Rolls-Royce late on Thursday revealed the second of four coachbuilt roadsters known as the Droptail collection.
The latest addition to the collection is the Amethyst, with the crystal of the same name serving as inspiration (and also the birthstone of the buyer's son).
The car doesn't just feature a purple hue that shimmers like an amethyst in the sunlight, but a smattering of the stones is also contained within the build. They are found on some of the dials in the cabin and around the base of the Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament.
The exterior features two shades of purple. The main body is finished in a soft hue with an almost silver shine, formed by flecks of powdered aluminum. A deeper purple is used for the upper parts of the body. It contains a blend of red, blue, and violet mica flakes that create a unique mauve color with a metallic sheen. There's also a touch of mauve paint on the 22-inch wheels.
Rolls-Royce Droptail (Amethyst)
Like the previous Droptail, known as the La Rose Noire, exposed carbon fiber is used for the rear diffuser, though this time with a subtle purple tint. Also like La Rose Noire, the signature Pantheon grille has a swept back design for the vanes, complete with a kink—a first for a Rolls-Royce. Unique to the Amethyst is a mix of brushed and polished surfaces for the grille, which Rolls-Royce said is another first.
A removable hard-top roof encloses the cabin. When removed, the body sports an almost monolithic design, especially when viewed from the profile, which is marked only by the cutlines of the doors. Wood surfaces are found throughout, including for the exterior, and here there's another first for a Rolls-Royce: the biggest single area of wood. It extends from the car's rear fascia, to the curved “shawl” panel behind seats, and along the center console with integrated armrests.
Rolls-Royce Droptail (Amethyst)
A new veneering process was developed specifically for the car, in which each veneer sheet is placed upside down to expose the raw wood texture. Each piece is either aligned side by side in sequence, or at 55 degrees and mirrored with a matching piece around a center line, a style known as bookmatching. The primary wood used is Calamander Light open-pore wood, which was suggested by the buyer.
Rolls-Royce hasn't revealed a price for the Droptail, but each of the four cars is thought to cost more than 20 million British pounds (approximately $25 million). That's more than what the previous Sweptail and Boat Tail coachbuilt specials cost, but the Droptail is a much more ambitious project. While the earlier cars used existing platforms, the Droptail is based on a bespoke design making use of multi-material construction, including some carbon fiber.
Rolls-Royce Droptail (Amethyst)
The car spans 208 inches in length and almost 79 inches in width, making its footprint slightly smaller than that of the new Spectre electric coupe whose design elements it borrows, especially at the rear. One thing that isn't borrowed is the Spectre's electric powertrain.
Under the long hood of the Droptail is Rolls-Royce's venerable twin-turbocharged 6.6-liter V-12. The engine delivers a peak 593 hp, which is 30 hp more than what it makes in Rolls-Royce's regular fleet. Along with La Rose Noire, it's the first time that extra performance has been added to a modern coachbuilt Rolls-Royce.
