- British luxury marque said the car had been designed for a wealthy and ‘flamboyant’ duo, which it didn’t name
- Industry rumours today suggested the US super-couple are most likely candidates for commissioning the car
- Has a fridge set to 6C, precise temperature required for owner’s favourite Armand de Brignac luxury vintage
The unveiling of Rolls-Royce’s new £20million Boat Tail personalised convertible today set tongues wagging about which super-rich couple commissioned it – with industry rumours naming them as Jay Z and Beyoncé.
The British luxury marque said the car had been designed for a wealthy and ‘flamboyant’ duo with a love of chilled champagne and alfresco meals – hence the vehicle’s incredible rear deck housing a dinner set, rotating cocktail tables with matching chairs and a parasol that automatically extends out.
The convertible grand tourer, the first of an exclusive trio of highly personalised nautically-based limousines, was designed for the Mediterranean backroads of the Cote d’Azur, which Jay Z and Beyoncé regularly visit and where they enjoy outdoor picnics.
It includes a fridge set to 6C, the precise temperature required for the owner’s favourite Armand de Brignac luxury vintage, priced up to £57,950 a bottle. Earlier, this year, Jay Z sold his 50% stake in the firm to Moët Hennessy for an unknown sum.
The blue colour scene could also be a subtle hint to the couple’s identity, as Beyoncé and Jay Z’s nine-year-old daughter in called Blue Ivy.
An industry source told The Telegraph: ‘It’s thought this fantastic car has been commissioned by Beyoncé and Jay Z, with all its detailing matching their favourite things.’ Today Rolls-Royce refused to comment on the speculation.
It has taken four years of ‘mind-boggling attention to detail’ to design and manufacture in collaboration with clients who wanted a unique car to ‘mark a sense of occasion’, says the legendary British marque.
And to put the exclusivity of the commission into context, the £20million price-tag would buy you the equivalent of around 40 personalised flagship Rolls-Royce Phantom limousines costing around £500,000 each (including bespoke extras).
It is also double the cost of the previous two most expensive new cars in the world: Rolls-Royce’s own £10million coachbuilt Sweptail of 2017 – the car that sparked new Boat Tail project; and Bugatti’s one-off £11.5million ‘La Voiture Noir’ hypercar that was first shown at the March 2019 Geneva Motor Show.
The reason for the vast expense is that the car has been engineered and designed from the ground up as a near one off.
With production cars, the total costs are spread across the number of cars produced – which in the case of Rolls-Royce will go into hundreds and thousands of vehicles over time. With mainstream car-makers those costs will be spread across millions of vehicles.
In the case of the Boat Tail, the ‘Coachbuild’ construction means the chassis, engine and underpinnings may be based on the existing Phantom limo, but everything above that and every detail – from the largest ever hand-made panels, to the most intricate mechanism, and clock – has to be designed and created from scratch.
The section also provides space for four glasses, napkins and other accoutrements – as you can see in this amazing image
