was presumably a relief in comparison to some of the more 'interesting' things they’re normally asked to produce. 

The colour of the paint was inspired by a selection of the buyer’s favourite pearl shells and the instrument panel is inlaid with mother of pearl for a particularly fancy look. Another nice touch is the ‘timepiece’ in the centre of the dashboard, which has come from the buyer’s own collection. 

The back end of the car opens up with two centrally mounted hatches, revealing a space festooned with walnut trim and featuring a nice picnic set. 

There aren’t any technical details that have been released about the car – from staring at the pictures we can see that it is based on a Rolls-Royce and has four wheels. There are also seat back pockets, which don’t always come as standard. Definitely some sort of engine in there, and if the buyer has any sort of sense they’ll have insisted on the firm’s 6.75-litre twin-turbo V12 getting shoehorned in there. 

The real draw of these cars is the technical craftsmanship, though, details like the front grille being milled from a single giant block of aluminium. Rolls boss Torsten Müller-Ötvös has described the company’s coachbuilding efforts as “the haute couture of our industry”, which if you follow the latest fashion trends means wildly impractical efforts that no one in their right mind could pull off in real life. But let’s face it, this person isn’t going to be trundling down to Aldi in their new Rolls-Royce are they? 

Now that Rolls has produced its final Boat Tail car, what other tails can it look to for inspiration? Whale tails have been done, but there’s still cat’o’nine tails, Sonic and Tails and Shark Tale just waiting to be turned into a multi-million pound masterpiece.