Rolls-Royce has revealed its next one-off coachbuilt model. It’s called the boat Tail, and it follows on from the 2017 Rolls-Royce Sweeptail, with similar yesteryear styling cues and an equally laborious hand-built manufacturing process.
As the name suggests, the Rolls-Royce boat Tail uses luxury yachts as a starting point for its design. Rolls-Royce says the car’s windscreen is inspired by the visor on powerboats, while the rear end creates a “gesture that recalls a motor launch rising out of water under power.”
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The customer that commissioned the project is the owner of the original Rolls-Royce Phantom II boat Tail, which was built back in 1932. This modern recreation adopts elements of its grandfather’s design, with a similarly tapered tail and an upswept rear bumper.
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Like the company’s heritage models, this coachbuilt boat Tail has running boards, while the rear deck is covered in Caleidolegno veneer, which is a material typically applied to the dashboard in Rolls-Royce’s series production models. The company says this decision was “a nod to the common wooden construction of yachts – both old and new.”
At the push of a button, the deck lid splits in two and opens to reveal what Rolls-Royce calls a “hosting suite.” It’s an fancy picnic hamper, filled with customized engraved silverware, glasses and a refrigerator that’s specially developed to hold Armand de Brignac champagne bottles. There’s even a fold-out parasol and rotating cocktail tables.
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The boat Tail is also a drophead model, but not in a form we’re used to. instead of a folding fabric roof, there’s a removable one-piece hardtop. If the weather turns sour when the car is away from its roof, Rolls-Royce has engineered a short-term tonneau cover to keep the cabin dry.