Rolls-Royce Debuts Amethyst Droptail With An Aerodynamic Wood Surface

The Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail is one of four specially commissioned models for a particular client. Its introduction follows the La Rose Noire that broke cover a few days ago.

On the outside, the special Rolls-Royce wears a duotone color combination. The Globe Amaranth flower inspired the soft purple that serves as the car’s main finish, which the automaker paired with a deep purple Amethyst paint. The soft purple features a silver undertone, while the darker hue blends blue, red, and violet mica flakes to enhance the sheen.

22-inch polished aluminum rims sit at all four corners with a contrasting hint of mauve paint inside. The automaker produced a grille in a hand-polished and hand-brushed finish for the first time. It took more than 50 hours of collective work to achieve uniformity in the finishes.

Beneath the grille is the lower intake. It’s made of a lightweight composite material that Rolls-Royce printed and has 202 hand-polished stainless-steel ingots painted with the Globe Amaranth hue. The aerodynamic rear deck features a large functional wood surface. The company says it’s “the world’s only “raw” wood surface that produces downforce” on a new car. 

The client challenged the automaker to design electrochromic glass that could change hue. Rolls had to experiment with 60 iterations of glass before being satisfied. The glass is completely opaque when deactivated, featuring a purple tint. When it’s translucent, it has a hue that matches the interior’s Sand Dunes brown leather seats. 

Inside, dark wood and contrasting leather blend with soft purples. The automaker tested all the wood to ensure they met the same endurance standards as the exterior pieces. The company tested over 150 samples for over 8,000 hours before the car’s final construction, exposing them to sunlight, rain, and temperature fluctuations.

The dashboard’s centerpiece comes from Vacheron Constantin and was handmade in Geneva with a hand-wound movement. The owner has the ability to remove the timepiece, which has a bi-retrograde display and a bi-axial tourbillon, and store it separately from the vehicle. Vacheron Constantin worked closely with Rolls-Royce on the timepiece’s design, incorporating the amethyst color with a white-gold baseplate.

Rolls introduced the La Rose Noire earlier this week. It has a dark red tone that took the company’s paint specialists 150 iterations to perfect. The Droptail models help exemplify its line of hand-built, bespoke cars. Last year, the brand revealed it had the highest value of commissions ever.