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Rolls-Royce Wraith Luminary Collection gets celestial headliner

Rolls-Royce has announced a new bespoke collection for its Wraith 2-door luxury coupe that is highlighted, literally, by a headliner full of glittering shooting stars. It's called the Wraith Luminary Collection and its production will be limited to just 55 examples. The car is like its own planetarium on wheels, thanks to a starlight headliner concocted by the folks at the Rolls-Royce Bespoke Collective in Goodwood, West Sussex. It's a handwoven configuration of 1,340 fiber-optic lights mimicking the night sky — and even the occasional shooting star — and it takes 20 hours to configure. Rolls-Royce says eight shooting stars fire at random, mostly over the front seats. Open up the suicide doors and you'll see the celestial theme continued inside the cabin. Tudor oak wood veneer, sourced from forests in the Czech Republic and chosen for its depth of color and grain structure, is back-lit by 176 LED lights that permeates through intricate perforations in the veneer that form another starlight pattern at the touch of a button. "Linked to the controls of the starlight headliner, the cabin's veneer surrounds Wraith's occupants in an ambient glow of light," the luxury marque says. Outside, the Luminary Collection comes pained in Sunburst Grey with rich Saddlery Tan-colored lines hand painted along the bonnet and side body, a color scheme inspired by "the heady shade of the golden hour's sunrays" and referencing the interior leather color scheme. It's also echoed in the center of each wheel. Cockpit seats come trimmed in the same tan leather, while rear seats feature a contrasting Anthracite leather or an available Seashell color for the leather, matched by a two-tone steering wheel. The seats get contrasting piping and stitching tying the colors together. Also new is a hand-woven stainless steel fabric, a new technique for luxury goods borrowed from industrial uses, for the center console and door panniers. Each swath is made up of strands between 0.08 and 0.19 millimeters in diameter and takes three days to produce in a clean-room environment. Finally, the collection features stainless-steel tread plates engraved with the words, "Wraith Luminary Collection — One of Fifty-Five." Prices weren't announced, befitting the brand's aura of exclusivity, but the Wraith starts at a mere $320,000.

2015 Rolls-Royce Ghost Series II [w/video]

Rolls-Royce Director of Global Communications Richard Carter tells me that his storied employer is "a company that does not chase volume." In a perfect world, mused Carter, the carmaker would sell "one less" of its ultra-luxury vehicles than the fast-expanding world market demands.
And, thanks in no small part to the unprecedented success of the Series I Rolls-Royce Ghost that launched in 2010, the Brit brand seems well positioned to strike that perfect balance between exclusivity and record profits. In 2003 (the year in which the first BMW-backed Rolls rolled off the line in West Sussex), the company managed to sell around 500 cars. This year, with the first run of already-back-ordered Ghost Series II models still weeks away from delivery, the marque will top 4,000 units for the first time in its history.
Considering that each one of those "units" - a somewhat unsatisfying term for motor car this special ­- will gross Rolls-Royce $300,000 if we're being very conservative, you'll quickly see that creating a very desirable product for one of the best brands in the world negates the need to chase volume. The rich and free-spending are chasing this Ghost, instead.

Fastest and most powerful SUVs in America for 2022

Here in the United States, we enjoy power almost as much as we like our SUVs. Thankfully, we’ve got plenty of both. Traditionally, the most powerful SUVs source their massive horsepower and torque from some form of a V8. While thatÂ’s still generally the case, electrification comes into play more and more, whether itÂ’s mild-hybrid tech, a plug-in hybrid powertrain or, as is the case with the two vehicles topping this list, fully electric vehicles. As we enter the 2022 model year, letÂ’s look at the most powerful SUVs available.  Before we dive in, letÂ’s address the elephant that is waiting just outside the door. Due to supply shortages, Mercedes-Benz is shelving most V8 models for the 2022 model year. Some 2021 models can still be found in dealer inventories, but we wonÂ’t include them. With that in mind, letÂ’s dive into the list. 2022 Audi RS Q8 — 591 hp / 190 mph Read our review of the Audi RS Q8 The only Audi on this list is a hot little number, which we characterized as “an uncompromising option in a field of compromised options.” Powered by a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 (which seems to be a popular format in this list), its 591 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque get it scootinÂ’ to 60 mph in just 3.7 seconds, and on to a top speed of 190 mph. It even has the bragging rights of holding the Nurburgring lap record for an SUV.   2022 Rolls-Royce Cullinan Black Badge — 592 hp / 155 mph (limited) Read our review of the Rolls-Royce Cullinan This is one SUV where being a passenger might be more exciting than sitting in the driverÂ’s seat, thanks to over-the-top luxury — what do you expect from a car that costs over $350,000? The driver doesnÂ’t go unrewarded, though, with a turbocharged 6.75-liter V12 at their disposal. Thanks to the Black BadgeÂ’s software upgrade, it makes 592 hp and 664 lb-ft of torque to help get to its electronically limited top speed of 155 mph that much quicker.    2022 BMW Alpina XB7 — 612 hp / 180 mph Read our review of the BMW Alpina XB7 Alpina takes already impressive BMW vehicles and turns them into even more powerful, more luxurious machines. The Alpina XB7 improves upon the BMW X7 with a biturbocharged 4.4-liter V8 offering up 612 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque. ThatÂ’s good for a 4.0-second 0-60 sprint and a 180-mph top speed. Alpina also adds its own transmission and drivetrain tuning, upgraded suspension, exhaust and a whole slew of unique appearance touches.