Exquisite Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail revealed
Second of four drop-top commissions boasts expensive gemstones and aerodynamic wood
What does the owner of a multinational gemstone company do when they’ve got many millions of pounds tucked down the back of the sofa? Commission a bespoke Rolls-Royce Droptail brimming with glitzy stones, of course.
Meet the Amethyst, the second of four unique takes on the coachbuilt Rolls-Royce Droptail that debuted in Monterey a week ago. It’ll come as no surprise that the company is keeping the identity of the client close to its chest, although it has revealed that they’re the owner of a family-run gemstone company, a collector of ‘significant motor cars’ and that the amethyst gem is the birthstone of their son. And, putting two and two together here, reasonably well off, too.
Naturally, the purple amethyst stone plays a key role in its vehicular namesake. For instance, the Spirit of Ecstasy is surrounded by amethyst ‘cabochons’, which is gemstone lingo for a process whereby the stone is polished to a more rounded finish than a faceted one. This came at the request of the buyer, who wanted to ‘avoid a conspicuous sparkle.’ More amethysts cabochons feature inside, placed in the centre of the rotary dials at the base of the dashboard. The colour of the gemstone is mirrored throughout the cabin, with new ‘Amethyst’ purple leather forming the primary hue of the interior, which is contrasted with Sand Dunes highlights and Calamander Light open-pore wood veneer.
Speaking of wood, there’s clearly quite a lot of it at the back of the car. It’s functional, less so as a surface to sunbathe on while parked up at Monaco’s harbour, and more so from the aerodynamic side of things. The British marque says its ‘aerodynamicists and wood specialists worked closely together’ (a sentence you’ll unlikely read anywhere else) to find the right textures and angles of the panels to help clean up airflow towards the rear of the car. According to Rolls-Royce, it’s the only car in the world that generates downforce using a raw wood surface.
The biggest surprise, however, is that the Droptail isn’t just a rebodied Phantom with the roof cut off; it’s said to be based on an all-new carbon, aluminium and steel monocoque that’s bespoke to the Droptail. It isn't electric like the Spectre, either, instead making use of the firm’s twin turbocharged V12. Rolls-Royce hasn’t stated any power figures, but suffice it to say it has enough for brisk levels of waft.
“Within Rolls-Royce design, Amethyst Droptail will stand in our history as a representation of how accurate our creative response can be in projecting the soul of an individual commissioning client through both literal and highly conceptual expressions of personal luxury”, says design director Anders Warming. It’ll also go down as one of the firm’s most expensive commissions, with rumours suggesting the price tag totals somewhere in the tens of millions. If a purple Rolls-Royce is all you’re after, you could always go for this Ghost Black Badge for only £374,950. Mind you, it doesn’t come with aerodynamic wood decking.
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