Rolls-Royce is about to dive even further upmarket with its “super-luxury” Coachbuild Collection that’s designed to cater to the wealthiest clientele possible. If you already thought Rolls was infamous for being a particularly snobby brand, prepare yourself because the brand was just getting warmed up.
At present, the brand builds a handful of models that start somewhere between about $370,000 and $580,000. However, every so often, Rolls-Royce will drop some limited edition model retailing for millions of dollars.
For example, the three examples of the Rolls-Royce Boat Tail (pictured) were commissioned by individual customers and manufactured at the company’s specialized coach-building division at its Goodwood factory. They were estimated to be valued at over $28 million apiece when they left the factory in 2021-2022 and serve as blueprint for the company’s new Coachbuild Collection.
The resulting models will be positioned above the current “Bespoke” and “Black Badge” designations used to identify cars that have been given special attention to cater to the buyer’s whims.
Despite the average person having to make do with less these days, the number of obscenely wealthy individuals has been rising globally. Rolls-Royce presumably plans on capitalizing on this trend by expanding the number of bespoke models it builds with ludicrous price tags via the Coachbuild Collection. However, these ultra-premium vehicles will still be extremely limited in number.
While the cars are built upon preexisting platforms, the resulting models will be wholly unique and designed to cater to individual tastes with a “deep affinity for Rolls-Royce design.” One supposes that they’ll also need to be much wealthier than the typical Rolls-Royce customer, since they’re technically buying into an automobile experience more than simply purchasing a vehicle.
These extra-special customers will reportedly be taken around Rolls’ numerous facilities to chat with engineers and designers while also taking a gander at how the company builds and tests its automobiles. This allegedly includes the businesses most secret areas, as well as flights around the world that would allow the customer to test their new purchase in a variety of extreme weather conditions.
Which locations are chosen apparently depends upon the individual customer. But everyone will still be able to head over to the design studio — presumably to check the progress on their car when Rolls-Royce isn’t flying them to some lavish vacation destination they’re pretending has something to do with cars.
Considering how long it takes the automaker to complete bespoke models, the manufacturer has said the entire “journey” will take a few years to complete.
It sounds as though the first models Rolls-Royce plans on building will be all electric, presumably being based upon the Spectre. While some might be flabbergasted that the company would lead with an EV, the Spectre actually outsells everything the company builds that isn’t the Cullinan SUV. But demand for the electric model saw a marked decline last year, especially in the United States where it isn’t as popular as the Ghost, suggesting that the automaker might pivot if demand isn’t sufficient as part of the Coachbuild Collection.
Additional details on the new program are rather lean, however. Some have even speculated that the announcement is really nothing more than a reminder of what Rolls-Royce already does for its ultra-wealthy customers. But more details regarding the Coachbuild Collection are supposed to drop in April and the official statements suggest that this is going to be something novel for the brand.
“This is something the super-luxury world has never seen before,” said Chris Brownridge, Rolls-Royce. “The experience of this program 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.”
Our guess is that the program will basically just be an expansion of its preexisting bespoke-vehicle program. Customers will likely meet with representatives from the automaker and work out the details on what they want from the Coachbuild Collection over a period of three-to-five years.
During that time, we imagine Rolls-Royce will take them on sporadic vacations to luxury resorts where they take a day trip to the nearby forest where specific wood they wanted for the dashboard is harvested. Maybe they’ll even be able to meet the very animal that will be used to create their leather seats or the children that will mine the precious metals that’ll be used inside the battery packs.
Meanwhile, you’ll be stuck looking through the windows of whatever’s available at your local dealership — mulling over screen sizes and what color plastics you prefer to have on every square inch of the interior. Granted, some of you might even be fortunate enough to still get some real leather on the steering wheel. But you’ll never be able to reach the dizzying heights of a VIP customer being fussed over by Rolls-Royce in exchange for a small-to-medium fortune.
[Images: Rolls-Royce]
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