Project Nightingale, the first Coachbuild Collection
The motor car’s aesthetic is inspired by the principles of Streamline Moderne design from the late Art Deco era, wherein precise lines and uninterrupted forms are more powerful than ornament.
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars presents Project Nightingale, a Coachbuild Collection. Named after Le Rossignol, French for ‘the nightingale’, and the name of the designers’ and engineers’ house near Henry Royce’s winter home on the Côte d’Azur, this extraordinary production concept is an open-top two-seat motor car that introduces a dramatic new expression of Rolls-Royce design. Defined by grand proportions and underpinned with a fully electric drivetrain that delivers a uniquely silent open-top experience, Project Nightingale draws on the glamour and confidence of the 1920s and 1930s while remaining entirely of its time. Its creative vision is fully resolved – the small number of design details that remain demand entirely new manufacturing techniques that are currently under development. Only 100 examples will be created for sale, each coachbuilt by hand at the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood. Project Nightingale and the Coachbuild Collection programme have been crafted for aesthetes – individuals for whom beauty is both observed and lived. Clients are already participating in a multi-year programme of gatherings and moments curated by Rolls-Royce, immersing them in the creative and technical formation of their motor car.
The interior suite: a world for two. It was this extraordinary serenity that inspired the centrepiece of Project Nightingale’s interior. The result is the Starlight Breeze suite – a flowing constellation of ambient illumination comprising 10,500 individual ‘stars’ in three subtly varied sizes. Named after the gentle movement of air suggested by the nightingale’s song, the pattern of light draws directly from the soundwave forms studied by the designers. The Starlight Breeze illumination is carried within a sculptural interior form called the ‘Horseshoe’, which rises behind the seats and frames the occupants in a protective architectural gesture. On opening the coach door, the armrest glides rearwards automatically to reveal the Spirit of Ecstasy rotary controller. It is operated with an exceptionally tactile stainless-steel collar formed with four grooves reminiscent of contemporary haute joaillerie. The interior hues evoke the atmosphere of the Côte d’Azur. The seats are finished in soft pastel Charles Blue, paired with a warm Grace White tone, creating an environment of gentle, sunlit calm. Deep Navy seat inserts introduce contrast and depth, while delicate flashes of Peony Pink appear within the fascia surround and headrests, inspired by the wild blooms of the Riviera. The palette is resolved with Openpore Blackwood laid in a ‘V’ shape that opens upwards, encouraging the eye to the sky above.
