Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is proud to introduce the Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail, an exquisite coachbuilt masterpiece that honors the cultural history, familial legacy, and personal passions of its commissioning customer.
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars offers the Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail.
The patron's son's birthstone served as inspiration for the extraordinary coach-built project.
Combines a beautiful appreciation of labor-intensive craft with focused minimalism.
The veneer aft deck is the largest wood surface that Rolls-Royce has ever produced.
On a new car, the rear part is the only wood surface that functions as an aerodynamic surface.
Both the interior and exterior are decorated with priceless amethyst crystals.
The Pantheon grille is the first to offer both a brushed and a polished finish.
Haute horlogerie-inspired finish that refers to the Vacheron Constantin timepiece owned by the client exhibited to the commissioning client at an exclusive Gstaad, Switzerland, event.
"This gorgeous Rolls-Royce Droptail expression really reflects the essence of the client who commissioned it. This renowned and cosmopolitan person is the epitome of connoisseurship, and it was a pleasure to learn more about their broad perspective, sophisticated tastes, and enduring history. Rolls-Royce Coachbuild's intention to engage deeply in order to develop an iconic manifestation of applied art is clearly stated by the amazing projection of their personality that is captured in the Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail. The client's direct engagement is what gives Coachbuild automobiles their unrivaled moral fortitude. These goods have extraordinary vision and clarity that are accomplished with unwavering passion. Amethyst droptail effectively conveys these qualities.
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Chief Executive Officer Torsten Müller-Tvös
"The accomplishments, sensibilities, and personality of the owner give a coachbuilt Rolls-Royce its individuality and reputation. Its distinctiveness and irreplaceability are entirely due to the human element that is blended with a highly innovative design. Every Coachbuild commission has a timeless quality and creative longevity because of its individuality. Amethyst Droptail, a Rolls-Royce design, will be remembered in our history as an example of how precisely our imaginative response may reflect the spirit of a unique commissioning customer through both concrete and highly conceptual manifestations of personal luxury.
Design director for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, Anders Warming
"The Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail is the pinnacle of subdued artistry, and the significance of this car resides in the level of detail it exhibits. We studied the tastes, valued interests, and values of a discriminating patron whose personality is evident throughout the commission through expertly chosen details, each of which is endowed with a profound symbolic meaning. Amethyst Droptail is a stunning expression of connoisseurship, modern design, and personal heritage that was made for a person who has a passion for modern design, the finer points of haute horlogerie, and whose family has a special connection to gemstones.
Head of Coachbuild Design at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, Alex Innes
DROPTAIL AMETHYST
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is proud to introduce the Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail, an exquisite coachbuilt masterpiece that honors the cultural history, familial legacy, and personal passions of its commissioning customer.
Amethyst Droptail, one of the Rolls-Royce Droptail's four distinct expressions, was commissioned by a patron whose family firm has evolved from a gemstone shop to a worldwide conglomerate with a range of corporate interests. It is a really exalted representation of applied art. The customer is a renowned patron of the arts, whose collection of priceless gems, notable automobiles, and contemporary artworks is housed in a specially commissioned private museum. They are extremely well-traveled, globally educated, and profoundly inspired by the world.
The patron asked Coachbuild designers to develop a beautiful version of Droptail that was inspired by the amethyst gem, their son's birthstone and a timeless representation of purity, clarity, and resiliency. These themes are explored in incredible depth throughout this exceptional automobile. Amethyst Droptail is characterized by the client's love of calm artistry and subdued flourishes; it is a projection of true connoisseurship that rewards close examination with enticing nuances.
At a private occasion in Gstaad, Switzerland—a location of great significance for the patron—the Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail was unveiled to the commissioning client, their family, and friends.
A FLORA IN THE DRY LAND
The co-creator and patron of the Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail stated a strong desire to honor their own region's cultural history. The Globe Amaranth wildflower, which blooms in the desert next to one of the client's homes, was mentioned as an influence by Rolls-Royce Coachbuild designers in their response.
The exterior paint finish in duotone captures several blooming stages of the flower. Globe Amaranth, named after the flower, is the name of the primary body color, which is a soft purple with a subtle silver undertone. It is augmented with tiny specks of powdered aluminum that catch the light and produce an alluring iridescent finish. The upper coachwork of the car is painted with a deep purple amethyst contrast paint that combines red, blue, and violet mica particles to provide a distinctive mauve color with a light metallic sheen.
The client likened this feature to the vibrant lining of their favorite custom jacket when they saw the motor car in the sunlight. It is also visible on the interior of the 22-inch wheels of the automobile.
The carbon fiber that was used to build the lower portions of the car is given a modest but extremely intricate finishing touch on the outside. Following two years of research and development, the craftsmen of the marque produced a chevron pattern book-matched along two axes, adding geometric decoration to the technical exterior surfaces of the Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail. A thin coating of lacquer stained with amethyst pigment, which appears as body color in most lighting conditions, is used to finish the carbon fiber itself. This complex and technically challenging element is concealed until the car is closely examined, demonstrating the client's love of subtlety and restraint.
AMOUNT of detail
The Pantheon grille treatment illustrates the client's confidence in Rolls-Royce's artisans to complete even the most difficult embellishments. With a fine line separating each finish, the external grille surround and 'kinked' vane pieces are partially hand-brushed and partially hand-polished, a surface treatment that had never been tried on this scale before. The idea came from the son of the commissioning customer, a haute horlogerie enthusiast who was moved by the brushed hands of a historically significant object in his collection. More than 50 hours of collective work went into achieving the exact regularity of the finishes as well as the striking contrast between the finish types.
An elaborate lower front air inlet is concealed beneath this exceptional display of modern craftsmanship. Digitally planned and "printed" in a lightweight composite, this intricate piece consists of 202 hand-polished stainless steel ingots that have each been painstakingly hand-painted in the color Globe Amaranth.
The front end comes to a close with an amethyst cabochon-encircled Spirit of Ecstasy figurine. The client asked for the cabochon treatment to eliminate an obvious glitter, which involves shaping and polishing a gemstone into a rounded form as opposed to a faceted one. This small detail brings to mind the client's early efforts in the precious gemstone industry.
ELEGANCE FOR MATERIALS
The Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail honors the materials and crafts that the commissioning customer and his family carefully selected. The client provided a sample of magnificent Calamander Light open-pore wood, which has a complex texture and lengthy bands of color. This sample served as the starting point for the material selection process.
The leather treatment on the automobile was produced to properly match the caramel strands on the Calamander Light open-pore wood, and it was inspired by the colors of the client's initial wood sample. The leather is gently contrasting and is entitled Sand Dunes, which is a fitting color choice. The next hurdle for wood experts was to find material with bands precisely the same color as the leather. This process took more than six months to complete and required experts to look through more than 100 logs before the ideal piece was found.
The outside surface is complemented by the primary leather color, amethyst, which is coated with a delicate iridescent lacquer to evoke the brightness of the rare gemstone the car is named after.
Rolls-Royce designed the largest wooden surface area in company history for the Amethyst Droptail, using wood for the fascia, doors, shawl panel, cantilevered "plinth" center armrest, and rear deck of the vehicle.
Aerodynamicists from the marque and wood experts collaborated closely to explore different wood-grain textures and the exact angle at which to install the veneer itself while adding wood to the aerodynamically useful aft deck. The end result is a work of extraordinary artistic merit and the only 'raw' timber surface capable of producing downforce on a modern road-going automobile in the world.
For Amethyst Droptail, a brand-new veneering method that turns each veneer sheet upside down to reveal the texture of the raw wood was created. Combining "bookmatching" at a 55-degree angle, where the sheets of wood are mirrored, and "slip-matching," where the sheets of wood are lined up side by side in order, results in a repeating grain pattern that gives the appearance of a single piece of wood.
The internal wood components of Amethyst Droptail were tested to fulfill the same exacting endurance criteria as the external components in order to guarantee that the commissioning customer can use it in a variety of climates around the globe. More than 150 samples were tested for more than 8,000 hours prior to the building's completion. This involved testing for durability in a range of temperatures from +80°C to -30°C, as well as a complete simulation of sunshine exposure and an evaluation of rainfastness. The protective coatings on the deck, created especially for Amethyst Droptail, now have their own patent.
The client asked for a stylish element to finish off the interior design: the rotary dials to be embellished with priceless amethyst crystals. Similar to the stones at the base of the Spirit of Ecstasy figure, they are not faceted but rather have a convex cabochon shape. Each stone has a breathtaking depth and clarity that are often only found in exquisite jewelry. Before each stone was personally and separately approved by the client, professionals from the client's organization analyzed it. Woven leather floormats are used to finish the interior design, paying a subtle homage to the traditional weaving techniques that have been used for centuries in the souks of the client's native home region.
UNIQUE, ELEVATED
The Rolls-Royce-Royceail has a detachable hard top that gives it two unique personalities: without the roof, it is a nimble, open-top roadster; with the roof placed, it is a commanding and dramatic coupé.
Electrochromic glass, which enables fast color and transparency changes, is used on the roof. The client asked Coachbuild designers to create a glass whose color would change to match the Amethyst Droptail colorway. As a result, the Rolls-Royce Bespoke Collective created electrochromic glass with a special chameleon effect that, when deactivated, is fully opaque and has a faint purple hue, mimicking the exterior finish of the car in amethyst. The glass turns translucent and takes on a tone that complements the Sand Dunes leather color used in the interior suite once it is engaged at the touch of a button. Before finding the ideal glass color, experts had to try 60 different variations before they could realize this astonishing flourish.
ONE TIME ONLY
A special timepiece that was specially ordered by the client from the renowned Swiss haute horlogerie firm Vacheron Constantin adorns the fascia of the Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail. The watch, known as "Les Cabinotiers Armillary Tourbillon," was built in Geneva and features a complex hand-wound movement. It is safely contained in a specifically created holder that allows it to be withdrawn and stored apart from the motor car if desired. The watch has a bi-axial tourbillon and a bi-retrograde display with instantaneous hour and minute returns.
In order to ensure that the shapes, materials, and colors of the timepiece were in perfect harmony with the motor car, Vacheron Constantin and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars collaborated closely. The instrument dials have hands that have a partially brushed and polished finish, along with amethyst-colored inlays. The watch is mounted on a baseplate made of white gold that features a hand-painted sunburst guilloché design.
A Personal Place in Rolls-Royce History: AMETHYST DROPTAIL
This exceptional Rolls-Royce Droptail rendition is a monument to the commissioning client's love of subtle details that were cleverly but painstakingly placed into one of the most historically significant Rolls-Royces ever made. The Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail is a representation of the brand's talents to delicately blend legacy, modernity, and spirit, in addition to realizing such a clear vision.
The patron's son's birthstone served as inspiration for the extraordinary coach-built project.
incorporates a focus on minimalism and exquisite enjoyment of meticulous craft
The veneer aft deck is the largest wood surface that Rolls-Royce has ever produced.
On a new car, the rear part is the only wood surface that functions as an aerodynamic surface.
Interior and exterior features are decorated with priceless amethyst crystals.
For the first time, the Pantheon grille has been given both a brushed and a polished finish.
Haute horlogerie-inspired finish that refers to the client's Vacheron Constantin timepiece
At Gstaad, Switzerland, at a private event before commissioning the client
"This gorgeous Rolls-Royce Droptail expression really reflects the essence of the client who commissioned it. This renowned and cosmopolitan person is the epitome of connoisseurship, and it was a pleasure to learn more about their broad perspective, sophisticated tastes, and enduring history. Rolls-Royce Coachbuild's intention to engage deeply in order to develop an iconic manifestation of applied art is clearly stated by the amazing projection of their personality that is captured in the Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail. The client's direct engagement is what gives Coachbuild automobiles their unrivaled moral fortitude. These goods have extraordinary vision and clarity that are accomplished with unwavering passion. Amethyst droptail effectively conveys these qualities.
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Chief Executive Officer Torsten Müller-Tvös
"The accomplishments, sensibilities, and personality of the owner give a coachbuilt Rolls-Royce its individuality and reputation. Its distinctiveness and irreplaceability are entirely due to the human element that is blended with a highly innovative design. Every Coachbuild commission has a timeless quality and creative longevity because of its individuality. Amethyst Droptail, a Rolls-Royce design, will be remembered in our history as an example of how precisely our imaginative response may reflect the spirit of a unique commissioning customer through both concrete and highly conceptual manifestations of personal luxury.
Design director for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, Anders Warming
"The Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail is the pinnacle of subdued artistry, and the significance of this car resides in the level of detail it exhibits. We studied the tastes, valued interests, and values of a discriminating patron whose personality is evident throughout the commission through expertly chosen details, each of which is endowed with a profound symbolic meaning. Amethyst Droptail is a stunning expression of connoisseurship, modern design, and personal heritage that was made for a person who has a passion for modern design, the finer points of haute horlogerie, and whose family has a special connection to gemstones.
