Rolls-Royce unveiled a bespoke two-seater at the Concorso d’Eleganza car show in Italy. Called the Sweptail, the car has been commissioned by an unnamed customer who worked directly with the British marque’s design department assisting with its creation for over four years.
The Sweptail – a name that refers to the swept-tail design of 1930s Rolls-Royce Motors – is built on the aluminium spaceframe architecture of the Phantom VII Coupe and is powered by the same 6.75-litre V12 engine.
The exterior styling has been crafted with design cues to both vintage Rolls-Royce machines and luxury yachts. The front features the carmaker's traditional front grille, although it is the largest version ever constructed. The rear of the car is tapered with a raked stern – a design nod to racing yachts – and the rear brake light is housed in a ‘bullet-tip’. At the side, the bodywork has been designed to wrap under the car with no visible boundary, which is designed to mimic the hull of a yacht.
The most notable exterior feature is the large panoramic glass roof, which Rolls-Royce says is one of the largest and most complex ever produced for a car.
Inside, the Sweptail features a clean and minimalist design. Rolls-Royce has kept controls to a minimum on the dashboard. The clock is embedded into the fascia, with the hour marks, the numbers and hands on the instrument dials, all machined from titanium. Much of the interior trim is crafted from Macassar Ebony and Paldao wood, with Moccasin and Dark Spice leather trim on the seats, armrests and dashboard top.
In place of the rear seats is a vast expanse of wood that has been crafted into a mid-shelf with an illuminated glass lip.
However, not all of the custom design touches of Sweptail are visible. Concealed on either side of the car are two identical panniers, which house custom-made attaché leather-wrapped carbon-fibre cases which have been sized exactly to house the owner’s laptop. Those cases match a luggage set produced by Rolls-Royce Bespoke, which fits in the car’s wood-clad trunk.
Perhaps the most outlandish feature of Sweptail is concealed in the centre console: a system designed to deploy a bottle of champagne along with two crystal flutes.
While the Sweptail is a one-off design, it could be followed by more creations. Torsten Müller-Otvös, the CEO of Rolls-Royce, said: “Sweptail is proof 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.”