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Rolls-Royce considering carbon coachbuilding?

There's any number of applications in which you might expect to find carbon fiber on an automobile, but a Rolls-Royce is not one of them. That could change in the near future, however, as the super-luxe auto marque is reportedly looking into using the lightweight material on a range of special models.
The idea, according to Edmunds, would be to rebody certain models in carbon fiber as a sort of in-house coachbuilding operation for discerning customers looking for something a little different from what the neighbors in the next mansion or ivory tower over have in their gold-paved driveway. While the carbon-fiber bodywork might help shave off some of the weight from a range of cars that tip the scales at 5,500 pounds or more, the principal notion here is exclusivity.
The business case for these bespoke automobiles apparently stems out of two developments. For one, the vast majority - over 90 percent - of Rolls-Royce customers opt for some manner of customization or another. For another, parent company BMW has been working hard to reduce the cost of carbon-fiber production in particular for the new i3, and that expertise could turn these premium-priced creations a greater cash cow for Rolls-Royce than the development of a sport-utility vehicle ever could.

2018 Rolls-Royce Phantom VIII First Look | It's all new, we swear!

At a well-decorated warehouse just off Hollywood's Sunset Blvd., a gaggle of PR, design, operations, and executives from Rolls-Royce Motor Cars are stoking our excitement for the all-new, 2018 Rolls-Royce Phantom VIII. Along with the normal Rolls-Roycey words like "heritage," "brand," and "bespoke," was a repeated phrase. A phrase that shouldn't be necessary. A phrase eliciting a concept that should be obvious if true. The new car, it said, was "not an evolution" on the current Phantom. That, friends, is exciting to hear. Don't get us wrong, we like the train-engine-bolted-to-a-horseless-carriage look, and the beast's scale and presence on the street. Trouble is, since the car first took to unsmoothing our air with its cathedral-facade front end in 2003, the looks have gotten a little, um, tired. Blame the mercilessness of time. Blame the success of the car, which means they're on every street corner in west Los Angeles. Blame the "imitation-is-the-most-sincere-form-of-flattery" Chrysler 300. Blame the fact that this car's magnetism vaults it into the public eye more frequently than a Kardashian. Whatever the cause, fact is, the Phantom needs a reboot. A subtle evolution a la the last Bentley Continental won't do. The lights are out. We're led through a darkened antechamber into the full-dark of the warehouse. We can see the shape. It's big and has the classic squared off D-pillar. The front, too, has the required grille bigness. It is enviously long. Let's pause. Here at Autoblog, we're known for giving people advice. We take that responsibility seriously, because the results of our evaluations and expertise are often the reason someone has dropped thousands of dollars on a car they're going to live with for many years. We try to keep it on cars and to not to get too preachy on the life coaching. We're going to break that convention now. Here's a life pro tip: The more frequently that someone in a position of power repeats a claim, the more likely it is that that claim is false. The lights click on. The men and women of Rolls-Royce, for whom this project is a true honor, clap in genuine appreciation and reverence for what they've been a part of. And the journalists in the room turn to each other and mouth, "Wait, is this the new one?" If you're casually familiar with the current-gen Phantom, based on seeing them pull into the club as you wait in line, then this new one will likely register as just another Phantom when it hits the streets early next year.

Rolls-Royce drops top for a new Dawn

Last summer Rolls-Royce confirmed it's been developing a new convertible, and now it has given that droptop a name: Dawn. Though Goodwood has not exactly been forthcoming with the details, the new Dawn is widely expected to serve as the convertible version of the Wraith fastback coupe. Its arrival would complete the expansion of the "entry level" Rolls-Royce family (if a relative term has ever been more so) alongside the Ghost, Ghost Extended Wheelbase, and the aforementioned Wraith to mirror that of the Phantom range above it. Now if you're thinking that the name Dawn doesn't convey the same supernatural "spirit" as the other nameplates in Goodwood's lineup, you're right. The press release below speaks of opportunity and the promise of a new day, and of course the name conveys as well the letting in of the sunshine (in this case) through its opening roof. But the handle also borrows from the company's considerable history. The original Silver Dawn was a highly exclusive cabriolet, of which Rolls only built 28 examples between 1950 and '54. It was the first Rolls-Royce to feature bodywork built in-house, and the company promises the new Dawn will offer extensive customization options as well. The Dawn has already been shown to dealers at a conference in LA, but we'll have to wait until early in the new year to see it for ourselves. Related Video: ROLLS-ROYCE MOTOR CARS ANNOUNCES A NEW DAWN FOR SUPER-LUXURY MOTORING 12 May 2015, Los Angeles, California Rolls-Royce Motor Cars today announced the name of its forthcoming new car. The new model, an exciting and sensuous drophead, will be known as Rolls-Royce Dawn. The car was unveiled to representatives of the marque's 130-strong global dealer network at the 2015 Rolls-Royce World Dealer Conference in Los Angeles, California today. "Our new Rolls-Royce Dawn promises a striking, seductive encounter like no other Rolls-Royce to date," said Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes, Chief Executive Officer. "Dawn is a beautiful new open-top motor car with a name that suggests the fresh opportunities that every new day holds – an awakening, an opening up of one's senses and a burst of sunshine. It will be the most social of super-luxury motor cars for those beautiful people who wish to bathe in the sunlight of the world's social hotspots." Rolls-Royce Dawn is the next step in the renaissance of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars which began in 2003 with the launch of Phantom and subsequent introductions of Ghost and Wraith.