At a reported price of nearly $13 million, THE ROLLS ROYCE SWEPTAIL is believed to be the most expensive new car ever commissioned. Here are the 10 most absurdly opulent features of the this purportedly $13 million Rolls:
1. Inspired by the “coach-built” Rolls-Royces of the automaker’s 1920s and ’30s “golden era,” including the 1925 Phantom I Round Door, the 1934 Phantom II Streamline Saloon by Park Ward, the 1934 Gurney Nutting Phantom II Two-Door Light Saloon and the 1934 Park Ward 20/25 Limousine coupe.
2. The largest Pantheon grille of any modern-era R-R, milled from solid aluminum and “polished by hand to a mirror finish,” with a periphery framed in brushed aluminum.
3. “From the leading edge of the windscreen, the roofline accelerates as it fires backwards towards the rear of the motor car, overshooting the boot lid edge to emphasize its length. The longer side window graphic and wide C-pillar finisher underscore the length and proportions of this more wondrous of conveyances.”
4. The rear view, the “ultimate homage to the world of racing yachts,” bears a raked stern and rear taper that concludes in a “bullet tip” that houses the center brakelight.
5. Its identifier and registration number is centered on the front and rear of the car and “milled from ingots of aluminum and hand polished.”
6. A solid, panoramic and uninterrupted glass roof, framed in polished aluminum rails that converge in a vanishing point at the rearmost point on the car
7. “The interior is ruled by a philosophy of simplicity and minimalism leading to a distillation of componentry and purification of clutter.”
8. In place of backseats is an expansive length of wood called a Passarelle with an illuminated glass lip where the keenest of observers will find the only place on the car that bears its name, Sweptail, embossed into the surface.
9. Concealed in the outboard walls on both sides of the car, behind the opening of the doors, are identical compartments that deploy forward to present the passenger with a lightweight carbon-fiber, leather-wrapped case that matches the interior of the Sweptail and is tailor-made to fit a laptop computer.
10. A full set of bespoke Sweptail luggage fits in the trunk amid wood cladding and atop polished aluminum rails. And, finally, the coup de grâce for this coupe de gratuitous: The center console houses a push-button mechanism that deploys a chilled bottle of vintage champagne from the year of the owner’s birth — and two crystal flutes, perfectly positioned for occupants to pick up.