Tesla Model S Shooting Brake to be coachbuilt by Dutch designer

To do that, first van Roij needed a client who shared his vision and who would fund the project. That man was Floris de Raadt, a Dutch businessman who made his money through a medical company and who had a lifelong love of shooting brakes. Having bought and restored examples all his life, he was keen to invest in creating one. “Advanced technology is what makes him tick – that’s why it had to be a Tesla,” says Van Roij. “He wanted to signify that we’re at the start of a new era.”

At the outset, it was agreed that the car did not have to be a one-off, but it did have to be conceived to be made in strictly limited numbers of no more than 20 examples. That freed up van Roij and his team to work with the investor on a variety of ideas, rather than having to faithfully create what he demanded.

“There are three propositions that got worked through,” says van Roij, who admits the early stages of sketching alone took 500-600 hours. “Some of the end project will completely reflect the owner’s tastes – we went to his home, admired his car collection, his musical tastes, learned what makes him tick, and all that is reflected in parts of the car, especially the colours and trims. If we get more customers, they may want to go in different directions. That’s fine.”

Design complete, van Roij then partnered with Dutch coachbuilding firm RemetzCar, best known for building stretched cars for the king of the Netherlands: “The client knew them and proposed them. They had the skills to do everything by hand, from beating the aluminium into shape to working with the glass to achieve the huge roof shape. Everything we have added is sculptural; nothing is there for the sake of it.”

Van Roij accepts that some of the more extravagant flourishes may attract critique. “A coachbuilt car should be more outspoken than a mass-produced one – otherwise you should be saving all the time and effort and buying one off a production line,” he smiles. “A Volvo V90, Mercedes E-Class, an Audi A6 Avant – some of the designs out there are as good as perfect. If that suits you, buy one. But if you want something unique, then you want it to be a bit bold, don’t you?”

Pricing has yet to be confirmed, but early indications suggest that final costs should be little more than the cost of a new Model S – although modifications could soon see that price escalate. “From the outset, we set ourselves parameters, including budget,” van Roij says. “If you don’t have boundaries in which to work, it usually means your work will remain on paper forever more.”

Taking this project to its conclusion is a triumph in itself for van Roij, but his ambition to grow his studio doesn’t stop here. “To date, we ebb and flow in size using freelancers according to the projects we have,” he says. “The maximum we’ve had working at any one time is 30. We have clients and we have our own ideas. One dream is to turn the rebodied Rolls-Royce Wraith we’ve envisaged into a reality – but let’s see what opportunities come along.”