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Rolls-Royce debuts Phantom Drophead Coupe Waterspeed Collection

For the next act in its Bespoke Collection, Rolls-Royce has found one of its own to celebrate with the Phantom Drophead Coupé Waterspeed Collection, noting the achievements of British land and water record-holder Sir Malcolm Campbell. Like a few other racers of his era in the 1920s and 1930s, Campbell used his Bluebird Motor Company and Bluebird Garage to fund his interest in motorsports. He would break the waterspeed record in 1937 in his Bluebird K3 powered by a Rolls-Royce R engine, traveling 126.33 miles per hour on Italy's Lake Maggiore.
We've seen sketches of what Rolls-Royce intended with the Waterspeed Collection, and the real thing is just as handsome, and the new model includes a number of firsts for the marque. The Maggiore Blue exterior paint is also used for highlights on the engine, the polished wheels, two-tone steering wheel and the dashboard. The tonneau cover normally finished in teak is instead done in hand-finished brushed steel, a closer contrast to the Windchill Grey interior. The Abachi wood veneers have also been bookmatched so that their grain evokes the wake of a speeding boat.
The droptop will be shown first at the Bluebird Garage Cafe in London on the site of the original garage, after which it will get its first wider showing at the Concorso D'Eleganza at Villa D'Este later this month. The press release below has a lot more detail on the finer detailing of the Drophead Coupe Waterspeed, and the images above are worth at least 8,000 words.

Muhammad Ali's 1970 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow is going for auction

Boxing fans and Rolls-Royce fans, get your wallets ready. A very special car is going to cross the Bonhams auction block this October. It's a 1970 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow Mulliner Park Ward convertible that was owned by none other than Muhammad Ali, the boxer that ended George Foreman's undefeated streak. Bonhams reports that the car was owned by Ali for 6 years, meaning Ali must've enjoyed this car and used it quite a bit. The company postulates that since Ali bought the car in 1970, it may have been a celebratory purchase, since that was the first year Ali could box again after a five-year ban from the sport for being a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War. The car itself has a number of notable features. For one thing, Bonhams says the car is completely unrestored, and is in quite good condition as such. It also is apparently one of just 272 Silver Shadow Mulliner Park Wards that were built with left-hand drive. It ended up in Holland after Ali's tenure with it, which is partly why it will go for auction at a Bonhams auction in Belgium. Also interesting is that this is a celebrity car – a nice one, too – that is in the realm of affordability. Bonhams estimates it could sell for between $47,000 and $70,000. The low end of that price is actually a couple grand less than Hagerty's estimate of $49,200 for a concours-ready example without celebrity history. And even at the high end, you'll still be paying way less for this than, say, a new Rolls-Royce Ghost. So if you can get yourself to Holland and have the means to buy and ship the car, this could be a way to get a great celebrity car for not a massive amount of money. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Rolls-Royce developing new convertible

Rolls-Royce is not a company that makes a lot of different vehicles, but of the ones it does, it tends to offer several versions. That's how we end up with sedan, long-wheelbase, coupe and (in the former's case) convertible versions of the Phantom and Ghost. And now Goodwood has confirmed development of another model.
Although details in the press release below are few and far between, it does promise to "deliver effortless, open-top touring... with an engaging and exhilarating driving experience." CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös added: "We are currently developing an exciting and thoroughly contemporary interpretation of a pinnacle drophead tourer which will introduce even more discerning men and women to Rolls-Royce ownership."
What that tells us is that the new model - set to reach showrooms "by mid-2016" - will be a convertible that's exciting to drive and more youthful than the Phantom Drophead Coupe. In other words, and in all likelihood, we're looking at the convertible version of the Ghost-based Wraith fastback (like the one we recently spotted undergoing testing, pictured above). Expect it, then, to carry the same 6.6-liter twin-turbo V12, but with the added rush of wind in your hair.