Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has revealed Project Nightingale, the inaugural model in its new Coachbuild Collection program. The all-electric, open-top two-seater draws on 1920s experimental heritage and Streamline Moderne design principles, with production limited to 100 hand-built examples at the company’s Goodwood, England, facility. Deliveries are targeted to begin in 2028, with a global testing and validation program commencing this summer.
Highlights
- First Coachbuild Collection model: Project Nightingale sits between Rolls-Royce’s standard lineup and its ultra-rare one-off commissions like the Boat Tail and Droptail, offering invitation-only access to the automaker’s most design-focused clients.
- Full electric powertrain: The silent drivetrain eliminates exhaust pipework and large cooling intakes, enabling new aerodynamic forms including a carbon fiber rear diffuser in place of a traditional spoiler.
- Flagship proportions in a two-seat package: At 5.76 meters (18.9 feet) long — nearly identical to the Phantom sedan — the convertible devotes its vast footprint entirely to a driver-and-companion cabin.
- 10,500-point Starlight Breeze interior: An illumination system derived from nightingale soundwave patterns wraps the cabin in ambient light across three star sizes.
Heritage-Driven Design
Project Nightingale takes its name from Le Rossignol — French for “the nightingale” — the house used by designers and engineers near Henry Royce’s winter estate on the Côte d’Azur. The car’s visual language traces directly to the 1920s experimental “EX” prototypes, particularly 16EX and 17EX. Those torpedo-bodied aluminum cars were built in 1928 to push Rolls-Royce past 90 mph, and their red-badge designation carries forward to Project Nightingale’s production concept status.
Designers distilled three principles from those heritage machines: the transition from the Pantheon Grille’s vertical stance into a flowing rear (“upright to flowing”), a single unbroken hull line running the full length of the body (“central fuselage”), and sculpted volumes that pull the eye rearward (“flying wings”).
“Some of the most discerning Rolls-Royce clients in the world asked us for our most ambitious work. We responded by bringing three things together that have never coexisted within our brand: the complete design freedom of coachbuilding, our powerful, near-silent all-electric powertrain, and a uniquely potent yet serene expression of open-top motoring – an experience that only this technology makes possible,” said Chris Brownridge, Chief Executive, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
Exterior Details
The front elevation makes the electric architecture’s design advantages immediately apparent. With no large cooling intakes required, the area between the wings and the Pantheon Grille presents uninterrupted surfacing. The grille itself measures nearly one meter wide, with 24 vanes set within a stainless-steel surround. The Spirit of Ecstasy is integrated into a recessed section atop the grille, its form flowing rearward into the bonnet.
Vertical headlamp assemblies at each wing represent what the automaker calls its most progressive front-end statement. Polished stainless-steel bands run the full length of the car from headlamps to tail lamps. The 24-inch wheels — the largest ever fitted to a Rolls-Royce — feature a yacht-propeller-inspired directional design with machined stripes evoking wire wheel spokes in motion.
At the rear, a sideways-opening “Piano Boot” lid transforms trunk access into a ceremony recalling a grand piano’s lid. A single longitudinal brake lamp at the centerline references Streamline Moderne speed-stripe motifs. Beneath, the carbon fiber Aero Afterdeck diffuser — made possible by the absence of exhaust systems — provides high-speed stability without a visible spoiler.
Interior and Acoustic Engineering
The cabin centers on the Starlight Breeze suite, comprising 10,500 individually placed points of light in three sizes. Rolls-Royce designers developed the pattern after recording and analyzing nightingale songs during early prototype drives, translating the soundwave patterns into a visual constellation that wraps through the doors and around the seating positions.
A sculptural interior element called the Horseshoe rises behind the seats to frame occupants. The saddle-inspired leather detailing carries through the door cards and a split center-console armrest, which aligns with the exterior Coachline running from bonnet through cabin to the rear brake lamp. The armrest retracts to reveal the Spirit of Ecstasy rotary controller, finished in stainless steel with grooved, glass-blasted faceting inspired by haute joaillerie. Total rotary controls number just five.
The soft-top roof integrates a sound-deadening composite layered with cashmere and fabric. Paired with the electric drivetrain’s near-silent operation, the automaker’s acoustic engineers are targeting an experience that preserves natural sounds — raindrops on canvas, birdsong — while eliminating mechanical and wind noise.
“Project Nightingale is built on the design principles that define this marque at its most compelling – grand proportions, absolute surface discipline, and a clarity of line that rewards the closest attention. And yet, it takes them somewhere entirely new,” said Domagoj Dukec, Director of Design, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
Production and Availability
Project Nightingale is classified as a production concept, with engineering prototypes scheduled to begin testing in August. Owners are being invited to participate in ride-alongs during the hot- and cold-weather validation program. The automaker characterizes the design vision as fully resolved, with remaining details requiring the development of entirely new manufacturing techniques.
Each of the 100 examples will be individually curated with its commissioning client to reflect personal taste. The Coachbuild Collection program is invitation-only, targeting individuals the company describes as having a deep affinity for Rolls-Royce design. According to supplementary reporting, the production run has already been fully allocated ahead of today’s reveal.
The car presented at the reveal wears Côte d’Azur Blue — a pale solid blue with subtle red flakes referencing the EX red badges — paired with a silver soft top and a Charles Blue, Grace White, and Navy interior with Peony Pink accents and open-pore blackwood trim.
Further engineering specifications, including powertrain output and range figures, will be disclosed as the testing program progresses.
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