The making of a coachbuilt masterpiece – Rolls-Royce Boat Tail

Rolls-Royce revealed the latest creation and also could be one of the most expensive vehicle up date, the Rolls-Royce Boat Tail. Based on a true commission model, ‘Boat Tail’ represents a collaborative exploration of luxury, design and culture between the marque and commissioning clients. In 2017, the celebrated Rolls-Royce Sweptail defined the dawn of the contemporary coachbuilding movement. It created a definitive moment that raised the awareness of a new watermark in luxury and automotive possibility, illustrating a new realm of exploitation owing to its hand-built nature.

The Design

A strong horizontal graphic with deep-set daytime running lights forms Boat Tail’s intense brow line and frames classical round headlamps, a design feature recalled from the design archives of Rolls-Royce.  The front profile is centred on a new treatment of Rolls-Royce’s iconic pantheon grille and lights.

The wrap-around windscreen recalls the visor on motor launches, while the gentle rearward lean of the A-pillar, the large, crisp volumes at the front and the tapered rear create a gesture that recalls a motor launch rising out of water under power.  Viewed from dead rear, the body resolves in a gentle sharpening of the form. As with the front, a horizontal emphasis is established at the rear with wide, deep-set lamps – a break from the expected vertical Rolls-Royce lamp iconography.  The aft deck, a modern interpretation of the wooden rear decks of historical Boat Tails, incorporates large swathes of wood.  The open pore material features a linear wood grain which is visually elongated by brushed stainless steel pinstripe inlays, serving as an optical nod to the typical wooden construction of yachts – both old and new.  The veneer treatment extends to the lower transom area resolving the taper and overall volume astern.

The exterior of Rolls-Royce Boat Tail is swathed in blue.  The wheels are finished in bright blue, highly polished and clear coated. The interior leather reflects the bonnet’s color tone transition with the front seats swathed in the darker blue hue, while the rear seats are finished in the lighter tone.  A soft metallic sheen is applied to the leather to accentuate its pairing with the painted exterior while detailed stitching and piping is applied in a more intense blue.

 At the press of a button, the deck opens in a sweeping butterfly gesture, to reveal an intricate and generous hosting suite.  A double refrigerator has been developed to house the Armand de Brignac champagne.  Rolls-Royce al fresco dining experience includes cutlery engraved with the name ‘Boat Tail’, made by Christofle in Paris, parasol, cocktail table, and stools created by Italian furniture maker Promemoria.