Rolls-Royce Boat Tail - Example Of What The New Coachbuild Department Can Do

The by-commission Rolls-Royce Boat Tail is an example of what the new Coachbuild department can do.

- Wei-Yu Wang

ROLLS-ROYCE IS REVIVING the art of coachbuilding by introducing a new department and with it, a new, ultra-bespoke, by-commission service for its most ambitious customers. Called, quite simply, Coachbuild, it formalises something that Goodwood has been quietly working on and building towards for some time now. For example, it released the one-offSweptail in 2017, when it was the most expensive car in the world at the time; a grand expression of the luxury, intercontinental grand tourer with a bullet-like shape recalling the finest profiles of the 20th century.

Coachbuild is introduced with a powerful example of its potential in the Boat Tail. Three of these cars have been made, specifically for three patrons who have a particular passion for contemporary nautical design. By agreement, they would share the same body style, while the specifics would be tailored specially for each owner’s desires. The original brief also asked for the Boat Tail to be something never before seen, and to mark a sense of occasion like nothing else would.