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Rolls-Royce builds its second Boat Tail, one with a pearl theme

Last year, Rolls-Royce introduced the stunning Boat Tail custom-built convertible. Even with a rumored cost of around $30 million, the company had three buyers. The second of the three cars has been revealed, and this one is themed around pearls. Apparently the buyer's father harvested pearls, and the buyer runs the business that stemmed from it. So that's where the theme came from, and Rolls-Royce ran with it. The exterior's rosy white paint with white and bronze flake, and the contrasting hood, are based on the oyster shells the buyer provided for inspiration. The rear deck features a walnut veneer with brushed-finish rose gold pinstripes. The Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament is also rose gold-plated. The interior has leather that matches the exterior paint. The center tunnel is again covered in the same walnut veneer as the rear deck. The clock and the gauges feature mother-of-pearl in the faces, and the clock's material came from the buyer's personal collection. As with the other Boat Tail models, the car has a split-opening rear that houses dishes and flatware, as well as an umbrella. The umbrella can be attached to the rear, and fold-out chairs allow the car to be the ultimate outdoor eating location. The entire car is also hand-built with custom aluminum panels. Powertrain details weren't given, though being based on the Phantom, it probably has the same turbocharged V12, eight-speed automatic and rear-wheel drive as the mainline sedan. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

King Charles' electric I-Pace goes to auction next month

Never mind the Bentley State Limousines, the Aston Martin DB6 Volante that Queen Elizabeth II bought him on his 21st birthday, or the Rolls-Royce Phantom VI valued at more than $600,000. The car of the moment, if we’re talking about the garage of King Charles III of England, is a far more ordinary — and all-electric — Jaguar I-Pace purchased in 2018 by His Majesty “for his personal use." The royal Jag is set to be auctioned off March 2 at the famed Ascot Racecourse; estimated selling price is as high as $88,000. If you miss out on the auction of a president's former ride, here's one from a king. The SUV, notable as the first all-electric vehicle to be embraced by the royal family, is the range-topping I-Pace EV400 HSE all-wheel-drive luxury five-seater that the king — prince of Wales at the time — bought in September 2018 for $75,000. According to the auction site, the Jag was "purchased with his own money." Charles had Jaguar install a fast charger at Clarence House, his residence. The vehicle was returned to a Jaguar dealership after two years — itÂ’s not clear if it had been leased — with only 3,000 miles on the clock. Subsequently, the SUV was sold to one Karen French of Oxfordshire. She said in a statement offered by Historics Auctioneers, “This I-Pace was exactly what I was looking for and pretty much on my doorstep. It was only when I agreed to buy it that I discovered its extraordinary history — I was absolutely thrilled. Having driven it over 30,000 miles,” she added, ”I decided in the New Year that it was time for a change.” Noted by the auctioneers in typical British understatement, the high-specification car was uniquely finished in Loire Blue and remains the only I-Pace “to be painted in this colour, whilst those inside the car enjoyed a sumptuous, contrasting leather interior in, fittingly, Light Oyster Windsor.” A revised Jaguar I-Pace is scheduled to arrive next year. Regarding the KingÂ’s affection for automobiles — British automobiles — he reportedly overseas a fleet worth more than $17 million. And while heÂ’s fond of driving conventional vehicles, he told the BBC some years ago that “my old Aston Martin, which I've had for 51 years, runs on — can you believe this — surplus English white wine, and whey from the cheese process.” Essentially the classic had been converted to run on E85 bio-ethanol. "The engineers at Aston said, 'Oh, it'll ruin the whole thing,'" Charles shared with The Telegraph in 2018.

BMW shuffles chairs in its design department

BMW Group has made some changes to its design team since August 1, and has shuffled top personnel to different positions at BMW Design, Mini Design and Rolls-Royce.
The BMW Design team led by Karim Habib (middle, right) gains a new head of Exterior Design in Domagoj Dukec (right), who has worked for the exterior design team since 2010 and shaped the Concept Active Tourer.
Oliver Heilmer (left), who has worked for BMW's interior design unit since 2000 and designed the 5 Series interior, replaces Marc Girard as head of Interior Design BMW Automobiles. Marc Girard goes to manage BMW's subsidiary design group, BMW DesignworksUSA.