Rolls-Royce is taking its already rarefied coachbuilding operation into even more exclusive territory with the announcement of its new Coachbuild Collection – a programme that blends one-off motor cars with a series of carefully-curated experiences set around the car for a select group of clients.
Significantly, the first Coachbuild Collection will be fully electric. The company says this reflects the preferences of its most loyal clients, many of whom already own the Spectre and appreciate the refinement offered by an electric powertrain.
The concept is pitched as an entirely new proposition in super luxury, bringing together a unique coachbuilt car and a tailored ownership journey that unfolds over several years. Each collection will be produced in very limited numbers and, crucially, will never be repeated.
Access is strictly by invitation, with Rolls-Royce selecting clients through its global Private Office network in locations including Dubai, Seoul, Shanghai, New York and Goodwood itself. The marque says those chosen will have a deep affinity for Rolls-Royce design and a particular interest in seeing how such cars are created.
Commenting on the new programme, Chris Brownridge, chief executive of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, said: “I have had the privilege of meeting clients around the world who seek the very pinnacle in luxury and share an extraordinary passion for Rolls-Royce design. It became clear that they wished to see not only what Rolls-Royce would create if left entirely to its own imagination and with the freedom offered by coachbuilding, but they also wanted to witness that journey at every stage.
“Coachbuild Collection is the result. This is something the super-luxury world has never seen before. The experience of this programme is inseparable from the motor car itself, and both will be brought to life with the care and ambition worthy of the collectors who inspired them – and of Rolls-Royce itself.”
Coachbuilding itself is nothing new for Rolls-Royce. In the early days of the brand, customers would receive a rolling chassis before commissioning bespoke bodies from specialist coachbuilders – a process likened here to ordering a suit from Savile Row. While creative freedom was encouraged, the company maintained strict design proportions to ensure every car remained instantly recognisable as a Rolls-Royce, a principle that continues today.
More recently, modern coachbuilt projects such as Sweptail, Boat Tail and Droptail have demonstrated the appetite among ultra-wealthy clients for highly-personalised cars. However, Rolls-Royce says a growing number of collectors were less interested in directing the design themselves and more intrigued by what the company might create if left entirely to its own devices. That shift in thinking has helped shape the new programme.
Each Coachbuild Collection will centre around a completely new body style, designed and engineered in-house and fully road-legal. But the car is only part of the story. Participants will be invited behind the scenes of the development process, including visits to testing facilities and design studios, as well as access to craftspeople from other areas of the luxury world.
Rolls-Royce also promises a calendar of private events in “the world’s most desirable destinations”, where clients will meet designers and explore the inspirations behind each Collection.
Details of the first model remain under wraps for now, but Rolls-Royce has confirmed that more will be revealed in April, marking the next step in what it describes as a deeply considered new chapter for the brand’s most exclusive creations.
Chris Brownridge continued: “Coachbuild Collection clients seek to experience at the absolute pinnacle of our craft. What we will reveal in April is an extraordinary expression of contemporary Rolls-Royce coachbuilding, extravagant and yet silent.”
