“Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail is a love story, thoughtfully captured and stunningly projected onto the canvas of a Rolls-Royce motor car. It is an expression of the deep and passionate partnership between a husband and wife who are the heads of a prominent international family - to be part of their remarkable story is a privilege. Furthermore, La Rose Noire Droptail stands as a testament to our brand’s relentless pursuit of perfection, where artistry and the vision of a single client truly harmonise. In every detail of this historic commission, there are echoes of both Rolls-Royce’s rich heritage and the commissioning clients' character, from its captivating yet formidable form to its flawless and elegant romantic gestures. La Rose Noire Droptail, like the remarkable clients who dared to make such a potent and contemporary statement, will be written into Rolls-Royce history forever.”
Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
“Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail stands as one of the most progressive expressions of Rolls-Royce Coachbuild ever conceived. In capturing the romantic and glamorous spirit of the commissioning clients, our design team explored bold new artisanal processes and highly complex creative gestures in their pursuit of a deeply personal language of luxury. The remarkable execution of the wood elements of La Rose Noire Droptail in particular are a clear statement that time-honoured exquisite crafts have a place at the pinnacle of modern design. Indeed, the ambition of the marque’s clients, and the peerless capabilities of its designers signal a long and exciting future for Rolls-Royce Coachbuild and its standing as the leading creative force in applied art at its highest level.“
Anders Warming, Design Director, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
“Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail is glamour distilled. The guiding inspiration for this dark, bold and powerful commission was the Black Baccara rose, which was a significant point of affection for the client and a source of fascination for the design team. Its rich and complex character informed our creative exploration, influencing the palette, composition, and intricate detailing of the motor car. It led us to blend radically modern design concepts with age-old exquisite craft techniques, while using materials that subtly reinforce the clients’ deep connection to France. Our shared commitment to shaping a meaningful and progressive design statement have culminated in a deeply significant expression of the patron’s character and a new pinnacle for contemporary craftsmanship.”
Alex Innes, Head of Coachbuild Design, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is privileged to present Rolls-Royce 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 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. These two colours form the primary palette of La Rose Noire Droptail. The first red shade is named ‘True Love’ in recognition of the romance the client wished to capture in this commission. The darker tone is named ‘Mystery’, inspired by the mysterious nature of the rose, which appears to change colour when viewed from different angles.
The exterior coachwork is finished in the lustrous True Love red, and like the Black Baccara rose, 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.
The commissioning clients’ passion for detail is exemplified on La Rose Noire Droptail’s Pantheon grille vanes. In a discreet embellishment, True Love paint is hand-applied as an accent on the reverse surface of the vanes themselves - a refined detail that is only visible by way of indirect reflection. This subtle flourish continues into the intricate lower front air intake. 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.
Another significant exterior element is the treatment of the striking alloy wheels. Featuring 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 to give Droptail two distinct characters: 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, which instantly transitions to a near-translucent shade at the touch of a button, inviting patrons to explore the world above.
LA ROSE NOIRE: GLAMOUR DISTILLED
The most remarkable element of this extraordinary motor car is its cocooning interior. This 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. Enveloping the motor car’s occupants, stretching from the rear shawl panel through the doors and onto the expensive fascia, the highly complex pattern is formed with 1,070 perfectly symmetrical elements forming the background, and 533 asymmetrically positioned red pieces representing the rose petals.
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 assembly of this work of art required such intense concentration that the single craftsperson tasked with creating it spent weeks working in absolute silence in a sound-insulated space to mitigate against any potential distractions and could only work in one-hour sessions for no more than five hours total per day, to ensure they maintained the focus required for perfect execution.
The fascia of Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail is provisioned with an integrated one-off timepiece by Audemars Piguet, which was specially commissioned by the client. The 43mm Royal Oak Concept Split-Seconds Chronograph GMT Large Date is powered by a unique self-winding Calibre 4407 movement, featuring a flyback chronograph and a split-seconds mechanism. Masterfully matched to La Rose Noire’s colourway, it incorporates red counters and a red inner bezel, providing a bright contrast to the black ‘openworked’ dial highlighted with rhodium-toned bevels.
Integrating the timepiece presented a significant challenge: the clients requested that it should both be mounted in the motor car and also be removable, so that it can be attached to a strap and worn. This was realised with a powered clasp mechanism that gently presents the timepiece at the touch of a button.
Once the timepiece has been removed, the aperture in the fascia is covered with an elegant titanium openworked blank head watch highlighting a white-gold coin displaying a rose engraving, hand-sculpted by Audemars Piguet artisans. Subtle rose engravings on the motor car’s Bespoke Audio speaker frets mirror this motif. Each of the pieces were meticulously crafted by hand in the Swiss brand’s atelier and represent the only literal expressions of the Baccara Rose in the whole motor car.
To celebrate their Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail the owners commissioned an exclusive vintage of Champagne de Lossy, one of their favourite wine properties. This is of particular significance given the special wine created for La Rose Noire Droptail is one of only a precious handful of vintages produced by the Chateau in its 160-year history.
As the perfect staging point, the commissioning family requested a unique Rolls-Royce Champagne Chest. Replete with hand-blown crustal champagne flutes, appointed with matching rose petal parquetry and coordinated to match the colour palette and materials of the motor car, it is the product of the same meticulous attention to detail as the clients’ coachbuilt Rolls-Royce.
LA ROSE NOIRE DROPTAIL: TAKING ITS PLACE IN THE ROLLS-ROYCE LEGEND
This bold and historic motor car is a romantic celebration of the couple who created it, characterised by passion and a restless desire for meaningful experiences. In commissioning this extraordinary expression of Droptail, this remarkable family has not only shaped their own legacy but also participated in the legend of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
