The Rolls-Royce Coachbuild division has just unveiled its latest masterpiece during Monterey Car Week, the uber-exclusive Droptail. Limited to just four units worldwide, the car presented in California is the first of those four and is known as La Rose Noire. The La Rose Noire Droptail takes inspiration from a French rose known as the Black Baccara, a favorite flower of the mother of the family that commissioned it. It is painted in a unique red finish that’s been designed to look almost like black in the shade but has a pearlescent red glow under the sun. Rolls-Royce made this special paint by combining two shades of red that it dubs True Love and Mystery.
Unlike the Rolls-Royce Sweptail and Boat
Tail, the Droptail is not based on the same Architecture of Luxury platform as
the Cullinan, Ghost, and Phantom and instead has a new monocoque chassis made from
steel, aluminum, and carbon fiber. Although the underpinnings are new, the
powertrain takes the form of the marque’s 6.75-liter twin-turbocharged V12 that
pumps out 593 hp and 840 Nm of torque. While a car like this isn’t
about straight-line performance, it is understood that it can hit 100
km/h in less than 5.0 seconds while continuing through to a 250 km/h top speed.
A unique exterior design immediately
distinguishes the Droptail from all other Rolls-Royce models. The front end is
relatively conventional with a large chrome grille and slim LED headlights with
daytime running lights. The bodywork then adopts a smooth and flowing design
along the sides, tapering to a rear end with a set of taillights unlike any
other we’ve seen from the brand before. Rolls-Royce has also equipped the
Droptail with a stylish spoiler and an eye-catching decklid. It even features a
removable roof panel made from carbon fiber that includes electrochromic
panels.
Rolls-Royce describes the “most remarkable
element” of the car as its interior. It took almost two years to perfect and is
dominated by complex artwork that represents an expression of falling rose
petals, individually crafted from 1,603 pieces of black wood veneer. The seats
are bathed in a combination of True Love red and Mystery red leather while
sitting in the center of the dash is a custom timepiece by Audemars Piguet.
This 43 mm chronograph incorporates red counters and a red inner bezel and
features a flying chronograph. Interestingly, the timepiece can be detached at
the press of a button and worn with a strap.
As if that wasn’t enough, the family that
commissioned the car also ordered a one-off Rolls-Royce Champagne Chest to
match the car. This champagne chest can also be opened at the press of a button
and includes hand-blown crystal champagne flutes and a serving tray. Rolls-Royce
has not said how much each of the four Droptail models will cost but one source
pegs each at around US$ 25 million.