Rolls-Royce has unveiled the world’s most expensive and exclusive new car whose £25million price tag reflects a five-year labour of love for both the firm and the vehicle’s romantic mystery female buyer.
The unique two-door, two-seater convertible Droptail – called ‘La Rose Noire’ – is a private commission by a super-rich wife and husband from a glamorous art-loving champagne and fashion dynasty who are described as ‘the heads of a prominent international family’ with a ‘deep connection to France’.
The car is inspired by the romance and the allure of the velvet-like Black Baccara Rose, which originates from France and, according to Rolls-Royce, has a personal association for the family and is especially ‘beloved by the mother of the commissioning family’.
The hybrid rose itself was created in France only in 2000 by the family owned Meilland International. And the car, like the flower, changes colour according to how it is viewed, and in the right light also exudes a dark shade of red.
It is described by Rolls-Royce as ‘a romantic celebration of the couple who created it’ and is one of four Droptails that will be produced over the coming years.
Video: Rolls Royce’s brand new model is the most expensive car in the world
The one-off motor was presented to the client and her family at a private event close to Pebble Beach in California on Saturday night during Monterey Car Week – the automotive date in the calendar that attracts the rich, famous, and fashionable from around the globe.
Although Rolls-Royce has declined to name the wealthy commissioning client and her family, there are some clues to their potential identity including their love of cars, fashion, art and champagne.
Rolls-Royce said the new ‘La Rose Noire’ Droptail was designed in close cooperation with the client and her family and represents both ‘glamour distilled’ and the clients’ ‘passion for detail’.
The wealth of personal touches and detailing include a removeable low-slung hard-top that transforms it from an open-top two-seater roadster into a dramatic coupe with an electro-chromatic glass roof section which, at the press of a button. can darken or stay clear to let light flood in.
It also gets a specially created ‘True Love’ shade of dark red paint – linked to the Black Baccara rose – which took 150 iterations to perfect.
Inside, it features the most complex wood parquetry inlays in Rolls-Royce’s history, comprising 1,603 individual and intricate triangular veneer pieces representing stylised rose petals, hand-finished and hand-placed over nearly two years. The craftsman carrying this out reportedly had to work in complete and silent isolation and only for five hours a day with breaks – so intense was the level the concentration required.
The cabin also includes a removeable luxury timepiece from luxury Swiss firm Audemars Piguet, which doubles as both a dashboard clock and – once released from a clasp mechanism – a wristwatch using a stored strap.
Another unique addition is a Rolls-Royce champagne chest and cooler to carry the clients’ special edition Champagne de Lossy – described as one of only ‘a precious handful of vintages produced by the Chateau in its 160-year history’ – and fluted glasses.
As a final touch, the Rolls-Royce badge on the prow of the finished car was left off until the new owner could write her signature on the back of it – as the ultimate personal touch – before the ‘R-R’ lettered badge was finally fitted into place below the silver winged Spirit of Ecstasy statuette flying at its prow.,
The bespoke ‘La Rose Noire’ is one of just four Droptail models to be built – each one unique in its styling and bespoke details chosen by the individual commissioning customers.
Riding on vast 22 inch wheels and powered by a 593bhp 6.6-litre twin-turbo V12 engine linked to an eight-speed automatic gearbox with manual override, the Rolls-Royce is estimated to accelerate powerfully but smoothly up to 62mph in around five seconds, with top speed restricted to 155mph.
At a lengthy 5.3 metres long, 2 meters wide but just 1.5 metres high, the low-slung Droptail presents a dramatic vision on the road.
With the spirit of the Great Gatsby and ‘hot rods’ of the 1920s, a raised rear tail, and a rakishly shallow windscreen, it harks back to an era of ‘coachbuilt’ cars in the early part of the 2Oth century, when customers for luxury limousines – and especially those on the West Coast of America wanting racy bespoke Rolls-Royce roadsters– would buy a base chassis and engine, but commission a unique bespoke body created to fit on top.
