2005 Rolls Royce Phantom Sedan Black Black / Low Miles / 5 In Stock / on 2040-cars

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Rolls-Royce starts a turf war in the Garden of Wraith

The Rolls-Royce Wraith would not be our first choice for hooning. Sure, it's god 624 horsepower channeled to the rear wheels, but it's an automatic, it costs the better part of $300,000 and it's laden with more leather, wood and carpeting than Harrod's. Leave it to Tax the Rich to toss it around then.
For those unfamiliar, the YouTube channel sporadically features videos of some of the most powerful and expensive pieces of automotive machinery being put up to no good. They've done the Ferrari 288 GTO, F50 (two of 'em, in fact) and Enzo and even the Jaguar XJ220 - twice - but now they've turned their attention to the most powerful Rolls ever, tossing it around the grounds of an old-world mansion estate like it was a Subie.

One-off Boat Tail is the tapered tip of Rolls-Royce's coachbuilding iceberg

Rolls-Royce is open to taking additional requests for one-off cars from its wealthiest clients in the coming years. It doesn't plan to make coachbuilt vehicles the norm in order to maintain their exclusivity, however. Rumored to cost nearly $30 million, the Boat Tail (pictured) introduced in May 2021 demonstrated what the BMW-owned British firm is capable of when money is truly no object. It's the product of a four-year development process that presumably cost several million dollars, and it was built at the request of three anonymous clients. It's the first car made since Coachbuild was promoted to a standalone division with the group, and it's very likely not the last. "Our idea is to maybe do one project every second year. Whether it's three cars or one car will hinge very much on the idea of the clients, and also on our appetite for doing it," explained company boss Torsten Muller-Otvos in an interview with British magazine Autocar. He added Rolls-Royce has the luxury to turn down requests it doesn't like. Precisely what will receive the firm's proverbial green light for production hasn't been specified. We're guessing future one-offs will need to adhere to the company's image, so transforming a humble Fiat 500 into a luxury car, Aston Martin Cygnet-style, is probably very low on the firm's list of priorities. Regardless, one-of-a-kind models won't roll out of the Rolls-Royce workshop on a weekly basis. Executives want to keep them "very rare," the CEO added, even if they receive numerous requests. Supply won't necessarily keep up with demand. What comes next depends on what customers request (and are willing to pay for). Rolls-Royce is open to experimenting with different body styles and different powertrain types, including a fully electric system. It's reportedly working on its first electric model, which could be called Silent Shadow when it enters production, and this foundation could be used to make a coachbuilt car if a customer commissions it. "There is no intention to boost any volume, because the intention clearly is to create projects that are significant for the brand's history in 70 or 100 years or so, and that are truly unique pieces. That also fits quite nicely into the heritage of Rolls-Royce with coachbuilding projects in the 1920s and the 1930s," Muller-Otvos concluded. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Rolls-Royce Phantom Tempus Collection is inspired by the infinite universe

Rolls-Royce, like NASA, is exploring what's far beyond the stratosphere. It introduced a limited-edition version of the Phantom, its flagship, called the Tempus Collection and inspired by time, astronomical phenomena, and the infinite reaches of the universe. Most of the visual changes are found in the cabin, where interior designers added a mesmerizing headliner that represents a pulsar. If your brain is soaking in Shell Rotella, you're thinking of a Nissan sold on and off since 1978; sorry, but it's not that one, though the British firm's Bespoke department can probably make it happen if your wallet is thick enough. In astronomy, according to Rolls-Royce, a pulsar is a type of white-hot star that lurks about 280 light years away from our planet while emitting electromagnetic radiation in extremely regular pulses, hence the name. Stylists transformed the dashboard into a work of art they call the Frozen Flow of Time. It consists of a single billet of aluminum in which 100 individual columns were milled to represent the 100-million-year period of a pulsar's rotational spin. Rolls-Royce also removed the clock from the dashboard to signal that its customers are free from time and its pesky limitations, though we don't think that's a binding promise the company is making to buyers. If you have a few seconds to spare, you can pop open the glovebox and read a quote from Albert Einstein: "The distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion." Visually, the Tempus wears a relatively subtle look characterized by a new color called Kairos Blue. It was created specifically for the limited-edition model to embody the darkness and the mystery of space, Rolls-Royce explained. It features blue mica flakes that shine like stars in the sky when viewed in the right light. Buyers can customize the Spirit of Ecstasy emblem by engraving a date and location — like their wedding anniversary — on its base. Rolls-Royce will deliver each Tempus with a custom-built champagne chest whose table features a hand-painted pulsar. It's big enough to store and chill champagne, caviar, four flutes, and a mother-of-pearl caviar spoon. The outer-space theme does not continue in the engine bay, so don't expect to find a Rolls-Royce Trent turbofan under the hood. Like the regular-production Phantom, the Tempus is powered by a twin-turbocharged, 6.8-liter V12 engine that effortlessly develops 563 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque.