The Rolls-Royce Sweptail is a

one-off In the field of vehicles authorized to drive, a one-off vehicle is a vehicle that was manufactured only once. The production of unique vehicles is reduced to one unit in each case. The easiest cases to analyze are those of cars and motorcycles. Un ...

large luxury car made by

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited is a British luxury automobile maker which has operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of BMW AG since 2003 – as the exclusive manufacturer of ''Rolls-Royce''-branded motor cars. The company's administrative ...

Overview

The Sweptail is based on the

Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupé The Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupé is a luxury car manufactured by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars that debuted at the 2008 Geneva International Motor Show in Geneva, Switzerland, on 6 March 2008. The platform is based on the 2003 Rolls-Royce Phantom and h ...

and hand-built over four years. Inspired by

coachbuilding A coachbuilder or body-maker is someone who manufactures bodies for passenger-carrying vehicles.Construction has always been a skilled trade requiring a relatively lightweight product with sufficient strength. The manufacture of necessarily ...

of the 1920s and 1930s, the car was commissioned in 2013, by a super-yacht and aircraft specialist. At the time of its May 2017 debut at the yearly

Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este () is a Concours d'Elegance event in Italy for classic and vintage cars. It takes place annually near the Villa d'Este hotel in Cernobbio, on the western shore of Lake Como in northern Italy. Since 2011, the eve ...

, it was the most expensive new automobile in the world, costing around £10 million. The Sweptail is owned by Hong Kong-based customer Sam Li, son of billionaire real estate mogul

Samuel Tak Lee Samuel Tak Lee or Lee Tak-Yee (; born April 1939) is a Hong Kong property billionaire. Early life Lee was born in April 1939. He was educated at Diocesan Boys' School in Mong Kok, before earning bachelor's and master's degrees in civil and e ...

. Giles Taylor, former director of design at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars described the vehicle as "the automotive equivalent of Haute couture". In 2019, it was overtaken as the most expensive new car by the Bugatti La Voiture Noire which sold for US$18.7 million.

Gallery

Rolls-Royce Sweptail.jpg Rolls Royce Sweptail rear.jpg Rolls-Royce Sweptail right side.jpg Rolls-Royce Sweptail interior.jpg

References

2010s cars Luxury vehicles Rolls-Royce Motor Cars vehicles Rear-wheel-drive vehicles {{modern-auto-stub