Earlier this week, Rolls-Royce unveiled its first coachbuilding project in a long time and the first in a series of three nautically-based commissions. It’s called Boat Tail and it’s an outrageous, gorgeous and painfully expensive vehicle that’s already secured the title of the most expensive new car in the world.
Given its £20 million ($28.4 million) price tag, Boat Tail sure is expensive. It beats previous record holders, like the Bugatti Voiture Noire (€16.5 million / $20.2 million) and the Rolls-Royce 2017 coachbuilt Sweptail (£ 10million / $14.2 million) and, for the time being, is holding on to that number one spot.
Boat Tail is not just the priciest new car in the world and the next step in bespoke for Rolls-Royce, but also a true engineering wonder. It finds inspiration in nautical designs and is meant to be more than just a means to a destination, but the destination itself, through the inclusion of a stunning picnic set in the rear, which deploys at the touch of a button. This sounds gauche in writing, so think of it as a picnic set that took 4 years and $28 million to bring into reality, to be enjoyed on the Cote d’Azur.
So, this brings the question: who commissioned such a vehicle? Rolls-Royce, for one, would only say that the “patrons” are a power couple known worldwide both for their work and their art curation. “Their desire was to create a response to a life of hard work, success achieved, and celebration required,” the marque said earlier this week. “Their Rolls-Royce Boat Tail should be joyful, a celebratory car to enjoy with their family.”
The same release noted that blue was a favorite color for the two patrons, as was a shared love of fine champagne. They like their champagne to be cooled down exactly to 6 degrees Celsius, which led to the incorporation of a fridge in Boat Tail that did just that with extreme accuracy.
Industry reports are naming this power couple as Jay-Z and Beyonce and, based on the tidbits offered by Rolls-Royce above, the description matches. They’re both passionate about boats, love champagne and have an outspoken adoration for everything blue ever since their daughter Blue Ivy was born. “It's thought this fantastic car has been commissioned by Beyonce and Jay-Z, with all its detailing matching their favorite things,” a spy tells The Telegraph. Rolls-Royce would not comment on the report.
Most importantly though, with a combined net worth of $1.9 billion, Jay and Bey are wealthy enough to afford to spend a fortune on a bespoke car they’ll probably take picnicking once.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
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