Rolls-Royce Phantom Drop Head Coupe by Pininfarina

Coachbuilding is great because it makes dreams become reality.

You get exactly what you want. Even if others don't like it.

So you have a Savile Row bespoke suit and a Jermyn Street tailored shirt do you? Maybe some cobbled shoes from John Lobb? So do a lot of others.

Did you get a new Bentley last year? Nice one. A GT yeah? Did you get the Speed?

You know that 10,120 Bentley cars were delivered in 2013. Compare that to an average of 342 Bentley Turbo R cars per year when they were made. But don't worry, one in four cars sold above €150,000 was a Bentley in 2013.

But want true exclusivity?

Check out this South African gentleman's bespoke car.

Here you go, exactly what he wanted. Sharks gills and all.

Capetown eat your heart out. J'berg whatever. World, he's doing what he wants. Because he can.



It's designed by Pininfarina and is based on a Rolls-Royce Phantom Drop Head Coupe.

I'm not sure if it has a bespoke name, but it probably does.



Good on him for building his dream.

Just check out those coachlines. And the two tone.



I am such a fan that this car exists. Top marks to the gentleman who commissioned it. Well done.



But don't fret - Bentley Mulliner will still build whatever you desire as a special project.

Go on - order something amazing and send in the pictures!

#RollsRoyceInColour Rolls-Royce Bespoke Colour Instagram competition

Rolls-Royce is running a #RollsRoyceInColour Instagram competition.

So who is going to submit a photo of their tweed overcoat, coat, vest, pants etc...

Post by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.

Rolls-Royce & Bentley Day 2010

Just stumbled across video of the 2010 Rolls-Royce & Bentley Owners Club Japan's annual Rolls-Royce & Bentley Day at the historic Red Brick warehouses in Yokohama.



Otherwise known as ロールス・ロイス＆ベントレーDAY2010.



Always is a good turnout.



This year's summary is here.

At Crewe building the Bentley S3 and Silver Cloud Mk III

This photo is cool.

From the factory floor at Crewe building the Bentley S3 and the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud Mk III.



Send you old factory photos this way!

2014 Bentley Flying Spur vs. 2014 Rolls-Royce Ghost

Here is Motor Trend comparing the Bentley Flying Spur and the Rolls-Royce Ghost.

Rolls-Royce Wraith Winter Testing

Here is the Wraith winter testing.

"Testing Wraith on frozen lakes close to the Arctic Circle, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars engineers refine the car's chassis so it will perform dynamically and effortlessly -- even in the most extreme conditions"



Must be getting cold in Europe.

It's 27°C on the east coast of Australia day.

Terribly British Day, Canberra 2013

Here is my entrance to the Terribly British Day 2013, a British car show held every year in Canberra, Australia.



Yep, I've still got my yellow wheels. To the video.



And I totally wore this shirt.

Post by Bentley Motors.

Experimental Rolls-Royce's

Here are a couple of experimental Rolls-Royce's at the Derby factory.

The first is RC2406 (#31EX) Park Ward Limousine, scrapped after an accident in 1935.

Then there is RC2545 (#32EX) Phantom III Park Ward Saloon, currently located in Australia with same owner since 1965.



In the back #30EX, the first Phantom III (codename Spectre) Park Ward Limousine, scrapped in 1939.

Thanks boybentley for sharing.

Peek into the Rolls-Royce Factory in Goodwood

Here is a peek into the Rolls-Royce Factory in Goodwood.

Taking a look at testing and finishing of fine motor cars.



And how about the woodshop.



Nice.

Review of the Rolls-Royce Phantom in French

Here is a nice review of the Rolls-Royce Phantom in French.

Decisions Decisions - 18s, 20s, 22s or 24 inch rims

You know you want to.

Should you go with 22" rims on your 1988 Silver Spirit?



Or should you go with 24" rims on your 1986 Silver Spur?



Or if you are more of the Silver Shadow man, how about going with some 18" rims?



Love it!

