LA ROSE NOIRE - LOVE STORY

At the dawn of the motorcar in the late 19th Century and for many years afterwards every car was hand-built, so individuality was the norm. With automotive technology a work in progress there simply was no other way.

Then in 1904 Henry Ford launched his Model T, simultaneously giving birth to the concept of mass production as we know it today. This brought the price of a car down to a level that many could afford, and the numbers race was on.

For the wealthy however, as the automobile coachbuilding industry evolved from specialist companies that built exquisitely finished horse-drawn coaches and carriages for the wealthy. Thus, the concept of commissioning a coachbuilt car from a luxury marque like Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Mercedes-Benz, Bugatti and Hispano-Suiza would continue unabated for many years.

A bespoke body mounted on a car manufacturers standard ladder-frame chassis made this a fairly straightforward process, and with no safety and other inconvenient government rules to get in the way renowned coachbuilders like Mulliner, Park Ward and Hooper flourished, happily fulfilling their clients every wish. In the period leading up to 1939 no fewer than 56 coachbuilders used Rolls-Royce and Bentley chassis as the foundations of their automotive art.

However, when Rolls-Royce and its Bentley subsidiary resumed car making after the Second World War, the market had changed. Prior to 1939 every single Rolls-Royce or Bentley chassis had received hand-built, often totally bespoke coachwork that drew on all the traditional coachbuilder’s skills.

Unfortunately the austere economic conditions of the early post-war years simply could not support this level of individuality. In a changing world standardised bodies, initially for Bentley chassis and then for the Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn, were to become common.

However, Rolls-Royce continued to build bare chassis on which a gradually dwindling number of coachbuilders could work their traditional magic. They did so until the tectonic shift in construction that blended chassis and bodywork together in standardised monocoque bodyshells arrived in the mid-1960s, making it impossible for the traditional coachbuilders to continue.

By the mid-1950s there were just five British coachbuilders still working on chassis supplied by the Crewe factory, and a decade later only the company’s in-house coachbuilding division, formed out of the once independent Mulliner, Park Ward and James Young companies, remained in business.

Yet, against this backdrop of general decline in the coachbuilding industry, British and foreign coachbuilders continued to create bespoke coachwork for ultra-wealthy individuals. These were beautiful, fascinating and sometimes bizarre but no less colourful than during the golden age of the 1930s.

With more and more millionaires and billionaires being minted across the globe today than at any other time in history, the wish of the wealthy to express their visions, aspirations and personalities is manifest in the creation of more and more bespoke architecture, fashion, art, jewellery, fine watches, fountain pens and other expressions of individuality than ever before.

Requests from ultra-high net worth individuals for totally unique cars led Rolls-Royce through a process in recent years that led to the creation of their Bespoke division, Black Label, and then Rolls-Royce Coachbuild. The first car to emerge from this automotive haute couture division was the Sweptail of 2017, which stunned the world with the commanding presence of its Coupe form and a level of detail in design and execution that took the coachbuilders art to a new level.

Six years on Coachbuild has created the Droptail, a two-seat roadster design of which only four will ever be built, each vehicle commissioned to the very demanding individual specification envisioned by its owner.

Presented to a private audience at the recent Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, the first of these has been christened ‘La Rose Noire’ a name inspired by the romance and allure of the Black Baccara rose. An intense, velvet-like flower that originates in France, the Black Baccara rose is beloved by the mother of the commissioning family.

In the shade the dark pomegranate colour of its petals appears almost black, but direct light reveals a red, pearlescent shimmer 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. Indeed, it was the essence of true love and the mystery of exploration and travel that captivated the commissioning couple throughout the design and build process.

As with the Black Baccara rose, the colour of the car itself also appears to morph as, depending on the angle it is viewed from, direct and incident light creates a captivating, ever changing feast for the eyes. To achieve this rich variation, surface finish specialists developed a completely new paint process perfected over 150 carefully considered iterations. A base coat, the colour of which is a closely guarded secret, was followed by five layers of clear lacquer, each blended with a slightly different tone of red.

The duotone theme extends into La Rose Noire Droptail’s brightwork. The dark finish, named Hydroshade due to its liquid quality, was developed specifically for this project. Rather than being a paint process, Hydroshade involves a specific chrome electrolyte being co-deposited on each stainless-steel substrate during the chrome plating process, resulting in a one-micron thick layer. This dark but reflective finish is also used on selected metal details in the cabin, which are then precision hand polishing to achieve a high-gloss finish.

