Rolls-Royce says it is open to the possibility of creating more one-off coachbuilt models in the vein of the Sweptail.
Speaking to Autocar at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este on the shores of Lake Como, company director of design Giles Taylor said that it is unlikely that another customer will ever be as involved in the process as the commissioner of the Sweptail was. However, Taylor said that the British marque could be involved in similar projects.
“We will probably never repeat the level of involvement we had with a customer for this car ever again, not because we don’t want to, but because it’s always fraught with risk that someone may misinterpret the end goal. It’s a risk you might end up with something that doesn’t fit the brand, or suit the customer.
“We may pro-actively offer coachbuild cars in the future, where we create the project and then sell the one-off nature to a customer. That’s an idea, not a plan, but it’s something we could do,” he said.
Expanding on the future of similar one-offs, Rolls-Royce chief executive Torsten Muller Otvos revealed that building such vehicles is fraught with difficulties, particularly in ensuring that they pass safety regulations.
“We are currently investigating it, more in a case of what we can do and how we can do it. We have learned a lot on this journey, and that needs a bit of thought now. It’s something we might continue, but there are no plans yet. But I wouldn’t be surprised to have a couple of my customers knocking on my door on Monday and saying ‘I want one’,” Otvos said.
Although Rolls-Royce doesn’t seem to be jumping at the chance to dedicate some of its resources to construct new one-offs, if the price is right, we can’t imagine Rolls-Royce turning away some of its uber-wealthy clients.
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