World’s most expensive new car: Rolls-Royce’s £20m Boat Tail revealed

The world’s most expensive new car has been unveiled today by Rolls-Royce – and it has an umbrella that extends out of the back!

The £20million Boat Tail convertible grand tourer is the first of an exclusive trio of highly personalised nautically-based limousines.

It has been specially commissioned by a wealthy and ‘flamboyant’ couple with a love of chilled champagne and alfresco picnics – hence the vehicle’s incredible rear deck housing a dinner set, matching table and chairs and even a parasol that automatically extends out when they want to dine at the rear of their Roller.

Rolls-Royce has even exclusively modified the cabin for personalised ‘his and hers’ watches – either of which can be slotted into the dashboard to become the motor’s clock.

It has taken four years of ‘mind-boggling attention to detail’ to design and manufacture in collaboration with clients who wanted a unique car to ‘mark a sense of occasion’, says the legendary British marque. 

And to put the exclusivity of the commission into context, the £20million price-tag would buy you the equivalent of around 40 personalised flagship Rolls-Royce Phantom limousines costing around £500,000 each (including bespoke extras).

It is also double the cost of the previous two most expensive new cars in the world: Rolls-Royce’s own £10million coachbuilt Sweptail of 2017 – the car that sparked new Boat Tail project; and Bugatti’s one-off £11.5million ‘La Voiture Noir’ hypercar that was first shown at the March 2019 Geneva Motor Show. 

Measuring just under 5.8 meters long, the new four-seater two-door Rolls-Royce Boat Tail is the first to be built by Rolls-Royce’s new Coachbuild department at the company’s boutique headquarters in Goodwood, Sussex.

The mystery first customers – who Rolls-Royce say they have been asked not to name – are extremely well-heeled self-made couple ‘with a sense of style and a love of travel, adventure, and entertaining who collect cars, watches, pens and fine champagnes and like sailing’ – all of which are reflected in their customised car. 

Rolls-Royce’s new Coachbuild arm has been set up specifically to capitalise on the growing number of similar such super-rich customers who want a luxury limousine that they can help to create and is unique to them.

The new grand cruiser is inspired by the elegant J-Class yachts of the early 20th Century and the original ‘Boat Tail’ Rolls-Royces of 1920s and ’30s which in turn were inspired by them.

It is left-hand drive suggesting it will be driven mostly on the Continent.

A treasure chest hidden under a veneer rear deck

The most eye-catching features centre around the Boat Tail’s ‘aft deck’ – a modern interpretation of a yacht’s wooden rear deck in a special grey and black Caleidolegno wood veneer that is ‘visually elongated’ using brushed stainless steel pinstripe inlays.

At the press of a button this rear deck opens up like sweeping ‘butterfly wings’ to reveal an intricate ‘hosting suite’ for alfresco entertaining and displaying ‘a treasure chest of moving parts’.

To the left is a double refrigerator with special cradles to securely stow two bottles of champagne at a precise temperature. The aficionado owner’s favourite Armand de Brignac vintage should be stored at six degrees Centigrade for consumption – the exact setting the fridge operates at.

The section also provides space for four glasses, napkins and other accoutrements.

The right side is focussed on fine dining with a bespoke alfresco picnic and cuisine section with temperature controlled food warmers and cutlery made by Christofle of Paris and engraved with ‘Boat Tail’.

Two pop-out cocktail and picnic tables open out – one at each side – and rotate elegantly ‘to mimic the offering of an attendant’ for aperitifs and dining.

Two matching slim-line interlocking stools, designed by Rolls-Royce and created by Italian furniture maker Promemoria, use the same carbon-fibre and blue leather from the car and are stowed inside.

Most dramatic of all is the sun shade parasol on an extending telescopic arm. It emerges, on demand, from the rear centre line beneath the opening rear deck wings ‘in anticipation of fine weather’. The interior is also cooled to maintain constant temperatures regardless of weather.

Rolls-Royce says the sophisticated rear-deck reflects the character of its clients and marks something ‘never seen before in the automotive world’ noting: ‘At the press of a button, the deck opens in a sweeping butterfly gesture, to reveal an intricate and generous hosting suite. ‘Its complex movement was inspired by cantilever concepts explored by renowned architect Santiago Calatrava.

‘Hinged towards the centre line, the synchronised balletic opening movement reveals a treasure chest of moving parts that offer themselves to the host at a precise angle of 15 degrees. This subtle gesture of presentation reflects a genteel and quintessentially British expression of service.’

Luxury car, luxury watches and even a luxury pen 

Another unique luxurious touch blends the pinnacle of automotive and clock-making craftsmanship.

To keep time, two reversible ‘His & Hers’ two-sided timepieces by Swiss-based ‘BOVET 1822’ – either one of which can be taken off the owner’s wrist and mounted on the dashboard fascia as a clock, while the other is stored in a special tray compartment.

