Meet the Rolls Royce Boat Tail, a luxury yacht on wheels

KUALA LUMPUR: The luxury carmaker Rolls-Royce has made a comeback to the bespoke coachbuilding game with a bang as it unveiled a new one-off model ‘Boat Tail.’ It is a 19-foot long, four-seater car, with the rear design shaped like a yacht deck, dubbed as “the most ambitious motor car ever created” by the automaker. 

Before diving deeper into the model’s details, let’s first know what coachbuilding is. It is the brand’s bespoke program wherein a client can commission a customized body style while remaining within the confines of the company’s design language. The Boat Tail in question is a coachbuilt model, one of the three to be made. 

Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive, Rolls-Royce stated, “Rolls-Royce Boat Tail challenges the notion of what a motor car is and creates a new definition of what a motor car means. Boat Tail exists far beyond a mere means of transport. It is not just the method to reach a destination, but the destination itself. It is an ambition realised with a remarkable cohort of women and men who empowered the marque to create a concept of extraordinary scope.”

The first of three Boat Tails here we see has been commissioned by a couple who already owns a restored iteration of the original model. Design-wise, the new version exhibits a blend of retro and futuristic elements, particularly on the front. It has a pantheon grille edged by sleek LED DRLs and round headlights. At the rear, its level of craftsmanship is flaunted by tail lights which are placed low to give it the appearance of a boat’s dipped stern. Also highlighted are the splashes of carbon fibre around the bumpers and the sides.

Well, what takes most of the attraction is the Boat Tail’s rear deck. It has a blacked-out wooden panel with stainless steel pinstripe inlays. The butterfly-styled doors of the deck are opened up at 67 degrees, followed by the contents raised on a platform by 15 degrees. Included in the contents are luxury silverware, fine cutlery, two refrigerators, picnic tables, towels, and umbrellas. 

Other bespoke elements include a sweeping removable canopy roof which is very useful in the rain. Inside, it has special instrument dials based on the guilloche technique, while its timepieces are also custom-made that can be used as wristwatches too. The car’s glove compartment carries a Montblanc pen, encased in a leather and aluminium case that caters to the clients’ love for pens. Adding to the interior beauty are the two nautical shades of blue, the darker for the front seats and the lighter for the rear.

As far as the mechanicals are concerned, the automaker has not yet revealed any info. However, the reports suggest that it would be powered by a 6.75-litre V12 twin-turbo unit churning out 570 PS and 900 Nm.

Rolls-Royce has also not made any comment on the Boat Tail price, but rumors hover around a £20 million tag (approximately equal to RM 117 million). If this turns out to be true, it would be the world's most expensive car.

Also read: Rolls Royce showcases a one-off bespoke masterpiece, the Phantom Orbie