Rolls-Royce revealed the first of four unique Droptail convertible coachbuilt vehicles at a private event close to Pebble Beach in California that has been commissioned for a very special client.
The Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail was inspired by “the allure of the Black Baccara rose”, which is a flower that originates in France and is “beloved by the mother of the commissioning family”.
This commissioned Droptail comes with a removable hardtop that has been designed to make the car look like an open-top roadster without its roof, or a “dramatic” coupe with it installed.
The La Rose Noire Droptail’s removable roof is uniquely low slung. It also features an ingot with the car’s name, which is a first for Rolls-Royce.
The bespoke hardtop also has an electrochromic glass section which transitions to a near-translucent shade at the touch of a button.
One of the La Rose Noire Droptail’s highlights is its exterior paintwork. The vehicle’s True Love dark pomegranate paint took over 150 iterations to perfect, while the darker Mystery paintwork changes colour when viewed from different angles.
In order to create the one-off Droptail’s True Love paint finish, Rolls-Royce used a base coat of a colour which is a “closely guarded secret”, followed by five layers of clear lacquer that are each blended with a slightly different tone of red.
The La Rose Noire Droptail’s ‘Pantheon’ grille vanes have True Love paint that’s hand-applied as an accent on the reverse surface of the vanes. This is continued on the lower front air intake that was 3D-printed in a lightweight composite and incorporates 202 hand-polished stainless-steel ingots.
There are a set of 22-inch alloy wheels that are finished in Mystery paint, then machine-finished and polished.
According to Rolls-Royce, the La Rose Noire Droptail’s interior took nearly two years of development, “intense experimentation” and hand craftsmanship.
There are a total of 1603 red and black wooden veener pieces that were hand-finished and hand-placed around the vehicle.
A single person tasked with creating this “artwork” did so in a sound-insulated space, and could only work in one-hour sessions for no more than five hours total per day.
The rest of the interior is finished in dark red Mystery leather and light red True Love leather with copper highlights.
There’s also a special integrated one-off timepiece by Audemars Piguet that matches the car’s colourway.
The client commissioned an exclusive vintage of Champagne de Lossy, one of their favourite wine properties, to go with this Droptail.
At the press of a button, the so-called Champagne Chest opens, revealing an intricate champagne set with hand-blown crystal champagne flutes. The exterior lid also converts into a serving tray made of open pore Black Sycamore wood.
Rolls-Royce never lists the price of its bespoke vehicles, though it’s expected to carry quite a hefty asking price.