The raised rear tail is a nod to the first 100mph Rolls-Royce of 1912 nicknamed ‘The Sluggard’.
Rolls-Royce said the La Rose Noire Droptail is ‘a dark, daring and dramatic coach-built masterpiece’, noting: ‘This bold and historic motor car is a romantic celebration of the couple who created it, characterised by passion and a restless desire for meaningful experiences.
‘In commissioning this extraordinary expression of Droptail, this remarkable family has not only shaped their own legacy but also participated in the legend of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.’
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars chief executive officer Torsten Müller-Ötvös said: ‘Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail is a love story, thoughtfully captured and stunningly projected onto the canvas of a Rolls-Royce motor car.
‘It is an expression of the deep and passionate partnership between a husband and wife who are the heads of a prominent international family – to be part of their remarkable story is a privilege.’
The new £25million Droptail exceeds in price the world’s previously most expensive car – the bespoke £20million Rolls-Royce Boat Tail unveiled two years ago in May 2021.
ROLLS-ROYCE LA ROSE NOIRE DROPTAIL IN DETAIL
Colour and paintwork
The new car is inspired by France’s Black Baccara rose – ‘beloved by the mother of the commissioning family’ – whose intense, dark pomegranate colour petals appear almost black in shade, but in direct light, have a red, pearlescent shimmer. The red shade is named ‘True Love’ – in recognition of ‘the romance the client wished to capture’.
The darker tone is named ‘Mystery’ after mysterious nature of the rose which appears to change colour.
Like the Black Baccara rose, Droptail also appears to change colour depending from where it is viewed.
To achieve this, specialists developed a completely new paint process perfected over 150 iterations, including a closely guarded secret base coat, followed by five layers of clear lacquer, each blended with a slightly different tone of red.
Rolls-Royce said: ‘Indeed, it was the essence of true love and the mystery of exploration and travel that captivated the clients throughout the commissioning process.’
Detachable roof
The La Rose Noire Droptail comes complete with a low-slung, rakish, but removable hard top is designed to give it two distinct characters, says Rolls-Royce.
‘Without its roof Droptail is a lithe, open-top roadster. With the roof installed, it becomes a formidable and dramatic coupé,’ the brand states.
When not in use, the roof must be stored at the owner’s home. The bespoke roof also features an electrochromic glass section which, at the touch of a button, instantly switches from dark to a near-translucent shade.
Artwork interior
Inside the cocooning interior, the most complex hand-crafted element of the bespoke car is a remarkable u-shaped wrap-around piece of wood parquetry artwork that surrounds and envelopes the driver and passenger, through past the doors and onto the expansive fascia.
The luxury car-maker said the intricately detailed patterning was ‘the most complex expression of parquetry ever created at Rolls-Royce’ and the product of nearly two years of development, intense experimentation, and hand craftsmanship.
The artwork was requested by the clients to represent an abstract expression of a natural, organic ‘scattering’ of falling Black Baccara Rose petals.
It was formed using 1,603 pieces of black wood veneer triangles. The highly complex pattern is formed with 1,070 perfectly symmetrical elements forming the background, and 533 asymmetrically positioned red pieces representing the rose petals.
Each triangle – made from Black Sycamore wood sourced in France – was cut, sanded and precisely positioned by hand. Pieces that appear to be stained light and dark grey are in their natural hue. Paint was used only to create the red pieces – to avoid the colour fading over time. Rolls-Royce artisans spent a year developing a new lacquer formula to protect the wood.
Rolls-Royce said: ‘Its assembly required such intense concentration that the single craftsperson tasked with creating it could only work in one-hour sessions for no more than five hours total per day, to ensure they maintained the focus required for perfect execution.
‘The artisan, who has been with Rolls-Royce since their apprenticeship, spent weeks working in absolute silence in a sound-insulated space to mitigate against any potential distractions. To create what is unquestionably a work of art in its own right took more than nine months in total.’
Seats
The two seats are decorated at the edges with dark red Mystery leather and light red True Love leather.
