2013 Rolls-royce Ghost Black Rear Seat Theatre Driver Assist Nav Camera on 2040-cars

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Rolls-Royce is officially in the SUV business

This might be the most brand-appropriate announcement ever for a previously unthinkinable vehicle, complete with a press release titled like a royal edict. After saying a month ago that it would decide on building an mixed-terrain hauler by the end of the year, Rolls-Royce issued a press release entitled, "An Open Letter from the Chairman and Chief Executive of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars on the Subject of a New Rolls-Royce." Let's hold on a second while the sound of trumpets dies down. Nowhere among its 453 words will you find the acronym "SUV," nor the words "sport" or "utility." You will find talk of "an all-new Rolls-Royce," "a high-bodied car, with an all-new aluminum architecture," "a vehicle that can cross any terrain," and references to Lawrence of Arabia traversing mountain ranges and "the vastness of unexplored deserts" and the founders' "rigorous overland adventures," complete with sepia photos. And then there's this: "History sets our precedent and our future calls us to action." Let's hold on a second while the applause dies down. We don't know when we'll see it - Rolls-Royce says it plans to take its time getting it right, to create a vehicle that is "Effortless ... Everywhere." We would believe any date we read about, though; not even two years ago we were told a Rolls-Royce SUV hadn't even been discussed since such a vehicle couldn't fit into the brand ethos, not even a year ago the company's head designer had narrowed it down to "a shooting brake, not a crossover with a sloping roof. A proper SUV," with the Ghost platform for support and a speculated release date of 2017. If they brought a near-production-ready sample to the Frankfurt Motor Show this year, we wouldn't be surprised. We sincerely hope that, like the image, it comes with a man to shovel any obstacles out of the way. Gather round the dais and enjoy the press release below. It's a whole new world. Related Video: AN OPEN LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN AND THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF ROLLS-ROYCE MOTOR CARS ON THE SUBJECT OF A NEW ROLLS-ROYCE 18.02.2015 -- The launch of Phantom in 2003 marked the beginning of the renaissance of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. Since then, we have set a new benchmark for what a super-luxury car should be – unique, hand-crafted, beautiful and rare. Often imitated, Phantom has never been equalled and continues to be hailed as 'The Best Car in the World' by our customers and media alike.

Autoblog Minute: New Prius, Bentley Bentyaga, Rolls-Royce Dawn

Bentley and Rolls-Royce both introduce new luxury vehicles and Toyota revealed its latest Prius. Autoblog senior editor Greg Migliore reports on the Weekly Recap edition of Autoblog Minute. Show full video transcript text [00:00:00] Bentley and Rolls-Royce both introduce new luxury vehicles and Toyota revealed its latest Prius I'm Senior editor Greg Migliore and this is your Autoblog Minute Weekly Recap. With a top speed of 187 mph Bentyaga will be the fastest production SUV on the road when it hits the market. Eventually, Bentley intends to launch a seven-seat version, a higher performance Speed model, and more efficient diesel and hybrid variants of its new luxury SUV. Dawn is the new four seater convertible from Rolls-Royce. While the car looks to the past for its name it boasts lots of modern tech including Rolls-Royce's Zed F eight-speed automatic transmission for imperceptible gear changes and a silently operating, six layer, canvas top. The launch of Toyota's latest Prius marks the fourth generation of the popular hybrid. Prius has gone from a niche product to one of the industry's most important vehicles. Toyota hopes its new Prius will redefine the category it helped to pioneer. We're expecting fuel economy to increase by 10 percent and this is the most tech laden Prius ever. Those are the highlights from the week that was. Be sure to check out my full recap this Saturday. Plus, some insight on the new Cadillac XT5. For Autoblog, I'm Greg Migliore. Autoblog Minute is a short-form video news series reporting on all things automotive. Each segment offers a quick and clear picture of what's happening in the automotive industry from the perspective of Autoblog's expert editorial staff, auto executives, and industry professionals. Bentley Rolls-Royce Toyota Convertible SUV Hybrid Autoblog Minute Videos Original Video rolls-royce dawn

The best cars we drove this year

Six hundred and fifty. That's roughly how many cars pass through the hands of Autoblog editors every year, from the vehicles we test here at home, to the cars we drive on new product launches, testing roundups, long-term cars, and so on. Of course, our individual numbers vary due to several reasons, but at the end of the day, our team's repertoire of automotive experience is indeed vast. But let's be honest, some cars certainly stand out more than others. So as the year's about to turn, and as we're readying brand-new daily cat calendars for our cubicles, our editors are all taking time to reflect on the machinery that made this year so special, with one simple, open-ended question as the guide – a question that we're asked quite frequently, from friends, family, colleagues, and more. "What's the best car you drove this year?" Lamborghini Huracan When I review the list of everything I drove in 2014, picking an absolute favorite becomes almost impossible. I mean, how does one delineate between the joy offered by cars as different as the Alfa Romeo 4C, Volkswagen Golf R, Mercedes-AMG GT S and even the humble-yet-wonderful Chevy Colorado? Okay fine, I'll just pick the Lamborghini. I drove the Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4 on a racetrack, in the mountains, and along southern coast of Spain. It felt like the king of the car jungle in all of those places, sucking the eyeballs of observers nearly out of their heads as it drove by, and almost melting my brain with its cocktail of speed and grip and intense communication. It feels a little easy to say that the one new supercar I drove this year was also my favorite, but the fact is that the Huracan is one of the finest cars I've driven during my career, let alone 2014. Judge me if you must. – Seyth Miersma Senior Editor Rolls-Royce Wraith There are a couple of ways to look at the question, "What's the best car you drove this year?" In terms of what was so good I'd go out and buy one tomorrow, that'd be my all-time sweetheart, the Volkswagen GTI. Or if I'm just talking about sheer cool-factor, maybe something like the Galpin GTR1, BMW i8, or Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG. But instead, I'm going to write about the sheer opulence of being the best of the best. The hand-crafted, holier-than-thou, shut-your-mouth-when-I'm-talking-to-you supremacy. I'm picking the Rolls-Royce Wraith. I drove the Wraith for a week in April, and was really, really impressed. This car does everything, perfectly.