The removable hard top has been designed to give Droptail two distinct characters. Top down the Droptail is a lithe, open-top roadster recalling the days of Rolls-Royce roadsters of yore. With the roof in place it becomes a dramatic ode to the classical coupé.

 This bespoke roof also features an electrochromic glass section, which transitions from a solid appearance to a near-translucent shade the touch of a button, revealing the world above.

 The client’s passion for details goes far deeper than form and colour. Rewriting the rules on the shape and proportions of the legendary Rolls-Royce radiator grille, the top quarter of La Rose Noire Droptail’s Pantheon grille vanes raise eyebrows upon close examination. Normally flush, the top third of these vanes gently curves backwards in line with the slim headlights, and the slight rearward rake of the nose, giving the car a far more 3D face than ever before seen on a Rolls-Royce. Meanwhile, the top of the radiator flows into the bonnet line in a refreshing new take that might well be the vanguard of Rolls-Royce’s bold step into the future.

 Behind the sleek re-interpretation of the iconic Rolls-Royce grille sits an engine with earth moving muscle. The twin-turbocharged 6.6 litre V12 from the Rolls-Royce Wraith has been fettled to deliver 660hp and 840Nm of torque, more than adequate for the effortless wafting that befits a car with such gravitas.

 An equal amount of attention was given to the treatment of the big 22-inch diameter alloy wheels, which feature the dark Mystery paint finish. Like La Rose Noire, the surface of the wheels appears black from a distance, but come closer and subtle dark red undertones are seen shimmering under the light.

 And yet the most exquisite elements of the craftsman’s art come together in the cossetting interior of this extraordinary car. Central to this is the intricately detailed parquetry fest that stretches from the rear shawl panel, through the doors and onto the expansive fascia, visually enveloping and embracing the car’s occupants.

This parquetry embodies the vision of the clients, its asymmetry an abstract representation of the natural, organic ‘scattering’ of petals. Made from Black Sycamore wood sourced in France as a tribute to the French provenance of La Rose Noire, each triangle is cut, sanded and precisely positioned by hand. Formed from 1,603 pieces of black wood veneer triangles, this highly complex pattern consists of 1,070 perfectly symmetrical elements making up the background, and 533 asymmetrically positioned red pieces representing the rose petals.

The most complex expression of parquetry ever created at Rolls-Royce, this is the end product of nearly two years of development, intense experimentation and hand craftsmanship without peer.

Assembly of this veritable work of art required intense concentration. To ensure the total focus required for perfection, the single craftsperson tasked with its creation could only do one-hour sessions and no more than five hours in total per day. In the end nine months’ worth of cumulative hours were spent in its making.

Colour-coded to the flower and exterior, La Rose Noire Droptail’s two seats are decorated at the edges with both dark red Mystery leather, and light red True Love leather. Each seat has a subtle copper shimmer finish that evokes the pearlescent texture of the Black Baccara rose petals.

 The client is also an aficionado of fine timepieces and commissioned an integrated one-off timepiece from Audemars Piguet that sits in a bespoke receptacle in the dashboard.

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. Perfectly matched to La Rose Noire’s colourway, this watch 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, allowing it to be attached to a strap and worn. The concept is realised with a powered clasp mechanism that gently presents the timepiece at the touch of a button. A slim, soft leather pouch in the door paniers houses the strap and the blank head watch while the timepiece is displayed in the fascia.

Once the timepiece has been removed, the aperture in the fascia is covered with an elegant titanium open-worked blank head watch highlighting a white-gold coin displaying a rose engraving, hand-sculpted by Audemars Piguet artisans.

Subtle rose engravings on the car’s Bespoke Audio speaker grilles mirror this motif. Each of these grilles was meticulously handcrafted by AP’s atelier in Switzerland and represent the only literal expressions of the Baccara Rose in the car.

To celebrate their Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail, the owners commissioned an exclusive vintage of Champagne de Lossy, one of their personal favourites. This is of particular significance given the special wine created for is one of only a precious handful of vintages produced by the Chateau in its 160-year history.

La Rose Noire Droptail is a bold, romantic vision of the couple who commissioned it with a unique passion and a restless desire for meaningful expression. In so doing, this remarkable couple have written their very own chapter in the ongoing legend of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.