Each is finished with a subtle copper shimmer to evoke the pearlescent texture of the Black Baccara rose petals.
Clock/watch
A specially commissioned removeable luxury timepiece from luxury Swiss firm Audemars Piguet – itself likely to cost hundreds of thousands of pounds – doubles as both a dashboard clock, but can be released from a clasp mechanism and worn as a wrist-watch by the owner using a stored strap.
The 43mm Royal Oak Concept Split-Seconds Chronograph GMT Large Date is powered by a unique self-winding Calibre 4407 movement and incorporates red counters and a red inner bezel frame to contrast the black dial.
Rolls-Royce said: ‘The clients requested that it should both be mounted in the motor car and also be removable, so that it can be attached to a strap and worn. This was realised with a powered clasp mechanism that gently presents the timepiece at the touch of a button.’
When the clock is being worn the dashboard space is filled with an elegant titanium white-gold hand-sculpted rose engraving coin. Subtle rose engravings on the bespoke speaker frets mirror this motif and are the only ‘literal expressions’ of the Black Baccara Rose in the whole motor car.
A slim, soft leather pouch in the door paniers houses the strap and the blank head watch while the timepiece is displayed in the dashboard fascia.
Champagne chest
The owners commissioned a unique Rolls-Royce champagne chest and cooler (made from black anodised aluminium and carbon fibre) – with matching rose petal parquetry, colour palette and materials – to carry their special favourite vintage fizz and fluted glasses at the optimum drinking temperature.
‘To celebrate their Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail the owners commissioned an exclusive vintage of Champagne de Lossy, one of their favourite wine properties.’
‘This is of particular significance given the special wine created for La Rose Noire Droptail is one of only a precious handful of vintages produced by the Chateau in its 160-year history.’
The champagne hails from a vineyard and chateau in Rilly la Montagne near Reims, and bears a crest with a motto very much in keeping with the Rolls-Royce quality ethos: ‘ Ne tentes aut perfice’ – freely translated as: ‘All or nothing’.
Rolls-Royce said: ‘At the press of a button, the Champagne Chest opens, revealing an intricate champagne set replete with hand-blown crystal champagne flutes.
‘Once deployed, they reveal two hammocks cradling the clients’ special edition Champagne de Lossy, designed to match the motor car’s colour scheme.’
The exterior lid converts to a serving tray made of Black Sycamore wood with a design of the Chateau central to the brushed and laser-cut stainless-steel inlay. The sides have the same intricate parquetry work as the car.
Grille
The car features a unique take on Rolls-Royce’s monumental Panthon grille.
The dark red True Love paint is hand-applied as an accent on the reverse surface of each of the vertical grille vanes – a detail only visible by indirect reflection. The lower front air intake below was digitally designed and 3D printed in a lightweight composite and incorporates 202 hand-polished stainless-steel ingots, each hand-painted in the True Love hue.
Bling-free trim
Instead of a bright chrome bling trim, decorative elements of the car have a dark but reflective finish developed specifically for this project and called ‘Hydroshade’ after its liquid quality.
These parts are not painted but applied using a chrome electrolyte plating system which gives a layer just one micron thick – roughly the same width as a strand of spider-web silk.
This finish continues on select metal details throughout the interior, each precision-polished by hand to achieve a high-gloss finish.
Wheels
The striking 22-inch alloy wheels feature the dark Mystery paint finish and, like the flower itself, appear to be black – but in sunlight reveal shimmering dark red undertones.
Who could the mystery buyer be?
France has no shortage of billionaires and super-rich tycoons – with interests in cars, champagne, fashion and the arts – for whom £25million to buy a unique personalised Rolls-Royce might be considered relatively small change.
But who are the possibilities?
There’s the Arnaud dynasty, led by billionaire Bernard Arnaud with an estimated worth of $230billion, who see-saws with Tesla and Twitter-owner Elon Musk for the title of ‘the world’s richest man’.
