Recently sold to a mysterious Singaporean buyer, Rolls-Royce presented the stunning coachbuilt Rolls-Royce Arcadia Droptail. Making its debut at Gardens by the Bay, the two-seater roadster, the first in Rolls-Royce’s modern history, embodies subtle irreverence; a daring expression of the client’s taste that honours natural materials and forms.
At a private ceremony in Singapore, the owner received the stunning two-seat bespoke commission, intending for the coach-build to be driven abroad. Though no pricing was mentioned, Anders Warming, Design Director of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, while presenting the design philosophy of the Arcadia Droptail hinted at it, “One doesn’t just drop £20 million on a bespoke commission to make any car, we must make sure that our vision is aligned.”
Five years in the making, Alex Innes, who heads up the Coachbuild department at Rolls-Royce, presented the client with a mood board four and a half years ago, and that was the beginning of the Arcadia’s development. The third of its kind, the two-seater Arcadia comes after the Amethyst and La Rose Noire roadsters, and though there’s a fourth and final vehicle still to come, the Rolls-Royce Arcadia is quite simply the finest emblem to representing the pinnacle of aesthetics and engineering at Goodwood.
What a $31 million car looks like: Rolls-Royce Arcadia Droptail
With the Arcadia Droptail, the goal was to develop an automobile that stood out with its spare, minimalist aesthetic, highlighting details that were otherwise understated. You could remember all four of these Droptails from The Great Gatsby because of their low, slung positions, which are reminiscent of 1920s American roadsters and hotrods. The understated elegance of the Rolls-Royce Arcadia Droptail is its defining feature. “From their love of good dining to their meticulously organised home and office spaces and their penchant for modern design, it’s clear that this person places a premium on clarity and accuracy in all aspects of their lives,” according to Innes.
Arcadia, famous for its breathtaking natural beauty and idyllic harmony, is also known as ‘Heaven on Earth’ in Ancient Greek mythology, provided the inspiration for this custom coachbuilt project. In our contemporary times, the designers at Coachbuild delved into the client’s beloved regions’ designs, sculptures, and architecture to capture this serenity. Additionally, British ‘Biomimetic’ architecture organic forms and the purity of the Droptail design concept shaped the eventual coachbuild while remaining authentic to the original 2019 hand-drawn design. Innes then took the opportunity to reimagine the iconic pantheon grille, interpreting as a wider, shorter, and backwards leaning grille to give it a more sportive and dynamic appearance accented by a pair of shallow, penetrating LED headlights that retains recognisable Rolls-Royce heritage while evolving into a sleek, contemporary, and uncluttered form.
Despite its roadster design, the Arcadia Droptail retains nautical influences, with ‘sail cowls’ that resemble a yacht’s jib. These elements not only add to the car’s aesthetic appeal but also draw attention to its occupants. Bold, low stance, ensconcing cabin design and dramatic body lines, it is among aggressive like a modern sports car without the uncouthness of a collapsible spoiler and all the sophistication of a motor-car from Goodwood with sharp, angular forms rising behind the doors and curve gently inwards, subtly directing the eye to the roadster’s obviously elite occupants.
Inside and out: a work of art for the roads
Done in accordance with the client’s desires, designers at Rolls-Royce Coachbuild settled on a serene, natural duotone colour scheme for the vehicle’s bodywork, creating an enduring white that would look classic at first glance but would reveal its subtle nuances when viewed in natural light. This is accomplished by incorporating metal and glass particles into the solid white main body hue. This not only makes the coachwork sparkle with light, but it also gives the impression of infinite depth to the paintwork when looked at closely. Using bigger size of aluminium particles, the experts at Rolls-Royce created a metallic that is more faceted and eye-catching. It’s a simple scheme yet rich in detail with its sleek, one-piece body and daring negative sculpting, which are emphasised by the car’s subdued paint hues that reflect light and create striking shadows, drawing attention to Droptail’s multitude of delicate design elements.
Wood development was central to Arcadia Droptail’s interior and the client’s focus concentrated on the texture, grain, colour and richness of the material itself. Rolls-Royce Coachbuild designers and material specialists were guided by examples of his preferences and inspiration from architecture, residences and classic cars. Based upon its rich texture and visual intrigue, derived from its unique, interlocking grain pattern Santos Straight Grain was eventually selected.
While it posed a significant challenge for Goodwood’s craftsmen, the aesthetic accomplishment was remarkable. Santos Straight Grain has one of the finest grain types of all the wood species and if not handled with the greatest care, it easily tears when machined and ‘checks’ (a crack that appears parallel to the grain) during the drying process. Despite its many hurdles, 8000 hours and 233 pieces later, Santos Straight Grain is used throughout, including the aerodynamically functional rear deck section comprising 76 pieces, where the grain of the open pore veneer is laid at a perfect 55° angle in equally perfect symmetry.
Given that Arcadia Droptail will be used internationally, including some tropical climates, specific attention was paid to developing a protection system and testing process for the exterior wood surfaces. Coatings used on superyachts were initially considered but rejected given that they require regular servicing and re-application. Instead, a Bespoke lacquer was developed that requires just one application for the lifetime of the motor car. This finish was then “quality control” tested for 1,000 hours, simulating the worst weather conditions, on 18 separate samples.
Completing the interior and wood surfaces, the leather interior is finished in two entirely Bespoke hues, named after the client and reserved exclusively for their use: a Bespoke White hue, continuing the exterior paint theme, while the contrast leather is a Bespoke tan colour matching the Santos wood.
Mechanical love right down to dashboard clock
The Santos Straight Grain veneer fascia incorporates a clock conceived and developed by Rolls-Royce Coachbuild designers and craftspeople: incorporates an exquisite geometric guilloché pattern in raw metal with 119 facets, assembly of this exquisite expression of haute horlogerie was a five-month process preceded by more than two years of development. A symbolic nod to the marque’s heritage, the specially designed clock face also includes partly polished, partly brushed hands and 12 ‘chaplets’ – or hour markers – each just 0.1mm thick. To ensure the readability of the timepiece, specialists gave each chaplet an infill bridge and painted them by hand using a camera capable of magnifying an image by up to 100x.
Themes from the clock are paired with the instrument dials, sharing materials, techniques and execution. They feature the same repeated guilloché pattern, as well as brushed and polished brightwork and frosted white inserts, recalling the colourway of the motor car.
Defined by lightness, the use of natural materials and a clear passion for precision and with their tastes and identity embodied and reflected in the Arcadia Droptail, the significance of this accomplishment lies not just in the metal but in the unique skill of Rolls-Royce Coachbuild designers in capturing the sensibilities and soul of an individual.
