Rolls-Royce Coachbuilder Taps Inner Auto Journo, Builds Brown Wagon

There’s a running joke among automotive journalists that suggests the ideal car is a brown wagon with a manual transmission.

It’s a joke grounded in reality – many journos would actually love a brown wagon, preferably with a manual. The only reason most automotive scribes aren’t buying the few wagons on the market – in brown or any color, regardless of gearbox – is because very few of us can afford any of the offerings on the market.

Not that the wagon segment is large, anyway.

Certainly, if you’re average blogger looks at the new-car average transaction price, blanches, and dives back into the cheap brown liquor, he or she won’t be reaching for the checkbook to place a down payment on this wagon version of the Rolls-Royce Wraith, called the Silver Spectre

As the headline above implies, it’s not actually a Rolls-Royce factory model. It’s a one-off, coach-built collaboration between Carat Duchatelet and Niels Van Roij. And yes, Anglophiles, I know the Brits prefer the term “shooting brake” so please step away from the keyboard and count to 10 before firing off your missive.

The car has a sloping roof and extra-wide C-pillar, and big metal “frames” around said C-pillar. It’s unclear from the photos in the Motor Trend piece I’m sourcing this from how much cargo area is added, but large leather panels seem to eat into the space.

Although just one model exists right now, seven will be built. Not surprisingly, these cars will be bespoke, meaning each extremely well-heeled buyer will be able to customize their ride. So, in theory, the panels in the cargo area could be jettisoned.

And if you don’t like brown, and have the money needed to buy this car, well, how about blue?

Check out the video below.

[Images: YouTube screenshot via Carat Duchatelet]