But what about your drop top? Go with 20" rims - make sure you got switches!



You know it's cool, even through it is so, so wrong.

Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe 9.0L V16

Here is a Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe with an experimental 9.0 Litre V16 engine.

Let Rowan Atkinson explain what is truly the Rolls-Royce of automobiles.



He even made an appearance on Top Gear to promote the movie.



Now take a close look at the Top Gear seats on the stage.

Yes, they are in fact the seats from a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II. How appropriate. David pointed this out quite sometime ago.

For the Premier in Sydney, they actually bought the car down under. Cel Sydney was there, and check it out here.

Lord Mayor of Belfast's Phantom

The car below I saw often as a kid in the seventies has now popped up on the other side of the pond.

Here is a photo of the car I took as a teenager.

This Rolls-Royce Phantom VI is a little special, as it was the Lord Mayor of Belfast's Phantom.

Here it is today.



A slight colour change, but the Phantom comes with all the paper work and its has listed the old number plate showing 1WZ as it was in the 70s.

And another example of the paper work.

All the service bills are from Stanley Harvey's - the old Belfast RR dealer.

Here is a picture I took in the 70s of Stanley Harvey.

It has been restored, with a slight variation from its original in Midnight blue colour.





I'd have bought it if it wasn't redone in two tone...Too bad.



It is for sale on ebay here.



(posted by David Irvine)

Rolls-Royce Camargue Limited

Here is the Rolls Royce Camargue Limited.



It is limited, not only because it says it on the badge, but it is a limited or special edition run of just 12 cars.



Why you may ask? Well luckily the plaque tells me so.

"The Camargue Limited Edition is one of 12 special motor cars built ro celebrate the 80th anniversary of the first sale of a Rolls-Royce in the United States."



It actually does say 'Limited' on the badge which is slightly unusual.

Usually limited or special cars have a different coloured badge, not something else written on them.



All 12 cars are to the same specification. White with red and white interior, colour coded bumpers and alloys.

Of the 12, not all have ended up staying in the United States. One has been spotted in Monaco here, one has come up for sale in Japan, and is pictured below.



One was even made into a hard top convertible, but that is another story.

Rolls-Royce on Safari

This is not quite a period photo, but a recreation.

It really does set the scene through.

Guns, leather trunks, Safari hats and exotic animals to hunt.



All is an appropriately bodied estate or station wagon Rolls-Royce made of wood and aluminium.

Very nice.

Modern Rolls-Royce Cars in New South Wales

Take a look at this photo combo.

Yep it's a Rolls-Royce Phantom Drop Head Coupe and a Rolls-Royce Ghost.

Click on image for super high resolution image.



Both are Sydney cars in New South Wales, Australia.

It you want the Drop Head, it is a 2008 model with 24523kms, SCA2D680X8UH07075 currently for sale at AU$795,000 plus stamp duty and government charges here.

That's GBP£501,574.50 or USD$806,607.03. It's currently the cheapest second hand Rolls-Royce Phantom Drop Head Coupe in Australia. But definitely not in the world!

You can see by the price why these cars are a little rarer down under than those say for sale in Miami FL.

Hooper & Co. Corporate Collection to be Auctioned

There has been rumours around for a while that the John Dick who owns Hooper & Co. would be selling the Hooper Corporate Collection of cars.

It has turned out to be true.

The Hooper Corporate Collection will be auctioned as part of the RM Auctions Automobiles of London programme on October 27, 2010, 4:00 PM - 11:00 PM GMT at Battersea Evolution, in Battersea Park London, United Kingdom SW11 4NJ.

It gives us an opportunity to expand the largest collection of Hooper & Co. photos online here.



Now to the first Hooper car on the blocks. A Rolls-Royce Silver Corniche by Hooper & Co. (Coachbuilders) Ltd.

I totally made up the name of this car, but I think it suits.



That's right, it started life as a Rolls-Royce Corniche Coupe, then went to the Hooper works and drank some Spirits.



As Jeremy Clarkson once said, "They Hooperised it".



