You’ve heard the expression ‘when only the finest will do’? It’s the perfect slogan for Rolls-Royce’s latest creation, the Phantom Drophead Coupe Waterspeed.
First thing’s first. Despite the large yacht-like proportions and its ability to waft along like a sail boat floating on double cream, the Waterspeed is not a boat. It’s a special edition car made to honour Sir Malcolm Campbell’s water speed record set in 1937. Using a Bluebird K3 hydroplane with a Rolls-Royce engine, Campbell reached 208km/h on the water.
The special Rolls is also being introduced to showcase some of the bespoke customisation options available from Rolls-Royce for most models.
In Rolls-Royce fashion, the car is absolutely exquisite in every area. The exterior is coated in Maggiore Blue paint in nine layers, and features a hand-painted coachline and Bluebird logos. iIn the arches are a set of unique 11-spoke alloy wheels.
Traditional teak decking on the rear is replaced by some brushed steel pieces. Each piece is separately panel-beaten by hand for around 70 hours and then hand-brushed for 10 hours. Donald Wales, grandson of Sir Malcolm Campbell, said a few words about the special edition in a statement, saying,
“This very special motor car serves to pay a perfect homage to my grandfather’s remarkable acts of British daring and endeavour. The extraordinary attention-to-detail and commitment to engineering excellence so evident in these motor cars perfectly echoes the lengths my grandfather and his colleagues went to in their pursuit of the waterspeed records.”
Inside it’s pure unbridled luxury. There’s a Windchill Grey leather colour scheme with hand-engraved door logos of the famous Bluebird, Abachi wood trimmings, with a clean yet elegant layout with Rolls-Royce’s traditional ‘power reserve’ dial.
Rolls-Royce is making just 35 examples of this majestic machine, with prices starting at 435,000 pounds (around AU$782,000).
