1990 Rolls-royce Silver Spur Ii on 2040-cars

Auto blog

'Most expensive safety deposit box in the world' has a Rolls-Royce ferry

Ultra-high-end security and storage company International Bank Vaults (IBV) has several locations around the world, but as of next week, none will be more exclusive than the London branch. IBV is set to open a new vault with what's claimed to be the most expensive safety deposit boxes in the world. With price come perks, however, including a personal Rolls-Royce Ghost chauffeur to take customers to and from the vault. According to The Guardian, IBV, owned by South African millionaire Ashok Sewnarain, decided to open the new vault as a response to rapidly increasing demand for private wealth storage from the world's richest people. “We wonÂ’t deal with millionaires," managing director of the new facility Sean Hoey said. "We will be dealing only with billionaires.” For the top tier of the rich, a full room can be rented out for about $3.3 million per year. On a much lower scale, the cheapest available safety deposit box will cost about $785 to rent per year. Those boxes are pretty small, however, at about two inches high, 6.3 inches wide, and 19.3 inches deep. Hoey says it's enough space to store jewelry or "a fair few gold bars."  At this location, when the customers need to deposit or withdrawal spare gold bars in between polishing sessions, a chauffeur will arrive in a Rolls-Royce Ghost for proper luxury transportation. To get to the underground vault, two door people will take clients through fingerprint and iris scans. The vault itself is secured from theft attempts by steel lining in the walls, ceiling, and floor. Read more and see photos of the building on The Guardian. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Rolls-Royce Ghost Series II headed to Geneva

Rolls-Royce is not a brand that replaces its vehicles with any great frequency. It expands its lineup, sure: what started with just the Phantom saloon has since grown to include extended wheelbase models, coupes and convertibles, not to mention the addition of the Ghost, followed by the Ghost EWB and the Wraith fastback. What Rolls does to keep its models fresh, however, is spruce them up with a Series II.
The Phantom family underwent just such a treatment a couple of years ago, and now Goodwood appears to be preparing to do the same with the Ghost. At least, that is, going by this teaser image it released with only the line, "After five years as the cornerstone of Rolls-Royce's sustainable growth success worldwide, this mid-life update is a showcase for the most recent technological advances from Rolls-Royce enrobed in a considered exterior design revision."
The arrival of the Ghost Series II at the Geneva Motor Show this year would put it significantly ahead of schedule for when Rolls updated the Phantom. That model arrived in 2003 and was followed by the Series II in 2012, giving the original a nine-year run virtually unchanged. The Ghost, however, only reached production in 2010, so introducing a Series II now would shorten that lifecycle to just four years.

Rolls-Royce Cullinan Series II unveiled with subtle design updates

Rolls-Royce set another sales record in 2023, and it's giving the Cullinan — its best-selling model — a round of mid-cycle updates to keep the momentum going. The Series II model stands out from the outgoing Cullinan with design changes and more technology inside. The exterior updates are relatively subtle, and Rolls-Royce notes that's intentional; the Cullinan has been so popular since its debut in 2018 that it didn't want to risk alienating buyers by giving the SUV a major overhaul. It nonetheless points out that the changes represent "the most extensive Series II development" in its history. Market research shaped many of the updates: the Cullinan was Rolls-Royce's first entry into the SUV segment, and executives have learned a lot since production started. One interesting detail relates to the driver. In 2018, when the Cullinan went on sale, less than 70% were self-driven. That's changed: in 2024, less than 10% are driven by a chauffeur. Up front, the Cullinan features more streamlined-looking headlights accented by thin daytime running lights that stretch into the bumper and bigger air intakes. The grille has been redesigned and it's illuminated for the first time, while the trim around the exhaust outlets has a new look. There's also a brushed stainless-steel plate in the middle of the rear bumper that runs under the car, and buyers can order 23-inch wheels for the first time. They're milled from a billet of aluminum and they feature a three-dimensional design that can be fully polished. The popular Black Badge trim returns, and it will be available at launch. It gets an assortment of blacked-out design details inside and out. Many of the changes made to the interior reflect how much technology has evolved since the Cullinan made its debut. Rolls-Royce added a glass panel that stretches across the entire dashboard. It includes the digital instrument cluster and the infotainment system's display (which is better integrated into the dashboard than the outgoing Cullinan's display). Most of this interface is shared with the Spectre. The part of the dashboard that's ahead of the front passenger is illuminated thanks to 7,000 dots laser-etched into a strengthened type of glass. While some motifs are pre-loaded into the system, customers can also create their own by working directly with Rolls-Royce's designers. Rolls-Royce looked to the outdoors to design new types of upholstery and trim materials.