The front Silver Shadow lamps were removed and replaced by Silver Spirit lamps, as was the bumper bar.

It is quite unique to see a Silver Shadow sized grill paired with Silver Spirit lamps.



This was also the case with the rear.



New front and rear wings were also redesigned to fit the new lamps.

Note the four exhaust pipes.





The interior is also stunning.





From the auction catalogue:

1980 Rolls-Royce Corniche Two-Door Saloon Coachwork by Hooper, Chassis No.CRX50264.



- From the Hooper Corporate Collection
- Single ownership from new



- Unique one-off custom coachwork by Hooper with bespoke interior and exterior
- Driven just 15,000 miles since new



"Though Corniche Two-Door Saloon production officially ended in 1977, this vehicle was the last coupé Rolls-Royce produced and was delivered in 1979 after which it was transformed by its original and current owner, the Hooper Corporate Collection."



"The one-owner, one-off car was custom-built to the vendor’s specifications with no expense spared at the time of construction."



"Everything is hand-crafted and bespoke to this particular Corniche. The cost of Hooper’s custom coachwork far exceeded the original price of the car when new"



"The work took some 18 months to complete with thousands of hours of work and hundreds of major and minor changes."



"In addition to the dramatic turquoise metallic colour, the exterior has been specially fitted with a limousine-style back window along with a Silver Spirit front-end and rear section to give the car a more modern and classic, albeit updated, look. It has also been fitted with chrome wire wheels, fog lights, bespoke twin exhausts, and chrome rocker panel sills to complete the exterior transformation. It has also been fitted with Bailey sport suspension components, which give the car more agile driving dynamics not usually associated with Rolls-Royce automobiles."



"The interior is swathed in Connelly leather, including the dash and steering wheel which are covered to match the striking exterior colour. The centre console of the car is equipped with a Howard Becker (of Beverly Hills) stereo entertainment system that cost well over $30,000."



"Mechanically the car has not been changed from its original configuration when delivered. Though showing evidence of some use under the bonnet, the car has been used minimally but regularly and shows just 15,000 miles on its odometer. Initially, the car was driven in the United Kingdom. Somewhat later it was shipped to the United States where it saw little use while in California. It was then shipped back to the UK and has been used sparingly since."



This is a car that will not be liked by everyone, but it has to be said, the car is stunning.



Thanks to Andy for the info.

Lord Mayor of Westminster's Rolls-Royce Park Ward

Here is the Lord Mayor of Westminster's official Rolls-Royce Park Ward spotted diving down the street.



I do like the protocol of the bonnet mounted flag and the roof mounted City of Westminster Coat of Arms. Quite nice.

The Park Ward derivative of the Silver Seraph is of course the long wheel base version, similar to the Arnage RL version of the Bentley. It is extended by a total of 250mm/10", where interestingly enough 2" goes to the front seats, and the rear gets and extra 8". The extra long rear door is the visual cue.

The car was apparently purchased in 2003 for over £90,000. In Jul 2006 the LibDems 'had the WE 1 registration valued by independent experts, who placed the value of the unusual number at £75,000.' and suggested selling it.



An Arnage happens to be following in this photo.

I think WE 1 works quite well for the Lord Mayor of Westminster.

Another interesting fact is that the Park Ward and the Silver Seraph have wheels that are of the same design, where the Park Ward are 18" and the Silver Seraph is 16". Thank you to Richard for that interesting fact.

A total on 127 Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph Park Ward cars were made.

1970's Newspaper Ads

Here is a significant advertising feature that appeared in The Times of London in the 1970's.

It was addressed to the 100 men who will become Rolls-Royce owners this month, and featured an update on page 3 everyday over a two week period.

So it starts:

(click on the images to enlarge and read)











It is certainly unique.

I do not think this series of 10 Rolls-Royce advertisements would have been seen together for a while.

Thanks to David for keeping these ads in his scrap book from when they came out.

(Posted by David Irvine/Bentley Spotting)