Cars like the Boat Tail and Sweptail represent the British marques revival of the lost art of Coach Builing
by Khris Bharath, onThe Rolls-Royce Boat Tail has made its first public appearance at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2021 in Cernobbio, Italy, since the car’s formal unveiling online, back in May.
Overview
The Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este was held on the shores of Lake Como, between the 1st and 3rd of October. This Rolls-Royce Boat Tail that was finally shown to the public certainly has to be one of the British automakers’ most spectacular masterpieces, and what better setting to debut such a car, than on the lawns of Villa D’Este.
If you recall, Rolls Royce had shown off the Sweptail, at this very venue back in 2017. It was incidentally, the Goodwood-based manufacturer’s, very first coach-built car from the modern era, with the Boat Tail now following in the lead of that car.
What makes the Boat Tail so special?
We all know that Rolls Royce Motor Cars is a luxury brand that stands for the pinnacle of luxury. With cars like the Sweptail and Boat Tail, they wanted to revive the age-old art of coachbuilding. According to RR, the Boat Tail is a Dawn-based convertible and it’s not just a car, but a piece of art on wheels. The car was commissioned by a small group of three very wealthy clients, who wish to remain anonymous. After meeting with them, Rolls Royce’s Coach Building division came up with the initial sketches which were followed by a full-scale model.
The aluminum body panels were formed and beaten to perfection by hand, using age-old coach-building techniques, that hark back to the marque’s glory days. The car’s design is inspired by a nautical theme, J Class Yachts to be more specific, and takes the form of a GT car. It took RR, nearly four years to complete work on this particular example, with the chassis alone taking up to eight months, that is with 20 people at it.
"It is a truly historic moment for the marque. We are leading a modern coachbuilding movement that takes the wider luxury industry into an entirely different space, where hyper-personalisation and contemporary patronage provide essentially limitless possibilities." - Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
The End Result
The exquisite surfaces of the Boat Tail are covered in a two-tone blue livery including a hand-painted front hood, a wooden hood reminiscent of a boat’s deck, while the rear houses two side-hinged doors with the ability to deliver a full Champagne service.
But it is, without doubt, the tail end of this magnificent car that is its most distinguishing element. This being a Rolls Royce, they haven’t forgotten about the umbrellas. But there’s an additional one, which can work as a canopy for when you get to savor your champagne.
A beautiful wood finish also makes it to the interior as well, complemented by two-tone blue leather upholstery and a "guilloche" finish on the vehicle’s dashboard. You also can’t miss the Bovet timepiece, again commissioned and tailor-made for this car, that is housed that takes center stage in the cabin.
Conclusion
With an outrageous price of $28 Million, the Boat Tail is believed to be the most expensive new car in the world. Only three examples will ever be made, with each of them being spec’d to individual customers’ tastes and inadvertently make them unique.
Apart from the Boat Tail, on hand at the event were 50 other specially chosen classic cars, whose names are enough to summarize the most stunning and fascinating interpretations in automotive history.
Watch Rolls Royce take us behind the scenes, giving us an insight into what went into making the Boat Tail
Unique coachbuilt ’Boat Tail’ makes its first-ever public appearance at the prestigious Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este on 2 & 3 October 2021
Boat Tail on view to guests and media for two days only on the Mosaic Lawn within the grounds of the Grand Hotel Villa d’Este, on the shores of Lake Como, Italy
Exhibited four years after the first coachbuilt Rolls-Royce of the modern era, Sweptail, was launched at the same event in 2017
“It is a wonderful privilege to reveal this unique Rolls-Royce to the world for the very first time. Although images have been widely shared, the car itself has not been displayed in public before. The Villa d’Este Concorso d’Eleganza is the perfect occasion, bringing together leading international media alongside knowledgeable motoring experts and discerning luxury aficionados, on the glamorous shores of Lake Como. There is also a pleasing symmetry in that we launched the first coachbuilt Rolls-Royce of the modern era, Sweptail, at the 2017 event.
"It is a truly historic moment for the marque. We are leading a modern coachbuilding movement that takes the wider luxury industry into an entirely different space, where hyper-personalisation and contemporary patronage provide essentially limitless possibilities."
Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
Rolls-Royce’s coachbuilt masterpiece Boat Tail makes its global public debut at the prestigious Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este on 2 October 2021. The car will be unveiled at 11.30 local time on the Mosaic Lawn by Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. It will then be available for guests and journalists to view for two days only, before returning to the privacy and seclusion that have surrounded it since it was formally revealed in May 2021.
Images of the car have been shared and admired around the world; however, this is the first time Boat Tail itself has been displayed in public. It is a unique opportunity for guests and journalists to examine the car’s remarkable coachbuilt construction and extraordinary Bespoke detailing, which were designed and hand-built at the Home of Rolls-Royce in a highly demanding technical and creative project lasting almost four years.
Boat Tail marks a seminal moment in the annals of Rolls-Royce, demonstrating the marque’s commitment to coachbuilding as a central part of its future direction and portfolio. It continues and accelerates a contemporary coachbuilding movement that began with Sweptail, the first coachbuilt Rolls-Royce of the modern era, which also made its first public appearance at Villa d’Este back in 2017.
Boat Tail represents a pivotal moment for the wider luxury goods sector. As a truly hand-built, one-of-a-kind creation, in which both the bodywork and interior are designed and produced to the client’s specification, Rolls-Royce Coachbuild redraws the boundaries of luxury and opens vast new possibilities for patrons of contemporary design and fine craftsmanship.
First staged in 1929 on the shores of Lake Como in northern Italy, the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este is one of the most important and glamorous occasions on the international lifestyle calendar. Normally held in May, the 2021 event takes place from 1-3 October 2021, with Boat Tail presented to the world, for the first time, on 2 & 3 October only.
