World’s most expensive car, the Rolls-Royce ‘Sweptail’ costs RM55 million



When you’re a connoisseur raking it in, spending millions of dollars collecting tailor-made yachts and airplanes, you can most certainly tell Rolls-Royce to build a one-off car just for you.

It all happened in 2013 when an unnamed man (also one of Rolls-Royce’s most valued customer) wanted his dreams of having a one-and-only luxury car realised. He wanted a coachbuilt two-seater coupe with a large panoramic glass roof. Some of his biggest inspirations came from many of his favourite Rolls-Royces in the 1920s.

Over four years, Rolls-Royce handcrafted this truly bespoke model and christened it ‘Sweptail’. Giles Taylor, Director of Design at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars said, “Sweptail is the automotive equivalent of Haute Couture. It is a Rolls-Royce designed and hand-tailored to fit a specific customer. This customer came to the House of Rolls-Royce with an idea, shared in the creative process where we advised him on his cloth, and then we tailored that cloth to him. You might say we cut the cloth for the suit of clothes that he will be judged by.”

Like a true bespoke car, some things have got to be ridiculously out of this world. Take for instance the Sweptail’s front grille: it is milled from solid aluminium and painstakingly polished by hand to achieve a mirror finish. The registration number ’08’ is also milled from solid aluminium ingots and hand polished as well.

The rear end is really not quite to my taste, but who am I to comment on a RM55 million car? Either way, it’s designed akin to the hull of a yacht, with no visible boundaries in sight. The engine? A 6.75-litre V12.

Inside is a majestic interplay of modern luxury and old school design. The centre console is home to the owner’s favourite vintage champagne dated to his year of birth and with two crystal champagne flutes as accompaniments. There’s also two concealed panniers (made of carbon fibre, wrapped with leather) for the owner to stow away his laptops.

Interestingly, as much as Rolls-Royce prides itself with a growing ‘bespoke’ arm, they admit to being taken aback by the ambitions of this particular customer. But once again, Rolls-Royce delivers.


IMAGE GALLERY