On Monday, the 14th of August, 2023, Rolls-Royce unveiled a very limited edition model that took design cues from yachts of the 1930s and featured an open top. The Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail is a fascinating invention that transforms the traditional four-seat sedan into a two-seat roadster, evoking a blend of luxury and exclusivity typical of lavish pleasure crafts. Collectors of fine automobiles can expect to pay more than $30 million for this masterpiece.

The actual cost is unknown, although comparable Rolls-Royce coachbuilt automobiles sell for roughly $28 million. A company spokesman acknowledged to Bloomberg that the Droptail's increased production costs directly result from the boat's limited number (just four).

The Droptail takes its aesthetic cues from the French Black Baccara rose, which gives it a slick outside and a scarlet inside. It is speculated that a well-respected husband and wife team is behind the commissioning of this masterpiece. Over 1,600 pieces of black sycamore wood trim veneer are expertly assembled in symmetrical triangles with red accents to create the dashboard, which is meant to evoke the picture of rose petals blown away by the wind.

A customized Audemars Piguet watch is installed inconspicuously into the dashboard, and there's also a champagne compartment built just for a bottle of sparkling wine from the family vineyard. The Swiss high-end watchmaker's creation alone is worth a lot of money. For example, Audemars Piguet's official website lists the price of their popular Royal Oak model at around $26,200.

The three buttons on the dashboard are the focal point of the spare design and are used for quick actions like turning on the danger lights. Most switches and knobs are tucked away neatly in the control panel.

Inspired by the Black Baccara rose, the Droptail's exterior is a stunning shade of crimson called “True Love.” About 150 prototypes were needed before Rolls-Royce settled on this unique shade. The automobile is smaller than Rolls-Royce's first electric vehicle, which will be released later this year for $420,000, and has proportions of 17 feet in length and 6.5 feet in breadth.

The Droptail's lower profile from behind is reminiscent of a sailing yacht, while the front features the traditional Rolls-Royce Pantheon grille. The grille's vanes have a subtle yet eye-catching design element: the “True Love” color is painted on their undersides, where it can only be seen through reflection.

The Droptail is not just the first two-seater produced by Rolls-Royce in a century but also the most complex vehicle built by the company since its founding in 1906. Rolls-Royce's unwavering dedication to craft and creativity is on full display in this one-of-a-kind creation that fuses the grace of a bygone period with the complexity of modern design.

For perfect completion, the business said, “its assembly required such intense concentration that the single craftsperson tasked with creating it would only work in one-hour sessions for no more than five hours per day.”

It stated that “nine months of flawless craftsmanship” are required to build a single Droptail. The Droptail is powered by the same 6.75-liter V12 engine that propels the Ghost and Phantom to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds, although Rolls-Royce has not released any official performance specifications.

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