The Concorso d’Eleganza car show in Italy saw Rolls Royce showcase a two-seater called the Sweptail. An unnamed customer has commissioned this car and worked with the company’s design department during the car’s creation for over four years.
The Sweptail is built on same aluminium spaceframe architecture of the Phantom VII Coupe. The two-seater is powered by the same 6.75-litre V12 engine as well. The exterior features design cues from both vintage Rolls-Royce machines and luxury yachts. The front features the largest version ever constructed of the carmaker’s traditional front grille. The rear is tapered with a raked stern, like on a racing yacht, and the rear brake light is housed in a ‘bullet-tip’. The bodywork on the side has been designed to wrap under the car and show no visible boundary, just like the hull of a yacht.
Rolls-Royce says the large panoramic glass roof is one of the largest and most complex ever produced for a car. Inside, Rolls-Royce has kept controls on the dash to a minimum - the clock is embedded into the fascia with a lot of bits fashioned from titanium. Lots of bits in the interior are made using Macassar Ebony and Paldao wood, with Moccasin and Dark Spice leather trim on the seats, armrests and dashboard. Perhaps the most interesting feature of the Sweptail is concealed in the centre console – it houses a system that deploys a bottle of champagne along with two crystal flutes. Instead of the seats at the back, there’s a vast expanse of wood in the form of a mid-shelf with an illuminated glass lip.
While the Sweptail is a one-off design, it could be followed by more such 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.”
