We didn't know that there was such a thing as a trade show for funeral homes either, until the pictures you see here came wafting into the cybergarage.
And due to debut at this year's Tan Expo in Bologna, Italy, is this very, very stylish last ride - the Rolls-Royce Phantom Hearse B12 by Biemme Special Cars.
The maker claims (and we see no reason to argue) that this is the world's most luxurious - and expensive - coffin cart, with a price tag of around €500 000 (R5.1 million). It's also one of the longest, at seven metres overall - about a metre longer than even the extended-wheelbase version of the parent car.
HANDMADE BODY
The superbly finished special body is handmade from about 600 (mostly aluminium) components and held together by more 200 metres of welding.
Mechanically, however, it's a standard Phantom II, complete with BMW-derived 6.75-litre V12, self-levelling air suspension and “coach-hung” rear doors (somehow it doesn't seem appropriate to call them suicide doors in this context) although Biemme's pictures don't make clear whether they are purely for show or whether there is a bench rear seat folded away under that wood-and-leather cargo bay.