The one-off Rolls-Royce Sweptail was unveiled at the Concorso d’Eleganza at Villa d’Este at the weekend, with reports suggesting it may just be the most expensive new car … ever.
The coachbuilt vehicle was commissioned by a “Rolls-Royce connoisseur” (a collector of distinctive, one-off items including super-yachts and private aircraft), who approached the marque back in 2013 with his own idea of a two-seat Rolls. Once it was completed, it was christened “Sweptail” in a nod to the swept-tail features of certain Rolls-Royces from the 1920s.
It boasts a massive panoramic glass roof (framed by polished aluminium rails), a large front grille milled from solid aluminium and a distinctive wide C-pillar finisher. The minimalistic cabin features plenty of polished Macassar Ebony and open-pore Paldao, as well as two panniers (constructed from carbon-fibre and finished in leather) concealed in the outboard walls on either side of the vehicle.
The entire centre console, meanwhile, houses a hand-built mechanism that, at the touch of a button, deploys a bottle of the client’s favourite vintage champagne – the year of his birth – and two crystal champagne flutes.
Torsten Müller-Ötvös, chief executive officer at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, described the Sweptail as “a truly magnificent car”.
“‘Sweptail’ is proof, today, that Rolls-Royce is at the pinnacle of coachbuilding. We are listening carefully to our most special customers and assessing their interest in investing in similar, completely exclusive coachbuilt masterpieces. At the same time we are looking into the resources which will allow us to offer this unique service to these discerning patrons of luxury,” he said.
So, how much did the client pay? Well, various reports suggest the Sweptail cost a whopping £10-million (about R165-million), with Müller-Ötvös confirming that the bespoke vehicle is “probably the most expensive new car ever”…
