The World's Most Expensive Car! £20 Million Rolls Royce Boat Tail

Back in 2017, Rolls-Royce unveiled the Sweptail, an incredibly huge Phantom-based one-off coupe with a completely custom coach-built body, the first of its kind from Rolls in the modern era. Right after the Sweptail was revealed, Rolls-Royce had a number of clients asking for custom vehicles of their own, leading the company to today announce that it's spinning off Coachbuild into a division of the brand. But three specific customers had very similar visions of what they wanted, and after four years of development, the new Boat Tail was born.

Kneel before the Most Expensive Car in the World, the ROLLS ROYCE BOAT TAIL,

Rolls Royce Boat Tail

Three Boat Tails will be built, one for each of said customers, and each one will have its own unique styling elements, color and trim specs, and special features. So far, only one car has been built -- the blue one you see here -- and Rolls-Royce isn't ready to talk about the other two yet. That's all right because this first one is absolutely spectacular.

The design

While the Sweptail was constrained by the old Phantom's platform, which has roots back in the 20th century, the Boat Tail is based on Rolls-Royce's own Architecture of Luxury (AoL), a modular platform that underpins the current Phantom, Cullinan, and Ghost, and crucially doesn't share anything with BMW. This means that Rolls-Royce's designers can create basically anything they want without any engineering compromises, and the AoL platform is designed to support full electrification in the future. Rolls-Royce isn't talking full specs yet, but we know this model shares the same twin-turbo V12 as the rest of the Rolls lineup. There's no word as to whether it has rear-wheel steering or all-wheel drive, both of which the AoL can provide.

Rolls Royce Boat Tail

The entirety of the Boat Tail is hand-built. Body surfacing is minimal, with one prominent crease that runs from the leading edge of the front fender all the way to the taillights and a second, lower rising line that connects to the wheel arches. A strip of chrome encircles the entire car just underneath that lower crease, rising up at the rear of the car, and all the lower body parts underneath are made from exposed carbon fiber.

Compared with Rolls' current production cars, the Boat Tail's face looks unique. The Pantheon grille is an integral part of the front end instead of looking more tacked-on; there's no chrome surround, just chrome slats inset in the recessed opening. The top of the grille is a smooth curve that flows into the hood, and the latter has a subtle crease down the center and minimal lines otherwise.

Rolls Royce Boat Tail

I especially love the windshield, which appears to have fully wraparound glass that ends at the slightly swept-back chrome A-pillars. But really it's three pieces of glass, with small quarter windows that are glazed over additional upright pillars. The Boat Tail has regular retractable side windows as well as a set of smaller quarter windows.

While Rolls-Royce says its customers didn't specifically ask for a roof -- and the Boat Tail was designed without one in mind -- the company has also developed a fixed roof for the car. The top features a glass rear window and two upright posts made from carbon fiber, while the main top section is fabric and has extensions that clamp onto the deck and give it a flying buttress look. This roof requires multiple people to be able to attach and remove it, but the car also comes with a tonneau cover in case of emergencies or when the car will be left parked outside without access to the roof.

The hosting suite

The entire rear deck is made from open-pore dark-gray Caleidolegno wood, which is accented by stainless-steel stripes that are reminiscent of a boat's hull. This wood is typically only used in interiors, but Rolls-Royce was able to adapt it for use on the exterior, and its striping and grain are perfectly matched to the lines of the car. The wood and steel accents are also found on the top surface of the rear bumper.

This Boat Tail's centerpiece is underneath that glorious rear deck. The owners are a couple who love hosting dinner parties, so at the press of a button, the deck opens into a "hosting suite" that's ideal for the world's fanciest picnics. Rolls' Innes calls it an "engineering marvel," adding that it gives the car a major sense of occasion. Hinged at the center, the two lockable panels open in a butterfly motion at a 67-degree angle. The undersides of the panels are covered in chrome, while the intricate interior cabinets are made from carbon.

