Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has unveiled the La Rose Noire Droptail, a dark, daring and dramatic coachbuilt masterpiece, symbolising the distillation of experiences, significant moments and objets d’art cherished by its owners – an international family that exemplifies connoisseurship and luxury of the very highest order.
“Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail is a love story, thoughtfully captured and stunningly projected onto the canvas of a Rolls-Royce motor car," said Torsten Müller-Ötvös, CEO, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, in a statement.
Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail is inspired by the allure of the Black Baccara rose, an intense, velvet-like flower that originates in France. The dark pomegranate colour of its petals appears almost black in shade, but in direct light, a red, pearlescent shimmer is revealed on the dark surface. The first red shade is named ‘True Love’ and the darker tone, ‘Mystery’.
“Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail stands as one of the most progressive expressions of Rolls-Royce Coachbuild ever conceived," said Anders Warming, design director, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
The exterior coachwork is finished in the lustrous True Love red, and appears to change colour depending on the point it is examined from. To achieve this rich variation, surface finish specialists developed a completely new paint process, which was perfected over 150 careful iterations.
“Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail is glamour distilled," stated Alex Innes, head of Coachbuild Design, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
The commissioning clients’ passion for detail is exemplified on La Rose Noire Droptail’s Pantheon grille vanes. This highly detailed piece was digitally designed and 3D printed in a lightweight composite and incorporates 202 hand-polished stainless-steel ingots, each hand-painted in the True Love hue.
The alloy wheels in the dark Mystery paint, from afar the finish appears to be black, but upon closer examination, the sunlight reveals shimmering dark red undertones. The duotone theme also extends into the motor car’s brightwork with its dark finish, named Hydroshade due to its liquid quality, having been developed specifically for this project.
A removable hard top has been designed: without its roof Droptail is a lithe, open-top roadster; with the roof installed, it becomes a formidable and dramatic coupé. The completely Bespoke roof also features an electrochromic glass section.
The interior reveals the most complex expression of parquetry ever created at Rolls-Royce – the product of nearly two years of development, intense experimentation and hand craftsmanship.
The artwork represents an abstract expression of falling rose petals, formed using 1,603 pieces of black wood veneer triangles. Made from Black Sycamore wood sourced in France as a subtle tribute to the French provenance of La Rose Noire, each triangle is cut, sanded and precisely positioned by hand.
The fascia of Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail is provisioned with an integrated one-off timepiece by Audemars Piguet, which was also specially commissioned to be mounted in the car or attached to a strap and worn.
