If you like the idea of owning a beautiful yacht, but hate sailing, and also happen to be one of Rolls-Royce’s most valued clients then we have some good news for you. The iconic British marque is building its first Coachbuild Collection motor car.
Codenamed “Project Nightingale,” which itself is a reference to Henry Royce’s French Riviera estate, the new coachbuild is an art deco masterpiece. Picture something the length of the Phantom, but instead of two luxurious rows it has two seats and a droptop.
As this isn’t just a Rolls-Royce, but a showcase of one of the world’s greatest luxury carmaker’s talents, every tiny detail is meticulously designed, built, and polished. This includes the “Starlight Breeze illumination” which is designed to frame the vehicle’s occupants in a “horseshoe” like fashion. 10,500 fiber-optic stars of varying sizes make up the feature, which also visually maps sound wave recordings of a nightingale’s song.
Is there any practical purpose to this? No, not at all. Just like there isn’t any practical purpose to some elaborate complication on a $300,000 watch which somehow relays the current air pressure in Cape Cod to you at all times. It’s there because it’s not easy to do, it’s interesting, and no one else can have the same thing. It’s there because it’s a Rolls-Royce.
There is a futuristic element to Project Nightingale
Despite the art deco vibes, it’s also a bit spaceage. The bodywork is described as a “luxury aluminum spaceframe” and the powertrain itself is fully electric. The cup holders are also precision machined from aluminum billets, the minimalist controls consist of just five glass-blasted stainless steel dials.
There’s a touch of carbon fiber too, though it’s at the very back of the vehicle. It forms a part called the “Aero Afterdeck” and exists where the exhausts would be if Rolls hadn’t gone electric and had instead dumped a V12 in this masterpiece.
Project Nightingale’s headlights also warrant a mention. At first glance, I believed I saw a set of flip up lights, the sort of thing you’d see on a 1970s Lincoln Continental. It pairs well with the coach doors. But on closer inspection, that’s not what’s happening.
Those thin glass either side of the square where you expect the headlights to be are the headlights. Despite the lights’ small form factor, they can pump out enough illumination to brighten the road ahead. Once you’re done gawping at the beauty of Project Nightingale, you see little things like this and discover it’s as much an engineering showcase as it is an art piece.
A single continuous line also splits the upper and lower volumes of the almost 19-foot long vehicle in two. Rolls-Royce describes the profile as a kind of torpedo like design, and the nautical themes that run through the vehicle are justified. Its overall length means you have a long, powerful, hood and a long, tapered, tail. As I said at the start, it’s a beautiful yacht that just happens to have four wheels and lack a little buoyancy.
Imagine risking one of these in New York City
There is one obvious downside to Project Nightingale though. You need a lot of fortitude to risk something this exquisite on the road. Especially somewhere crowded, poorly designed, or just filled with bad drivers.
Each wheel is also unique and hand made, mimicking a yacht propeller with specially machined spokes. Aluminum flakes are embedded into the black finish as a little extra touch. While kerbing a Rolls-Royce must be a horrific experience at the best of times, a reliable source tells me it’s particularly bad on a Nightingale. Apparently a replacement wheel will have to be hand-made in Goodwood and shipped out, there are no quick and easy repairs here. So yes, it’s a thing of beauty, but parallel parking one is probably as intense as defusing a bomb.
Imagine taking one of these through somewhere like New York City. A place with a Rolls-Royce private office, somewhere a few of Project Nightingale’s eventual owners likely have residences. It would be like going skiing with the Mona Lisa strapped to your back.
Rolls-Royce is only producing 100 of these exquisite vehicles, and they’re not something you can ask for. Apparently it’s one of those occasions where a manufacturer reaches out to a very select group of collectors and offers them the opportunity to put their name down for one. If you are one of the lucky few who manages to get on the list, deliveries of the Nightingale are expected to start in 2028.
