- Rolls-Royce Unveils £25 Million ‘La Rose Noire’ Droptail – World’s Most Expensive Car
- The Romantic Inspiration and Collaboration Behind This Unique Vehicle
- Intricate Details and Luxurious Features of the ‘La Rose Noire’ Droptail
Rolls-Royce has unveiled the world’s most expensive and exclusive new automobile, whose £25 million price tag reflects a five-year labor of love on the part of both the company and the vehicle’s romantic mystery female customer.
The unique two-door, two-seater convertible Droptail dubbed ‘La Rose Noire’ was commissioned privately by a super-rich wife and husband from a champagne and fashion dynasty who is described as ‘the chiefs of a prominent international family’ with a ‘deep connection to France’.
The car is inspired by the romance and allure of the velvet-like Black Baccara Rose, which is native to France and, according to Rolls-Royce, has a personal connection to the family and is “beloved by the mother of the commissioning family.”
The hybrid rose was produced in France in 2000 by Meilland International, a family-owned business. And the car, like the flower, changes color depending on how it is viewed and emits a dark shade of red in the proper light.
Rolls-Royce describes it as a “romantic celebration of the couple who created it,” and it will be one of four Droptails produced in the future years.
The one-of-a-kind vehicle was presented to the client and her family at a private event near Pebble Beach in California on Saturday evening during Monterey Car Week – an event that attracts the world’s rich, renowned, and fashionable automobile enthusiasts.
Rolls-Royce has declined to identify the affluent commissioning client and her family, but there are hints as to their identities, such as their passion for automobiles, fashion, art, and champagne.
Rolls-Royce stated that the new ‘La Rose Noire’ Droptail was designed in close collaboration with the client and her family and embodies both ‘glamour distilled’ and the client’s ‘passion for detail’.
A removable low-slung hardtop transforms it from an open-top two-seat roadster into a dramatic coupe with an electro-chromatic glass roof section that can darken or remain clear at the stroke of a button.
It also features a specially formulated ‘True Love’ shade of dark crimson paint, which required 150 iterations to achieve perfection.
The interior contains the most intricate wood parquetry inlays in the history of Rolls-Royce, with 1,603 triangular veneer pieces representing stylized rose petals, hand-finished and hand-placed over nearly a year. According to reports, the craftsman performing this task was required to work in complete silence for five hours per day, with pauses, due to the level of concentration required.
The cabin also features a detachable luxury timepiece from the Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet that serves as both a dashboard clock and a wristwatch with a detachable strap when released from a closure mechanism.
Another one-of-a-kind feature is a Rolls-Royce champagne chest and cooler for transporting the clients’ special edition Champagne de Lossy – one of only a “handful of rare vintages” produced by the Chateau in its 160-year history – and fluted flutes.
