rolls-royce unveils amethyst droptail, a coachbuild roadster built with gems, leather & wood

Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail inspired by the gem

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars introduces Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail, a coachbuild roadster that incorporates the amethyst gems into its interior and exterior alongside raw Calamander Light open-pore wood and leather. A mauve motor car with an option to become open-top, Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail is one of the four expressions of the Rolls-Royce Droptail, commissioned by a patron whose family business has grown from a gemstone boutique to a multinational corporation.

The patron specifically asked the Coachbuild designers to conceptualize and create a Droptail inspired by the amethyst gem, which is the birthstone of their son and a symbol of purity, clarity, and resilience. The exterior alone already highlights that the brief is followed as the Globe Amaranth wildflower, which blooms in the desert near one of the patron’s homes, leads the exterior element of the coachbuild roadster. From here, the amethyst gems intertwine with raw wood and leather as the materials percolate Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail.

images by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

50 hours of work to achieve the exact regularity

The Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail radiates a gentle purple tint with a silver undertone that is accentuated by light-reflecting powdered aluminum flakes. The upper coachwork of the car is painted with a deep purple Amethyst contrast paint that has a metallic shine and a mauve tint made of a combination of red, blue, and violet mica flakes. The car’s 22-inch wheels also have a faint touch of mauve paint, which is visible in sunlight. The carbon fiber used to build the lower portions of the car is treated on the exterior in a modest but intricate manner.

The kinked vane pieces and outside Pantheon grille surround are hand-polished and hand-brushed with a fine line separating each finish. The idea came from the patron’s son, a haute horlogerie collector himself who was moved by the brushed hands of a historically significant piece in his collection. More than 50 hours of collective work went into achieving the exact regularity of the finishes as well as the striking contrast between the finish types.

rear view of the coachbuild roadster

Rolls-Royce’s Amethyst Droptail with large wooden surface area

The inside of the Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail was meticulously designed. The patron’s sample of Calamander Light open-pore wood served as the starting point for the inspiration that led to the usage of the leather treatment and the creation of contrasting leather with the same shade of Sand Dunes as the wood. The primary leather color is still Amethyst and is coated with a pearlescent lacquer to match the exterior of the car.

Rolls-Royce’s Amethyst Droptail boasts the largest wooden surface area in Rolls-Royce history as it extends from the fascia and doors to the center armrest and aft deck. The wood used on the aerodynamic aft deck was specially designed to produce downforce. To ensure the car can withstand various climates, the interior wood parts underwent extensive testing, including sunlight exposure simulation and durability tests in extreme temperatures. Protective coatings developed for the car’s deck received their patent.

side view of Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail

To add elegance, the patron requested rotary dials adorned with rare amethyst gems for Rolls-Royce’s Amethyst Droptail, shaped in a convex cabochon style. These gems underwent rigorous examination and were individually approved. The interior is completed with woven leather floormats as a tribute to traditional weaving crafts. Stepping outside, the hard top plays a double role: without it, Droptail is a lithe, open-top roadster; with the roof installed, the coachbuild motor car is a formidable and dramatic coupé.

Electrochromic glass, which enables fast color and transparency changes, is used in the roof. The patron asked Coachbuild designers to create a glass whose color would change to match the Amethyst Droptail colorway. As a result, the Rolls-Royce team created this glass with a chameleon effect that, when deactivated, is fully opaque and has a faint purple hue that mimics the exterior finish of the car in Amethyst. When activated, the glass turns translucent and takes on a tone that complements the Sand Dunes leather color used in the interior suite.

the patron specifically asked the Coachbuild designers to create a Droptail inspired by the amethyst gem