Did Beyoncé and Jay-Z just order the world’s most expensive car? Why this custom-built Rolls-Royce Boat Tail is worth US$28 million
- Following on from 2017’s Sweptail, this bespoke limo is inspired by J-Class yachts and custom-built ‘Boat Tail’ Rollers from the 1920s and 1930s
- The interior is said to be ‘Blue Ivy’ coloured and Swiss watchmaker Bovet has made a matching pair of watches that fit into a dock to double as the car’s clock
Behold the Rolls-Royce Boat Tail, a nautically themed tourer priced at a whopping US$28 million, making it the most expensive new car in history. The ultra-opulent limousine follows on from the US$13 million Sweptail from 2017, which is said to have encouraged Rolls-Royce to create its exclusive Coachbuild division – “the automotive equivalent of haute couture” – to cater to its wealthiest patrons.
However, unlike the one-off Sweptail, Rolls-Royce will make a series of three Boat Tails personalised for its customers. Shown here is the first of them. And here are seven facts about the new Rolls-Royce Boat Tail that help it justify its colossal price tag.
Mystery clients
The first Rolls-Royce Boat Tail has been commissioned by a mystery man and his wife from the US. Rolls-Royce is notoriously tight-lipped about the details of its customers of exclusive builds – something we saw with the Sweptail, as well. However, according to The Telegraph, the couple is believed to be in the music industry and there are signs that suggest the most expensive new car in history might have been commissioned by Beyoncé and husband Jay-Z.
Channelling the best of the past
The bespoke limousine is inspired by classic J-Class yachts and the custom-built “Boat Tail” Rolls-Royces from the 1920s and 1930s. Back then, coachbuilders directly transplanted “the hull forms of sailing boats” onto rolling chassis built by Rolls-Royce. However, things are a lot more complicated now and the British luxury carmaker reportedly spent four years developing the ultra-decadent tourer and putting it through all the same dynamic testing as regular models. It is also the first model to be created by the automaker’s Coachbuild arm.