All-electric model to lead expansion of Rolls-Royce Coachbuilt Collection

Rolls-Royce is launching a new Coachbuilt Collection of bespoke ultra-luxury cars and will base its first models on its all-electric platform.

The British luxury marque has previously built three Coachbuilt models. The one-off Sweptail in 2017 was followed by three highly individualised versions of the £20 million Boat Tail in 2021, and four interpretations of the even more expensive Droptail in 2023. All were based on the Goodwood manufacturer’s V12-powered “Architecture of Luxury” platform

Now it is expanding the Coachbuilt concept into a permanent part of its offering and turning to electric power for its first offering.

Rolls-Royce said the decision to launch the Coachbuilt Collection was led by global customer demand for even rarer and more extravagant models.

A select handful of clients with a “deep affinity for Rolls-Royce design” will be asked to participate in the programme. They will be invited to one of the exclusive (even by Rolls-Royce standards) Private Offices in Dubai, Seoul, Shanghai, New York, and Goodwood and will be given behind-the-scenes access to the entire design and development process.

Chris Brownridge, chief executive of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, explained: “I have [met] around the world who 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.”

The first Rolls-Royce Coachbuild Collection will be a fully electric model based on the 577bhp all-wheel-drive powertrain of the Spectre.

Rolls-Royce said the decision to use its EV platform, even as it backtracks on its electric-only commitment, reflected the “passion so many have for a fully electric Rolls-Royce”.

It noted: “Many of the collectors who inspired the Coachbuild Collections programme are existing Spectre owners who celebrate how its electric powertrain elevates the Rolls-Royce experience. For these individuals, the question of how the first Coachbuild Collection should be powered had only one answer. That so many of the world’s most exacting collectors responded this way is the most authentic measure of what Rolls-Royce has achieved with electrification.”

Each model developed under the Coachbuilt Collection will be strictly limited in number and, says Rolls-Royce, will never be repeated. Each “collection” will feature unique exterior and interior design and will be hand built at the firm’s Goodwood home. Like the very first coachbuilt Rolls-Royces, the only constraint on the new models will be the dimensions of the world-famous Pantheon grille to ensure the cars remain recognisably a Rolls-Royce.

The first details of the Coachbuilt Collection EV will be shared in April.