---
title: Rolls-Royce Sweptail · HICONIUM
description: "Sweptail is the single commission that reopened coachbuilding at Goodwood. Its collector case is the complete object: one chassis, a four-year factory programme and a body that was not offered to anyone else."
canonical_url: https://hiconium.dev/vehicles/rollsroyce/sweptail
image: https://hiconium.dev/og/vehicle/rollsroyce/sweptail.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) · [A private brief became a factory department.](#overview-heading) · [Technical specifications](#technical-specifications) · [Published specification](#published-specification) · [Commission details](#commission-details) · [What moves the price](#what-moves-the-price) · [The people behind the car](#the-people-behind-the-car) · [Giles Taylor](#giles-taylor) · [Member instruments](#member-instruments)

![A burgundy Rolls-Royce Sweptail, front three-quarter view on a bright field with a swept line of light](https://hiconium.dev/images/cars/rollsroyce-sweptail/hero-wide-2560.jpg)

# Sweptail

One client, one coupé

Sweptail is the single commission that reopened coachbuilding at Goodwood. Its collector case is the complete object: one chassis, a four-year factory programme and a body that was not offered to anyone else.

2017 · one built · Goodwood

## The price and the proof

Indicative road-car band $9M–$14M. Modeled values are not observed sales. Nothing here is investment advice.

Confidence: estimate. No documented public sale was found. The band rests on the existing catalogue reference, Sweptail's one-off factory status and the widely reported but explicitly unconfirmed £10 million commission figure; Rolls-Royce called that figure speculation.

USD editorial estimate for the complete original car with its factory archive and accessories.

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-sweptail. 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 | +6.5% | +18.8% | +21.9% |
| 5Y | +4.4% | +11.4% | +17.6% |
| 10Y | +4.3% | +13.3% | +11.8% |

| Series | Deepest drawdown | Window |
| --- | --- | --- |
| This car* | -6.3% | Nov 2021 → Oct 2022 · recovered Dec 2023 |
| S&P 500 | -20.3% | Dec 2021 → Oct 2022 · recovered Dec 2023 |
| Gold | -18.9% | Feb 2026 → Jul 2026 · not recovered |

| Horizon | P10 | P50 | P90 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| +6M | $10'548'556 | $11'498'307 | $12'533'570 |
| +12M | $10'580'708 | $11'778'298 | $13'111'439 |
| +24M | $10'660'818 | $12'358'900 | $14'327'457 |

### Documented sales

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.

Empty ledger by design: the private commission price was not disclosed and no attributable resale result has been published.

## A private brief became a factory department.

A Rolls-Royce client approached the company in 2013 with a request for a two-seat coupé informed by pre-war coachbuilt Rolls-Royces, racing yachts and the client's own aircraft and yacht collection. Giles Taylor's design team developed the car with him over four years.

The references were specific: the Jonckheere Round Door Phantom I, Park Ward's streamlined Phantom II and two swept-tail bodies from Gurney Nutting and Park Ward. The result kept Phantom VII Coupé running gear but replaced the production body and cabin with a single-client design.

Rolls-Royce revealed Sweptail at Villa d'Este in May 2017. No attributable public resale has followed, and the factory never disclosed the commission price.

| Highlight | Detail |
| --- | --- |
| The roof is one piece | A single curved glass panel runs from the windscreen towards the pointed tail. It gives both occupants daylight without breaking the coupé's roofline. |
| The rear seats are gone | Sweptail uses its scale for two people. A polished wood shelf and the central Passarelle occupy the space where a Phantom Coupé would carry rear passengers. |
| Coachbuild followed | The car was not a trim exercise on a production body. Its reception gave Rolls-Royce the case for a permanent Coachbuild department, followed by Boat Tail and Droptail. |

| Label | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Built | One |
| Seats | Two |
| Design director | Giles Taylor |
| Foundation | Phantom VII Coupé |
| Identifier | 08 |

## Technical specifications

### Published specification

| Label | Value | Note |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Layout | Front-engine, rear-wheel drive | Phantom VII Coupé running gear; Rolls-Royce issued no separate Sweptail performance sheet |
| Engine | 6.75-litre naturally aspirated V12 | donor powertrain identified by period reporting |
| Cabin | Two seats | rear seats replaced by a wood-lined shelf and luggage space |
| Roof | Single panoramic glass panel | full length, framed by polished aluminium rails |
| Body | One-off coachbuilt coupé | tapered roof and swept stern drawn around the commission |

### Commission details

| Label | Value | Note |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Commissioned | 2013 |  |
| Revealed | 27 May 2017 | Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este |
| Exterior identifier | 08 | two digits milled from aluminium ingots |
| Cabin woods | Macassar Ebony · Paldao | paired with Moccasin and Dark Spice leather |
| Luggage | Two deployable attaché cases | carbon-fibre cases concealed behind the coach doors |

## 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Factory one-off identity | +50% to +100% | There is no second Sweptail with which to substitute the chassis, body or commission file. | Factory Coachbuild documentation and continuous title history. |
| Complete commission archive | +10% to +25% | Drawings, correspondence, material samples and the fitted luggage explain what cannot be verified from the car alone. | Factory correspondence, build records and accessory inventory. |
| Altered original specification | −15% to −35% | A colour change, retrim or missing one-off accessory would remove part of the commission rather than merely change condition. | Comparison against the factory reveal specification. |

## The people behind the car

### [Giles Taylor](https://hiconium.dev/people/giles-taylor)

Director of Design · Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

Led the design department through the four-year Sweptail commission and described the work as tailoring a car to one client rather than adapting a series model.

## 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).