---
title: Rolls-Royce Boat Tail · HICONIUM
description: "Boat Tail is a three-car Coachbuild series, not a production convertible with special trim. Each patron received the same hand-formed body idea and a different commission; identity and factory archive define the asset."
canonical_url: https://hiconium.dev/vehicles/rollsroyce/boat-tail
image: https://hiconium.dev/og/vehicle/rollsroyce/boat-tail.png
---

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> On this page: [The price and the proof](#the-price-and-the-proof) · [Model readouts](#model-readouts) · [Documented sales](#documented-sales) · [Sweptail proved the department; three patrons set its next brief.](#overview-heading) · [Technical specifications](#technical-specifications) · [Coachbuild engineering](#coachbuild-engineering) · [Hosting Suite](#hosting-suite) · [What moves the price](#what-moves-the-price) · [The people behind the car](#the-people-behind-the-car) · [Alex Innes](#alex-innes) · [Member instruments](#member-instruments)

![A blue Rolls-Royce Boat Tail, front three-quarter view on a marine field with a deck-line of light](https://hiconium.dev/images/cars/rollsroyce-boat-tail/hero-wide-2560.jpg)

# Boat Tail

Three cars, three patrons

Boat Tail is a three-car Coachbuild series, not a production convertible with special trim. Each patron received the same hand-formed body idea and a different commission; identity and factory archive define the asset.

2021 to 2022 · 3 built · Goodwood

## The price and the proof

Indicative road-car band $20M–$32M · 1 documented road sales · 1 recorded sales on file. Modeled values are not observed sales. Nothing here is investment advice.

Confidence: estimate. No documented public sale was found. The band is anchored to the existing catalogue reference and editorial reports of an approximately £20 million or $28 million commission price, which Rolls-Royce has not confirmed.

USD editorial estimate. The three cars are individually specified and may not command the same figure.

Valuation method and source rules: [HICONIUM standards](https://hiconium.dev/standards). Observed auction results across the wider market: [Market terminal](https://hiconium.dev/market).

### Model readouts

Synthetic model · insufficient ledger. model v1 · seed rollsroyce-boat-tail. Compound annual growth is modeled price CAGR; S&P 500 is a price index without dividends. Forecast quantiles are not investment advice.

| Window | This car* | S&P 500 | Gold |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1Y | +52.7% | +18.8% | +21.9% |
| 5Y | +47.0% | +11.4% | +17.6% |
| 10Y | +45.2% | +13.3% | +11.8% |

| Series | Deepest drawdown | Window |
| --- | --- | --- |
| This car* | -5.6% | Aug 2008 → Oct 2008 · recovered Jan 2009 |
| S&P 500 | -50.8% | Oct 2007 → Mar 2009 · recovered Mar 2013 |
| Gold | -39.3% | Sep 2011 → Dec 2015 · recovered Jul 2020 |

| Horizon | P10 | P50 | P90 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| +6M | $24'136'260 | $26'330'661 | $28'724'571 |
| +12M | $24'586'813 | $27'405'236 | $30'546'739 |
| +24M | $25'560'565 | $29'687'738 | $34'481'310 |

### Documented sales

1 recorded. Every public sale on this file, newest first. Amounts keep the recorded currency. Source links appear only when the catalog stores a public auction-lot URL.

| Date | Chassis / label | Class | House | Venue | Amount | Currency | Basis | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2006-08-18 | bonhams · San Francisco · hammer | Road | bonhams | San Francisco | $20'000 | USD | hammer | [https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/14018/lot/568/1930-rolls-royce-2025hp-boat-tail-speedster-chassis-no-gdp34/](https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/14018/lot/568/1930-rolls-royce-2025hp-boat-tail-speedster-chassis-no-gdp34/) |

Empty ledger by design: a reported build cost is not a public transaction, and no attributable resale result was located.

## Sweptail proved the department; three patrons set its next brief.

After Sweptail, three clients independently responded to a proposal for a modern Boat Tail. They agreed to one common body form, then developed separate materials, colours and hosting details with Rolls-Royce over four years.

The first commission used rich blue paint, Caleidolegno across the aft deck and two reversible BOVET timepieces that could serve as wristwatches or dashboard clocks. Its restored 1932 Rolls-Royce Boat Tail provided a direct reference point.

Rolls-Royce completed three cars. The company has not disclosed their invoices, and no attributable example has appeared at public auction.

| Highlight | Detail |
| --- | --- |
| The deck is functional | Two lids open from the centre to expose a temperature-controlled hosting suite. Tables rotate outwards; stools, refrigerator and parasol have fixed stowage. |
| Three is the whole run | The cars share a body form but not a specification. Rolls-Royce showed the first at Villa d'Este in 2021, the second in 2022 and withheld the third at its owner's request. |
| The price is not public | The often repeated £20 million or $28 million figure is an editorial estimate, not a factory invoice or a resale. It belongs in the valuation caveat, not the sales ledger. |

| Label | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Built | Three |
| Body | Open four-seater |
| Architecture | Reconfigured aluminium spaceframe |
| Signature | Hosting Suite |
| Design lead | Alex Innes |

## Technical specifications

### Coachbuild engineering

| Label | Value | Note |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Structure | Reconfigured aluminium spaceframe | the scalable Architecture of Luxury was altered over eight months |
| Body forming | Hand-hammered aluminium sheets | formed over a full-size buck developed from clay |
| Programme-specific parts | 1'813 | factory count |
| Preliminary engineering | 20 collective years | Rolls-Royce total across the project team |
| Road approval | Fully homologated | subjected to the marque's normal dynamic test programme |

### Hosting Suite

| Label | Value | Note |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Deck opening | Twin lids at 67 degrees | butterfly action |
| Rear electronics | Five dedicated ECUs | with a bespoke wiring harness |
| Climate testing | -20°C to 80°C | contents and mechanisms tested at both limits |
| Furniture | Two stools · two cocktail tables | stools made by Promemoria |
| Exterior veneer | Caleidolegno | open-pore wood adapted for exterior use |

## What moves the price

Spans are indicative, drawn from documented public sales. Calibrated multipliers for a specific chassis remain member instruments.

| Value driver | Indicative range | Meaning | Documentary evidence |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Individual commission identity | +15% to +35% | Each of the three cars has its own patron brief, materials and accessories; the specific commission matters more than ordinal production number. | Factory commission file and reveal specification. |
| Complete Hosting Suite | −10% to −30% | Missing stools, tableware, parasol, watch carriers or refrigeration hardware would remove one-off content from the car. | Inventory against factory delivery documentation. |
| Factory-documented public history | +5% to +15% | The first two commissions have official reveal records; the third was deliberately kept private. | Rolls-Royce PressClub appearance and photography records. |

## The people behind the car

### [Alex Innes](https://hiconium.dev/people/alex-innes)

Head of Coachbuild Design · Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

Led the design dialogue that turned one shared Boat Tail body proposal into three separate client commissions.

## Member instruments

A HICON Bid is a confidential expression of buying interest on this file. It is not a binding purchase, and HICONIUM holds no funds. [Sign in](https://hiconium.dev/sign-in) to place one. Garage files for an owned chassis are member records and are not listed here. [How membership works](https://hiconium.dev/membership).