Ultra-Luxury Coachbuild: Rolls-Royce unveils Project Nightingale

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has pulled the covers off Project Nightingale, the first creation under its new Coachbuild Collection, a highly exclusive, all-electric, open-top, grand tourer, showcasing the British marque’s expertise in bespoke, low-volume automotive craftsmanship.

Positioned as a production concept, the two-seater roadster blends traditional coachbuilding craftsmanship with a near-silent EV drivetrain, marking a new chapter for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars as it continues to redefine ultra-luxury motoring through electrified propulsion.

Inspired by iconic one-off commissions such as Sweptail, Boat Tail, and Droptail, Project Nightingale is the first in a series of exclusive, invitation-only vehicles. 

According to Chris Brownridge, the project combines three elements never before unified in the brand’s history: full coachbuilding freedom, a pure electric powertrain, and open-top serenity enabled by near-silent EV propulsion.

Brownridge also noted that the project channels the same experimental spirit of Sir Henry Royce’s early “EX” prototypes from the 1920s, which helped shape the brand’s engineering philosophy.

The name Nightingale draws from “Le Rossignol,” the French residence of Sir Henry Royce, reinforcing the car’s Riviera-inspired design direction.

The project also references the 16EX and 17EX prototypes from 1928, early aerodynamic experiments that explored speed and form during the Jazz Age.

Rolls-Royce confirms that the design is already 95% complete, with final specifications to be locked in by 2027.

At nearly 19 feet long, comparable in footprint to a Phantom sedan, Project Nightingale is built on the brand’s aluminum spaceframe platform known as the “Architecture of Luxury.”

Design Director Domagoj Dukec describes the styling as a disciplined evolution of Rolls-Royce’s core principles: grand proportions, clean surfaces, and flowing lines.

Key exterior highlights include:

-24-inch wheels, the largest ever fitted to a Rolls-Royce, with yacht propeller-inspired directional design

-A redesigned Pantheon Grille carved from solid aluminum with 24 vertical veins

-An integrated Spirit of Ecstasy that appears to flow into the bonnet

-A central fuselage body line inspired by hulls found on luxury yachts

The overall theme is a “monolithic” surface treatment, removing visual clutter in favor of sculptural purity.

Inside, Rolls-Royce leans heavily into the serenity made possible by EV propulsion. Engineers reportedly found early prototypes so quiet that natural ambient sounds became part of the driving experience.

This led to the creation of the “Starlight Breeze” interior, a new interpretation of the brand’s signature Starlight headliner.

The headliner uses 10,500 fiber-optic lights arranged in patterns inspired by a nightingale’s song, wrapping occupants in a horseshoe-shaped constellation.

The cabin theme channels the French Riviera, combining Charles Blue and Grace White tones with Navy and Peony Pink accents.

Project Nightingale is strictly limited to just 100 units worldwide, each allocated by invitation only to select Rolls-Royce clients. Buyers will also be part of a multi-year curated ownership experience leading up to production.

Deliveries are expected to begin in 2028, with pricing kept confidential but widely expected to exceed the $3 million mark per unit.

As Rolls-Royce continues expanding its bespoke portfolio, Project Nightingale stands as one of its most ambitious statements yet, merging heritage, electric mobility, and extreme exclusivity into a single rolling sculpture.