Second Rolls-Royce Boat Tail sets sail
Boat Tail number one came this time last year; here's the second, just in time for Villa d'Este...
Quite the day for amazingly expensive automobiles, then. Fresh from confirmation of that record breaking Mercedes-Benz, there’s now this, the second of Rolls-Royce’s three Boat Tail commissions. Which, at £20m each, are exceptional even by the exhalted standards of what commonly leaves the Goodwood factory.
Though ostensibly similar to the Boat Tail seen last year, number two is a very different proposition in terms of colours and materials. This one has been created for a customer wishing to pay homage to his dad and the family heritage which, as it happens, is in the pearling industry (but of course). Certainly explains the colour - “a shimmering blend of oyster and soft rose” - as well as the oyster-coloured leathers and mother of pearl accents. Or, to put it more eloquently: “The overall design aesthetic is restrained; a study in carefully considered materials and precise details that together create a highly personal and emotionally resonant homage to the client’s father.”
There’s plenty to look at with 5.8-metres of Rolls-Royce right there, from the Royal Walnut veneer for the rear deck, replete with rose gold-plated pinstripes, to the Pantheon grille milled from one bit of aluminium. Rose gold is employed for the Spirit of Ecstasy, the bonnet is cognac-coloured and there is bronze and gold-coloured aluminium mica flakes in the paint (!). Bonus points for spotting more rose gold in the lower sills. The mother-of-pearl clock inside comes from the customer’s own collection, with more of it for the dials and switches, which shows the kind of insane wealth we’re dealing with here. Beats carbon fibre any day. The rest of the interior mirrors the outside, with more Royal Walnut, cognac and rose gold throughout.
Rolls Royce will exhibit the second Boat Tail at Villa D’Este, which takes place at Lake Como from tomorrow. Where else, right? After which it will go to the owner’s dedicated private museum of cars, and make one heck of a Father’s Day present next month as well. Alex Innes, Rolls’ Head of Coachbuild Design, said of the latest handbuilt Boat Tail: “Every Rolls-Royce Coachbuild commission is, of course, incredibly special; but in this case, there was an additional depth of feeling. Creating a motor car in honour of a revered client’s father and family history is an extraordinary privilege; a responsibility that we took very much to heart. The commissioning patron's deep-rooted connection to Boat Tail is an inspiration – the result far exceeds a means of conveyance to become, quite literally, a moving work of art." We look forward to seeing the third and final instalment this time next year…
I don't know why, but as immaculate as it is, I can't help thinking that if I owned one it would still get food crumbs down the seats, crap on the floor and the usual grime that cars prick up. I would have to employ a daily valet if I owned this, then again, the owner probably does.
In terms of the object itself, it looks magnificent, other-worldly levels of opulence that perfectly compliment the environment it’s in, I can only imagine what it feel like to sit in and drive (although even if you were loaded at 5.6m surely you’d crap yourself driving this about the Marina and especially in Italy where road rules don’t seem to exist!).
The only downside as I can see it is that the owner still has to go through the inconvenience of filling it up, RR is one company that was born for EVs.
The size of those seamless front and rear panels for the 'no cut-line' (I know they're actually made from multiple pieces, welded, sanded then painted) look is simply sublime.
A Riva boat for the road, literally.
Luke Pollard MP would no doubt like to express his opinion....
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
However this is something completely at odds with all of that, it is spectacularly elegant and despite the £20m price tag, doesn't strike me as being something designed to shout about wealth. The choice of materials, colours and attention to detail give me the impression it's far more "down-to-earth" than whatever drug-dealer trinket is being churned out at Goodwood by the masses. I think it's utterly fantastic, and a credit to the folks who made it happen.
Hopefully Harry M will be at Villa D'Este this year and we'll get to see a close up tour on it at some point on his channel...
Pretty enough though.
And yes, I could absolutely imagine sitting on a little stool at Ascot quaffing something non-alcoholic (having never drunk any alcohol in my life!).
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