Rolls-Royce said of the three year collaboration: ‘The mechanically minded clients sought to break new ground in horology. As esteemed and passionate collectors of both the Swiss-based House of BOVET and Rolls-Royce, their vision was to create exquisite, ground-breaking timepieces for their Boat Tail.

‘The result is an accomplishment never before realised in either industry. Two fine reversible timepieces, one for the lady and one for the gentleman, have been designed to be worn on the wrist, or, placed front and centre within Boat Tail’s fascia as the motor car’s clock.’

That’s not the end of the bonkers exclusivity.

A particularly cherished Montblanc pen resides in a discretely placed, hand-crafted, case of aluminium and leather, in Boat Tail’s glove box. Collecting pens is another of the clients’ great passions.

Blemish-free leather in a favourite shade of blue with a ‘light metallic sheen’ is sourced from hides of ‘stress-free’ Alpine cows in Bavaria.

Instrument dials are adorned with decorative Guilloche patterning as perfected by fine jewellers and watchmakers and there’s an elegant thin-rimmed two-tone steering wheel.

Wooden trim in the lower cabin and floor area echo a ship’s hull. And the hollow section of floor sills specially engineered to double as a resonance chamber to provide bass speaker ‘surround sound’ for 15-speaker audio system.

The exterior paint is a special shade of blue – ‘the client’s favourite colour’ – with embedded metallic and crystal flakes to catch the light.

The owners better hope the saying ‘it rains in the South of France’ is on the money 

Unlike most convertibles with a roof that stows away at the touch of a button, the Boat Tail has an ‘unconventional’ single-piece carbon-fibre and canvas removable fixed-canopy roof.

The idea is that owner will drive with it in place from, say, a home in rainy Britain, then remove it for open-topped driving when at a chateau in sunny South of France or Monaco.

Rolls-Royce explains: ‘If inclement weather is encountered while the roof is removed, a temporary tonneau is stowed for static transitory shelter.’

Nautical-style wrap-around windscreen recalls the visor on motor launches while the styling and tapered rear is designed to mirror ‘a motor launch rising out of the water’.

With the Spirit of Ecstasy ‘Flying Lady’ mascot at its prow, and a hand-painted darker graduated bonnet, the vast grille is hewn from block of aluminium and the car features the largest hand-beaten panels ever used on a Rolls-Royce.

No barge: It might look like a boat but it will accelerate like a sports car 

Under the bonnet of the Boat Tail is Rolls-Royce’s massive 6.7-litre V12 twin turbo-charged petrol engine developing around 570 horsepower and linked to an 8-speed automatic. 

The company will say only that performance is ‘adequate’. But based on that of the current Phantom, expect 0-to-62mph acceleration of around five seconds with top speed governed at 155mph, but gas-guzzling fuel economy of around just 20mpg and CO2 emissions in excess of 300g/km.

A total of 1,813 exclusive new parts were created for the project which took 4 years, with the total amount of pre-production planning hours by engineers taking the equivalent of 20 years.

It was tested in UK and Continental Europe at extremes of temperature from 80C to minus 20C.

Five computerised electronic control units (ECUS) are need to create rear of car alone. 

Explaining the nautical nature of the Boat Tail, the company said: ‘Within this group, it emerged that three potential patrons shared a deep appreciation of contemporary nautical design.’ 

J-Class yachts were often referenced as points of inspiration, both for their purity of form and their requirement for hand craftsmanship at the highest level.

‘And all three shared a single demand: ‘Show me something that I have never seen before.’

Rolls-Royce added: ‘In consultation with the clients concerned, an agreement was reached whereby three cars would share a common body, but each would then be individually, highly personalised.’ 

‘Coachbuilt’ luxury electric cars will follow, says Rolls-Royce boss 

Chief executive Torsten Müller-Ötvös said Boat Tail marked ‘a pivotal moment in our marque’s history’ noting: ‘The attention to detail is mind-boggling.’

‘We are proud to unveil Rolls-Royce Boat Tail to the world, and with it, the confirmation of coachbuilding as a permanent fixture within our future portfolio.’

Rolls-Royce is also working on a zero-emissions pure electric limousine to be launched within the decade and coachbuilt versions of it would also be offered, he said.

The company recently registered the name ‘Silent Shadow’.

Mr Müller-Ötvös said: ‘Historically, coachbuilding had been an integral part of the Rolls-Royce story. Coachbuild is a return to the very roots of our brand. It represents an opportunity for the select few to participate in the creation of utterly unique and truly personal commissions of future historical significance.’

Mr Müller-Ötvös stressed: ‘Rolls-Royce Boat Tail is not a concept created to be retrospectively sold. Quite the contrary. Boat Tail is the culmination of a four-year collaboration with three of our most special clients.’ 

Rolls-Royce last year (2020) experienced the highest levels of bespoke additions to its cars.

Earlier this year the company reported record first quarter sales – up 62 per cent on the same period in 2020 and the highest in marque’s 116-year history, exceeding the previous record set in 2019. Sales growth in all markets was strongest in China, US and Asia Pacific. 

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk