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The One Off Rolls Sweptail – Does It Reflect The Best Of British Luxury?

This is the beautifully British Rolls Royce Sweptail, a singular vehicle built for one of their “most valued customers”. It’s said to bring back the essence of the swept tail design of the 20s and 30s, and boasts a number of new design features to boot.

The project started in 2013 when a rather wealthy gentleman asked Rolls to produce the car of his dreams. They did as he asked and it has finally been revealed at the Villa d’Este Concorso d’Eleganza this week.

So what separates this Rolls from every other Rolls so far? Well, as mentioned above it’s got a beautiful rear-end, featuring a full panoramic roof, “one of the most complex ever seen on a motor car”, and wrap-around bodywork “with no visible boundary to the surfaces” making it “akin to the hull of a yacht.” Rolls also says the ‘bullet-tip’ brake light and low rear bumper “combine to create a greater feeling of elegance in motion”.

That’s too much marketing talk for me, but it sure looks nice to me!

Back towards the front you’ll notice a brilliantly large grille. And in a definite ‘mine is bigger than yours’ fashion, it’s the largest ever fitted to a Rolls Royce and milled from one large block of aluminium. The 08 number plate is also milled from blocks of aluminium.

The interior is standard Rolls Royce, and when I say standard, I mean impeccably stunning with wood, metal, and leather lining each surface. Looking back from the driver’s seat you’ll notice a “hat shelf” with an illuminated lip. You know you’ve made it when your car has an illuminated hat shelf.

Rolls has told us the dash is the least complicated one yet, even stretching to a clock made with a Macassar veneer and machined titanium hands. Now, listen to this! Two panniers hold the owner’s laptop or tablet, held in attaché cases. The centre console can offer up a bottle of your favourite champagne, rotated to make it easier to grasp along with champagne flutes – just in-case you get thirsty driving down the M25.

So far that’s all we know about this new Rolls Royce. Engine specs have been kept close to their chest, as has the price of this magnificent one-off build. But when it comes to a Rolls who cares about the specs? You’re not in it to win a race, you’re in it to relax.

And anyway, it’s not very gentlemanly to ask about the size of your engine or the size of the price tag. But let’s face it, it’s more than we can afford.

Alex Harrington

Alex started racing at a young age so certainly knows his way around a car and a track. He can just about put a sentence together too, which helps. He has a great interest in the latest models, but would throw all of his money at a rusty old French classic and a 300ZX. Contact: [email protected]

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