Rolls Royce Boat Tail

With the panels open, two chests present themselves at a 15-degree angle. On the right side is a full set of dishes and silverware, and on the left is a double refrigerator, a set of champagne glasses, napkins, and other essentials for enjoying bubbly. The owners are champagne enthusiasts -- relatable -- so the Boat Tail comes with their favorite vintage of Armand de Brignac. Naturally, the bottles are custom-fitted to the hosting suite's housings and are polished and finished in matching blue tones. The fridge is even set to the optimum serving temperature of this specific champagne. Everything found in the suite is custom-made and engraved, and Rolls-Royce says there are no spares. If anything gets broken, Rolls will have to make new ones.

There's a cocktail table on each side that is finished in matching wood and rotate in a way that mimics "the offering of an attendant," and a pair of folding stools made from leather and carbon fiber stows below them. Once the two panels are open, a parasol(!) hidden in the center of the rear deck can be deployed. Designed by Rolls-Royce from the ground up, the parasol features carbon-fiber stays and a polished aluminum telescoping assembly. The whole thing opens in a flowering, inverted motion so you can be standing right up against the car and not get in the way.

The interior

Curiously, the Boat Tail seems to completely share its dashboard, center console, steering wheel, seats, and door panels with the old Phantom Drophead convertible, not the new-gen Phantom with which the Boat Tail shares its modular platform. In fact, it seems like the only major styling differences are the deck and surround for the rear seats.

I think I know why, though: The couple who ordered this Boat Tail is also timepiece aficionados, and the car comes with a pair of special Bovet 1822 watches -- one for the husbands and one for the wife. Naturally, these pieces are also complete one-offs that match the car. These watches have been designed so that they can be placed in a titanium cradle in the Boat Tail's fascia to serve as the clock while the car is being driven, and there's a special compartment to stow the watch's removable straps.

Rolls Royce Boat Tail

The new Phantom has a fixed clock at the top of the dashboard, next to the infotainment screen, but the old Phantom had a screen that could be hidden by a rotating panel that contained a dashboard clock. While we don't have all the details yet -- expect a story specifically on this Boat Tail's watch in the coming weeks -- the timepiece is housed in that panel. The car also has analog gauges that mimic the watch's face, instead of digital gauges like the newer production cars.

The Coachbuild process

As I mentioned earlier, the unveiling of the Sweptail spurred many customers to approach Rolls-Royce wanting a coach-built car, but three specific clients -- all couples or families -- shared love of J-class racing yachts and nautical design. Rolls' designers have always wanted to create a modern Boat Tail, especially as the brand has a long history with that body style, so the three customers were presented with the idea and Rolls says they all immediately approved. Their only request to the designers? "Show me something that I have never seen before."

Rolls Royce Boat Tail

Innes is proud of the fact that all three Boat Tails have been commissioned by people who promise to genuinely, regularly drive and use their cars -- hence the hosting suite in this one -- and all three customers want to drive the car as soon as they take delivery. These original coachbuilt wonders aren't just going to be hidden away in a garage, never to be seen. To that end, the Boat Tail is fully homologated and road-legal, having gone through the same dynamic testing regimen as any regular production Rolls. The owner will even be able to have the vehicle serviced at regular Rolls-Royce dealerships. As with the stuff in the hosting suite, though, Rolls has no spare parts.

Rolls-Royce won't say anything about how much money the Boat Tail costs. At the time the Sweptail was first shown, it was the most expensive new car of all time with an alleged price of just under $13 million, an amount that was surpassed in 2019 by the $18.7M Bugatti La Voiture Noire. With development costs of the Boat Tail split across three cars that should keep the price down a little -- my best guess is that each one is setting back the owners around $10 million. Are you a billionaire, and you're looking at these photos wondering if you can order a Boat Tail for yourself? Don't bother calling your dealer representative, because you can't. Rolls-Royce says that the car is "not a product offering."

The company also isn't ready to share when the other two Boat Tails will come out, but each model will be detailed as well as this first one has been once they're ready. As for other coachbuilt projects? With the launch of the new division, we're certain to start seeing more incredible one-off creations in the near future. The next ones are already in the works, in fact. We can't wait to see them.

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