Sunday Drive by Hormazd Sorabjee: Money no object
Rolls-Royce Boat Tail, the most expensive car in the world, revealed. Adn the car, which took four years to design, engineer and build, is a sculpture on wheels
Rolls-Royces are very expensive. We all know that. But how expensive is very expensive? There’s no limit to what expensive is for the legendary British marque, which has just unveiled a new, uber-exclusive and bespoke Rolls-Royce Boat Tail with zeroes on the price tag that outstretch its exquisitely hand-crafted 5.9-metre long body. Any guesses? Try a stupid ~206 crore (£20million) for starters. And I say starters because if you were rich enough (and mad enough) to import one, you would be slapped with near 200 per cent import duties and taxes. It feels criminal to even calculate what the on-road price of this extraordinary Rolls would be! The fantastic irony is that even if you had that insane amount of money, you wouldn’t be able to buy one because only three Boat Tails will be made and all have customer’s names on them. The Boat Tail is completely bespoke and painstakingly hand-crafted, and as the name suggests, is inspired by a yacht with nautical design themes. This first of three Boat Tails revealed, showcases the customer’s (an unnamed couple) preferences and the level of customisation done to suit their tastes. For the company, the Boat Tail is a showcase of Rolls-Royces coachbuilding division, which the company has revived.