Head of Coachbuild Design at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, Alex Innes
DROPTAIL AMETHYST
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is proud to introduce the Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail, an exquisite coachbuilt masterpiece that honors the cultural history, familial legacy, and personal passions of its commissioning customer.
A patron whose family business has grown from a gemstone shop to a global conglomerate with a variety of corporate interests commissioned Amethyst Droptail, one of the Rolls-Royce Droptail's four distinct expressions. It is a really exalted representation of applied art. The customer is a renowned patron of the arts, whose collection of priceless gems, notable automobiles, and contemporary artworks is housed in a specially commissioned private museum. They are extremely well-traveled, globally educated, and profoundly inspired by the world.
The customer asked Coachbuild designers to create a lovely version of Droptail that drew inspiration from the amethyst gem, their son's birthstone and a timeless symbol of purity, clarity, and resiliency. These themes are explored in incredible depth throughout this exceptional automobile. Amethyst Droptail is characterized by the client's love of calm artistry and subdued flourishes; it is a projection of true connoisseurship that rewards close examination with enticing nuances.
At a private occasion in Gstaad, Switzerland—a location of great significance for the patron—the Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail was unveiled to the commissioning client, their family, and friends.
A FLORA IN THE DRY LAND
The co-creator and patron of the Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail stated a strong desire to honor their own region's cultural history. The Globe Amaranth wildflower, which blooms in the desert next to one of the client's homes, was mentioned as an influence by Rolls-Royce Coachbuild designers in their response.
The exterior paint finish in duotone captures several blooming stages of the flower. Globe Amaranth, named after the flower, is the name of the primary body color, which is a soft purple with a subtle silver undertone. It is augmented with tiny specks of powdered aluminum that catch the light and produce an alluring iridescent finish. The upper coachwork of the car is painted with a deep purple amethyst contrast paint that combines red, blue, and violet mica particles to provide a distinctive mauve color with a light metallic sheen.
The client likened this feature to the vibrant lining of their favorite custom jacket when they saw the motor car in the sunlight. It is also visible on the interior of the 22-inch wheels of the automobile.
The carbon fiber that was used to build the lower portions of the car is given a modest but extremely intricate finishing touch on the outside. Following two years of research and development, the craftsmen of the marque produced a chevron pattern book-matched along two axes, adding geometric decoration to the technical exterior surfaces of the Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail. A thin coating of lacquer stained with amethyst pigment, which appears as body color in most lighting conditions, is used to finish the carbon fiber itself. This complex and technically challenging element is concealed until the car is closely examined, demonstrating the client's love of subtlety and restraint.
AMOUNT of detail
The Pantheon grille treatment illustrates the client's confidence in Rolls-Royce's artisans to complete even the most difficult embellishments. With a fine line separating each finish, the external grille surround and 'kinked' vane pieces are partially hand-brushed and partially hand-polished, a surface treatment that had never been tried on this scale before. The idea came from the son of the commissioning customer, a haute horlogerie enthusiast who was moved by the brushed hands of a historically significant object in his collection. More than 50 hours of collective work went into achieving the exact regularity of the finishes as well as the striking contrast between the finish types.
An elaborate lower front air inlet is concealed beneath this exceptional display of modern craftsmanship. Digitally planned and "printed" in a lightweight composite, this intricate piece consists of 202 hand-polished stainless steel ingots that have each been painstakingly hand-painted in the color Globe Amaranth.
The front end comes to a close with an amethyst cabochon-encircled Spirit of Ecstasy figurine. The client asked for the cabochon treatment to eliminate an obvious glitter, which involves shaping and polishing a gemstone into a rounded form as opposed to a faceted one. This small detail brings to mind the client's early efforts in the precious gemstone industry.
ELEGANCE FOR MATERIALS
The Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail honors the materials and crafts that the commissioning customer and his family carefully selected. The client provided a sample of magnificent Calamander Light open-pore wood, which has a complex texture and lengthy bands of color. This sample served as the starting point for the material selection process.
