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Rolls-Royce commemorates end of Phantom with Zenith models

Rolls-Royce will discontinue the current generation Phantom in 2016 after 13 years. Rolls will also axe the Phantom Coupe and Drophead Coupe in November, and the company won't build new versions of them on its future platform. However, the automaker will send off the pair in style with special edition models. The Phantom sedan will eventually return on Rolls' future aluminum platform, which will underpin all of the company's models. Spy shots suggest minor design tweaks for the new generation Phantom, but there's no mistaking the massive vehicle's chiseled shape. The overall size should remain similar to the current one, but the lightweight metal and carbon fiber should dramatically reduce the weight. Rumors suggest it would still use a V12 for propulsion, and there could be a plug-in hybrid variant later. "I am proud and excited to announce that a new Phantom is on the way – a contemporary and beautiful Phantom enhanced with cutting-edge technologies and design innovations." Rolls CEO Torsten Muller-Otvos said. Rolls will also build 50 Zenith versions of the Drophead and Coupe to give the pair a proper farewell from the lineup. These special vehicles will include a Tailgate Hosting Area to party with class, laser-etched armrests that show the launch sites for the 100EX and 101EX concepts, custom instrument dials, a special version of the Spirit of Ecstasy, and more. "Zenith will be the sum of all the best features of Phantom Coupe and Drophead Coupe, with a few surprises added," Giles Taylor, the company's director of design, said. Related Video: ROLLS-ROYCE MOTOR CARS BRINGS SEVENTH GENERATION OF PHANTOM TO AN END Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Chief Executive Officer, Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes, has announced that the current Phantom will enter the last stages of its celebrated life in 2016. This announcement follows the recent news that Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has begun testing its all-new aluminium architecture, which will underpin every future Rolls-Royce arriving in-market from early 2018. He also announced that Phantom Coupe and Drophead Coupe models will not be renewed in the future. These two magnificent Phantom models will end their lives with a special collection of only 50 highly desirable cars to be called Phantom Zenith. The current seventh generation of Phantom started production in Goodwood over 13 years ago and quickly became the foundation upon which the renaissance of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars was built.

Rolls-Royce rings up best-ever sales year

The wheeled monolith above is the 2013 Rolls-Royce Phantom Extended Wheelbase - a rolling demonstration of the real definition of "More." For that reason we can use it as a symbol of the firm's sales, which have not only achieved 'more' for the past three years but have also broken company records. Adding to its record-setting years in 2010 and 2011, the Goodwood-based carmaker moved 3,575 units, an increase of 38 over the year before.
The US retook its crown as the greatest consumers of Rolls-Royces, snagging it back from China. Other market movers were the Middle East, where sales rose 26 percent, Mainland Europe - the same place where mass-market makers are drowning in woe and inventory - that rose by 21 percent, and the Asia Pacific region and its 18-percent rise. Rolls-Royce is probably making more money on its cars, too, with bespoke uptake reaching 95 percent on the 10-year-old Phantom line and 73 percent for the Ghost line.
With a just-refreshed lineup and one or perhaps two more models coming, the indicators for more upward sales movement are strong, even if we don't know how soon the new models will arrive. For 2012, the brand that sells more cars above $200,000 than any other proved the saying that storms can't affect you when you live above the clouds. The press release below has more to say about the record year.

Rolls-Royce rolls out one-off Ghost Golden Sunbird in China

In 2001, archeologists in the palace city of Chengdu, China, uncovered the Golden Sun Bird, an ancient artifact that dates back to the Shang Dynasty from 1000 BC. The disc depicts the sun and is made of almost solid gold, measuring five inches across and weighing 20 grams. The city adopted it as its logo, and now Rolls-Royce has commemorated the find and the heritage behind it with a unique one-off.
Based on the long-wheelbase version of the Ghost, the Golden Sunbird edition features a two-tone white and gold paint scheme, with gold coachline and gold grille topped by a gold Spirit of Ecstasy. The interior has likewise been gilded with gold embroidery atop the light brown leather and white trim to match the coachwork.
The result may be elegant but is certainly not subtle. And of course it's just the latest in a long line of special editions and one-offs Rolls-Royce has crafted, particularly for markets in the Middle and Far East.