Haute Couture On Four-Wheels

It takes a village to build the world's (allegedly) most expensive.

-  Niraj Kakade

It feels strange to stand in front of something that hasn't existed before, nor will it ever again. A rather perfect moment in time and space, where the noises disappear and you're hyperfocused on what's glimmering ahead of you, in pearl white, under the crescent light of Singapore's Flower Dome. It is the Rolls-Royce Arcadia Droptail, the third Coachbuild Droptail commission. In their lifetime, more people will claim to have spotted Nessie at Loch Ness than the Arcadia on the road.

After the initial awe of encountering this one-of-a-kind creation subsides, an interesting aspect of the Roadster becomes apparent. Its name and design ethos, evoking the concept of 'heaven on earth,' suggest a haute couture vision reminiscent of the avant-garde style of Rei Kawakubo. However, the execution mirrors that of a finely tailored Saville Row suit, featuring a perfectly proportioned silhouette without any hint of front-or rear-heaviness. One cannot help but notice how the rear section, particularly where the roof retracts, bears a resemblance to the collar of a suit jacket if you will. The roof itself can be left as is for formal occasions or retracted to allow the wind to tousle one's hair. But that's barely scratching the surface.

Like most haute couture collections, the devil here, or rather the Phantom (pun), is in the details. "The significance of the Rolls-Royce Arcadia Droptail lies in its subtlety," says Alex Innes, Head of Coachbuild Design at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. "The conception of a Coachbuild motor car begins with a single line on paper. From there, we design a masterpiece free of time constraints or limitations," melding the vision of their clients to custom-fit their needs.