The leather treatment on the automobile was produced to properly match the caramel strands on the Calamander Light open-pore wood, and it was inspired by the colors of the client's initial wood sample. The leather is gently contrasting and is entitled Sand Dunes, which is a fitting color choice. The next hurdle for wood experts was to find material with bands precisely the same color as the leather. This process took more than six months to complete and required experts to look through more than 100 logs before the ideal piece was found.
The outside surface is complemented by the primary leather color, amethyst, which is coated with a delicate iridescent lacquer to evoke the brightness of the rare gemstone the car is named after.
Rolls-Royce designed the largest wooden surface area in company history for the Amethyst Droptail, using wood for the fascia, doors, shawl panel, cantilevered "plinth" center armrest, and rear deck of the vehicle.
Aerodynamicists from the marque and wood experts collaborated closely to explore different wood-grain textures and the exact angle at which to install the veneer itself while adding wood to the aerodynamically useful aft deck. The end result is a work of extraordinary artistic merit and the only 'raw' timber surface capable of producing downforce on a modern road-going automobile in the world.
For Amethyst Droptail, a brand-new veneering method that turns each veneer sheet upside down to reveal the texture of the raw wood was created. Combining "bookmatching" at a 55-degree angle, where the sheets of wood are mirrored, and "slip-matching," where the sheets of wood are lined up side by side in order, results in a repeating grain pattern that gives the appearance of a single piece of wood.
The internal wood components of Amethyst Droptail were tested to fulfill the same exacting endurance criteria as the external components in order to guarantee that the commissioning customer can use it in a variety of climates around the globe. More than 150 samples were tested for more than 8,000 hours prior to the building's completion. This involved testing for durability in a range of temperatures from +80°C to -30°C, as well as a complete simulation of sunshine exposure and an evaluation of rainfastness. The protective coatings on the deck, created especially for Amethyst Droptail, now have their own patent.
The client asked for a stylish element to finish off the interior design: the rotary dials to be embellished with priceless amethyst crystals. Similar to the stones at the base of the Spirit of Ecstasy figure, they are not faceted but rather have a convex cabochon shape. Each stone has a breathtaking depth and clarity that are often only found in exquisite jewelry. Professionals from the client's organization analyzed each stone before the client personally and separately approved it. Woven leather floormats are used to finish the interior design, paying a subtle homage to the traditional weaving techniques that have been used for centuries in the souks of the client's native home region.
UNIQUE, ELEVATED
The Rolls-Royce-Royceail has a detachable hard top that gives it two unique personalities: without the roof, it is a nimble, open-top roadster; with the roof placed, it is a commanding and dramatic coupé.
Electrochromic glass, which enables fast color and transparency changes, is used on the roof. The client asked Coachbuild designers to create a glass whose color would change to match the Amethyst Droptail colorway. As a result, the Rolls-Royce Bespoke Collective created electrochromic glass with a special chameleon effect that, when deactivated, is fully opaque and has a faint purple hue, mimicking the exterior finish of the car in amethyst. The glass turns translucent and takes on a tone that complements the Sand Dunes leather color used in the interior suite once it is engaged at the touch of a button. Before finding the ideal glass color, experts had to try 60 different variations before they could realize this astonishing flourish.
ONE TIME ONLY
The fascia of the Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail features a unique timepiece that the client specifically ordered from the renowned Swiss haute horlogerie company Vacheron Constantin. The watch, known as "Les Cabinotiers Armillary Tourbillon," was built in Geneva and features a complex hand-wound movement. It is safely contained in a specifically created holder that allows it to be withdrawn and stored apart from the motor car if desired. The watch has a bi-axial tourbillon and a bi-retrograde display with instantaneous hour and minute returns.
In order to ensure that the shapes, materials, and colors of the timepiece were in perfect harmony with the motor car, Vacheron Constantin and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars collaborated closely. The instrument dials have hands that have a partially brushed and polished finish, along with amethyst-colored inlays. The watch is mounted on a baseplate made of white gold that features a hand-painted sunburst guilloché design.
A Personal Place in Rolls-Royce History: AMETHYST DROPTAIL
This exceptional Rolls-Royce Droptail rendition is a monument to the commissioning client's love of subtle details that were cleverly but painstakingly placed into one of the most historically significant Rolls-Royces ever made. It also exemplifies the marque's talents to skillfully blend tradition, modernity, and spirit, in addition to realizing such a distinct vision.