Rolls-Royce Arcadia Droptail joins La Rose Noire and Amethyst

At a private ceremony in Singapore on Thursday, Rolls-Royce unveiled the third of its Coachbuild Droptail creations. Following on from the La Rose Noire and Amethyst models shown in 2023, the new Arcadia Droptail was, according to the carmaker, “commissioned by an individual who possesses a distinct affinity for architecture and design”.

The exterior of the Arcadia is coated in a custom shade of white paint said to be infused with aluminium and glass particles to create an effervescent shimmer and the illusion of unending depth. This is offset by a solid bespoke silver paint applied to the car's carbon fibre lower sections. In tribute to the brilliant mirror finish of brightwork on historical Rolls-Royces models, which particularly fascinate the client, the exterior grille surround, “kinked” vane pieces and 22-inch seven-spoke wheels have been mirror-polished.

The Arcadia Droptail also makes extensive use of Santos Straight Grain: a high-density hardwood used throughout the cabin as well as on the vehicle's aerodynamically functional rear deck section, where the grain of the open pore veneer is laid at a perfect 55° angle. To achieve a perfect composition over such complex geometry, Rolls-Royce artisans used a total of 233 wood pieces, with 76 pieces applied to the rear deck alone. The latter was treated with a bespoke lacquer to protect it from harsh weather conditions.   

Some of the Arcadia's numerous interior highlights include contrast white and tan leather upholstery, an expansive shawl panel in the same Santos Straight Grain open pore veneer as the rear deck and a one-of-a-kind clock conceived and developed by Rolls-Royce Coachbuild designers and craftspeople. Said to be the most complex clock face ever created by the British carmaker (two years of development and five months of assembly), it incorporates an exquisite geometric guilloché pattern in raw metal with 119 facets. 

Riding on bespoke underpinnings with air suspension, the Arcadia Droptail is, like La Rose Noire and Amethyst, powered by a 6.75l twin-turbocharged V12 engine making 442kW. 

Though Rolls-Royce is keeping shtum about how much this opulent one-off creation costs, punters speculate it wears an estimated price tag of about $30m (R576m).