Skip to main content

Rolls’ one-off Sweptail was built for one discerning (and wealthy) customer

Today, personalizing a car usually means picking a special paint color or interior trim. But in the 1920s and 1930s, the world’s wealthiest buyers went a lot further than that. In those prewar years, it was the norm for luxury cars to be decked out in completely custom bodywork. Now, Rolls-Royce is trying to bring that back.

Unveiled at the 2017 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, the Rolls-Royce Sweptail is a one-off commission created for a customer with very specific tastes, and very deep pockets. Said customer approached Rolls in 2013 about building a one-off car, and the automaker’s design department spent several years bringing the idea to reality.

Recommended Videos

The “Sweptail” name and design reference swept-tail Rolls-Royce designs from the 1920s. The car, which appears to be based on the now-defunct Phantom Coupe, features a fastback roof that ends in a pointed tail, a design flourish rarely seen today. Virtually all of that roof is covered in glass, which should make for quite a view, but also ensures the air conditioning will be running on full blast on sunny days.

At the front, the Sweptail features a massive grille, the largest on any modern Rolls, according to the company. It was milled from a solid chunk of aluminum, and hand polished to a mirror finish. The rest of the front fascia is framed in a brushed aluminum ring, further emphasizing its considerable width.

Despite being a very large car, the Sweptail only seats two. The space behind the rear seats is taken up by a wood-covered luggage shelf, which looks like someone inserted a section of deck from a yacht into the cabin. As with all Rolls cars, the interior is trimmed in high-end wood and leather. Designers also tried to eliminate as much switchgear as possible from the dashboard to create a cleaner look, and found space in the door sills for attaché cases, each designed to hold a laptop. The finishing touch is a champagne cooler in the center console. Drinking and driving is still illegal in most places, of course.

How much does all of this opulence cost? Rolls would not disclose a price, but CEO Torsten Müller-Otvös believes it could be the “most expensive new car ever,” according to Motor1. Rolls may build other one-off cars in the future, although it reportedly won’t repeat the process it went through to make the Sweptail. Rather than take requests from customers, Rolls may build special cars itself, and then sell them off.

Stephen Edelstein
Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…
I tried an e-bike for the first time and now I’m hooked
It’s not about being a 'bike person', it’s about finding small upgrades to everyday life
A woman sitting on the Aventon Pace 4

Before this year, I’d never even touched an e-bike before, and the thought of riding one was never on my radar. With life already in constant motion thanks to two toddlers, biking wasn’t something I ever considered adding to the mix.

I’d always assumed e-bikes were for hardcore commuters or serious cyclists, not someone like me. I wasn’t looking for a big lifestyle change. I just wanted a quicker way to get to the park so we’d have more time to play before dinner.

Read more
This week in EV tech: Audi exemplifies auto industry’s EV holding pattern
Close-up of 2025 Audi SQ5 grille, headlight, and badge.

The road to the future runs through the present, and it’s not a straight line. This week, we’re focusing on how Audi is negotiating the twists and turns on the way to an electrified future. EVs are here to stay at Audi, but a gasoline crossover SUV is still the automaker’s bestselling model, and it’s not ready to risk those sales just yet. That’s why the 2025 Audi Q5 received a top-to-bottom overhaul for this model year, bringing its tech features and styling up to date without altering the what has proven to be a very popular package. By maintaining parallel lineups of electric and internal-combustion cars, Audi hopes to give customers more choices. But that doesn’t completely level the playing field. The new Q5 may have yesterday’s powertrain, but Audi isn’t holding back on tech. It features the same electrical architecture, operating system, and three-screen dashboard display as the latest Audi EVs, like the Q6 e-tron. So aside from a little engine noise, there’s little difference in what you can see and interact with from the driver’s seat. It’s not just the infotainment systems. The Q5 and Q6 e-tron are close in size, with similar space for passengers across their two rows of seats. The Q6 e-tron has a bit more cargo space, but not as much as you’d think given the lack of a bulky engine, transmission, and driveshafts. The two SUVs also have similar styling but, having now driven both, we can say that the Q5 is the more pleasant of the two.

More than a difference of powertrain tech

Read more
Take a peek inside the factory making tomorrow’s ride
A Zoox robotaxi.

Amazon-owned Zoox has opened its first facility producing fully autonomous robotaxis. 

A video (above) released by the California-based company offers a peek inside the factory, which, when it reaches full capacity, could roll out as many as 10,000 autonomous vehicles per year.

Read more