The Gentleman Magazine Issue 4 | August/September | Page 22

When Rolls-Royce presented the 103EX Vision Vehicle to
the world, it invoked its coachbuilding heritage to inspire
its future clientele. This Vision Vehicle envisaged a world of
completely personal luxury mobility where new technologies
would allow every Rolls-Royce to be designed in their owners’
image, should they wish. Such a Rolls-Royce would represent
the truest meaning of luxury – a personal, Bespoke motor car
like no other for each individual commissioning patron.
The idea of a future coachbuilt Rolls-Royce was not enough
for one Rolls-Royce connoisseur however. This individual
approached the marque with his own idea of a two-seat Rolls-
Royce that he wanted to be created in the here and now. That
motor car is here, now, and is christened ‘Sweptail’. In a nod to
the swept-tail of certain Rolls-Royces from the 1920s, admired
by the client so much, he asked Rolls-Royce to reimagine this
feature on his one-off motor car.
Presenting the car to the media at the Concorso d’Eleganza
at Villa d’Este on Saturday 27th May 2017, Torsten Müller-
Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars said,
“Sweptail is a truly magnificent car. It exudes the romance of
travel for its own sake, and immediately places ‘Sweptail’ in the
pantheon of the world’s great intercontinental tourers. Rolls-
Royce’s history as the world’s leading coachbuilder is at the
very core of its identity as the world’s leading luxury brand.
The arrival of 103EX shone a light on the future of Rolls-Royce
in this field, and ‘Sweptail’ is proof, today, that Rolls-Royce is at
the pinnacle of coachbuilding.
22 | The Gentleman Magazine “Powered by
We are listening carefully to our most special customers and
assessing their interest in investing in similar, completely
exclusive coachbuilt masterpieces. At the same time we are
looking into the resources which will allow us to offer this
unique service to these discerning patrons of luxury.”
‘Sweptail’ – how the vision became the reality
“Sweptail is the automotive equivalent of Haute Couture,”
comments Giles Taylor, Director of Design at Rolls-Royce
Motor Cars. “It is a Rolls-Royce designed and hand-tailored
to fit a specific customer. This customer came to the House of
Rolls-Royce with an idea, shared in the creative process where
we advised him on his cloth, and then we tailored that cloth to
him. You might say we cut the cloth for the suit of clothes that
he will be judged by.”
Inspired by the beautiful coachbuilt Rolls-Royces of the 1920s
and 1930s, the customer’s desire was for a coachbuilt two seater
coupé featuring a large panoramic glass roof. As a connoisseur
of Rolls-Royces, he was inspired by many of his favourite
cars from the early 20th Century, as well as many classic and
modern yachts.
Over the course of a number of years, Taylor and his team of
designers engaged with the client in a wonderfully intellectual
journey as they worked together to realise the customer’s
distinct vision and bring it to life. The result of this one-off
coachbuild project is the completely unique Rolls-Royce
‘Sweptail’.
, Security in Motion”