As head of the luxury brand group LVMH – whose labels include Louis Vuiton, Moet & Chandon champagne, Hennessy cognac, Christian Dior and jewellers Tiffany&Co – he and his glamorous concert pianist wife Helene Mercier Arnault would be well placed to put down a deposit, as would their five children, including Delphine who is taking an ever-more hands on role in the running of the vast business.
Then there’s France’s Pinault clan – with a famed contemporary art collection – headed by billionaire Francois, 86, and his wife Maryvonne (nee Campbell). Mdm Pinault has been frequently photographed with a pendant that seems to resemble a collection of red and black petalled blooms.
And there’s no shortage of glamour in the family. Their son Francois-Henri Pinault, 61, who lives between London and Paris and is chairman and CEO of the family’s luxury brand conglomerate Kering (which includes YSL, Gucci, and Chateau Latour wine), is married to the effervescent Hollywood actress Selma Hayek, recently seen in an episode of Black Mirror.
Could it be them?
However, I understand that the actual buyers are more low-key and unlikely to be household names – especially in the UK.
And although Rolls-Royce declines to name or confirm the owners of the new £25million La Rose Noire Droptail, there are clues to their identity in the officially published details.
– The bespoke car is ‘an expression of the deep and passionate partnership between a husband and wife’ who are ‘the heads of a prominent international family’.
– This family has a ‘notable collection of motor cars ‘ as well as ‘fashion icons’, art objects, and a number of homes.
– The new car ‘symbolises the distillation of experiences, significant moments and objets d’art cherished by its owners – an international family that exemplifies connoisseurship and luxury of the very highest order.’
– The stylish family has ‘talent for sensitive and informed curation in their homes and within their notable collection of motor cars and fashion icons.’
– The car captures ‘the romantic and glamorous spirit of the commissioning clients.’
One significant clue is the black Baccara Rose which Rolls-Royce tells us is ‘an intense, velvet-like flower that originates in France’ and most importantly ‘is beloved by the mother of the commissioning family.’
The hybrid rose itself was created in France only in 2000 by the family-owned Meilland International.
The company is owned entirely by the Meilland and Richardier families and its rose breeding programme has been led since 1978 by specialist Jacques Mouchotte.
Another major key clue is in the family’s link to a specific champagne – Champagne de Lossy.
Rolls-Royce tells us: ‘To celebrate their Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail the owners commissioned an exclusive vintage of Champagne de Lossy, one of their favourite wine properties.’
It stresses: ‘This is of particular significance given the special wine created for La Rose Noire Droptail is one of only a precious handful of vintages produced by the Chateau in its 160-year history. ‘
The chateau for the champagne vineyard lies on the Rue de Reims, in Rilly la Montagne near Reims – one of the oldest villages in the Champagne region.
The Champagne de Lossy website showing pictures of the chateau also bears a crest with a motto very much in keeping with the Rolls-Royce quality ethos: ‘Ne tentes aut perfice’ – freely translated as: ‘All or nothing’.
But it also makes clear that the Chateau, which until recently traded as a hotel, restaurant and bar, is ‘not currently open to the public.’ And a report in a local newspaper L’Union in February this year says it was up for sale for €8.9million.
It was up to that point owned by the Serena family (including Luca Serena) – who are big in the wine trade- and who carried out extensive renovations.
Tallying with the 160 years of champagne-making cited by Rolls-Royce the website says: ‘Champagne de Lossy was founded in 1862 and remains headquartered and produced in its ancestral village of Rilly-la-Montagne in the Montagne de Reims area.’
It adds: ‘Champagne de Lossy’s teams create distinctive cuvees of exceptional quality and taste, using the most carefully selected grapes.
‘Our wine makers, cuvees and teams preserve the great heritage of the Champagne region by crafting wines that magnify the treasures of Mother Nature.’
A post on the internet shows a historic postcard featuring the Chateau along with the words in French:
Rilly la Montagne – ‘Champagne De Lossy – Property of E. Percheron’.
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