Custom Rolls earns its land yacht status

Rolls Royce's 2017 Sweptail, a gigantic $12.8 million Phantom-based coupe with an all-custom, coach-built body and commissioned by a yacht and aircraft specialist, was the first of its kind from the House of Rolls.

Its debut at Italy's Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este proved so popular, a number of Rolls-Royce customers asked for custom cars of their own, leading the company to now spin off Coachbuild into a brand division. Rolls Royce describes the division as a "true commission model," where the company and clients collaboratively explore luxury, design and culture.

In particular, three customers with a passion for contemporary nautical design wanted something never seen before. The result, after four years of development, is the hand-built Boat Tail, another automotive equivalent of haute couture. It is based on Rolls-Royce's own Architecture of Luxury, a modular platform that underpins the Phantom, Cullinan and Ghost.

Three Boat Tails will be built, one for each customer, and each one will have unique styling, color, trim and other special features.

The first one assembled looks every bit the part of a land yacht, with several nautical references. The wraparound windscreen recalls the visor on high-speed Royal Navy boats, while the rearward lean of the A-pillar, and the tapered rear, reflect a motor launch rising out of water.

The front of the Boat Tail is anchored by a new treatment of Rolls-Royce's venerable pantheon grille and lights. A horizontal graphic with deep-set daytime running lights forms the intense brow line and frames classical round headlamps.

The rear features Caleidolegno veneer — a gray and black material typically used in the interior but that has been adapted for the exterior. The open-pore material features a linear wood grain that is visually elongated by brushed stainless steel pinstripe inlays — a nod to the wooden construction of yachts.