1980 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow on 2040-cars

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Rolls-Royce sketching out SUV for possible 'late 2017' release

With each new story on the Rolls-Royce SUV, the Goodwood automaker comes off as more at ease with their reluctantly birthed yet necessary sport ute. Company design chief Giles Taylor told Autocar that his team is still "sketching to assess the viability of the concept," which to ours ears means they're trying to figure out if such a beast is even possible within the confines of the brand. If it is, Taylor says it will be "a shooting brake, not a crossover with a sloping roof. A proper SUV."
A different company source, unnamed, seems confident that Taylor's team will figure it out, telling the magazine it would start at 200,000 pounds ($335K US). However, that same source said the vehicle will be "a kind of Mercedes-GLK-plus-plus," which is a baffling description in several ways. More reasonable is the speculation that it will ride on Ghost, not Phantom, architecture and make its debut sometime around late 2017.
That Ghost platform is expected to take cues from the carbon, aluminum and steel bones that supported the BMW Vision Future Luxury concept shown at the Beijing Motor Show and destined for the 9 Series. Some of those tricks will also go into the next-generation Phantom, which Autocar says will come in 2017 and not 2020.

Rolls-Royce Cullinan offered in miniature 1:8 scale replica

Rolls-Royce sold a record 5,152 cars last year, up 25% thanks to demand for its new Cullinan SUV, and now it wants to sell a new version. It’s a 1:8 scale replica of the ultra-luxury “high-bodied vehicle,” which is what the brand originally went out of its way to refer to what it now acknowledges is an SUV. These are incredibly detailed, not-so-miniature replicas of the Cullinan, down to fully-functioning exterior lights operated by remote control and a “perfect likeness” of the 571-horsepower 6.75-liter twin-turbo V12. It also has illuminated tread plates, embroidered headrests and wood finishes in the cabin Each model is individually built by hand — and a white-gloved hand at that, if weÂ’re to believe the manufacturerÂ’s photos — from more than 1,000 components. Each one takes as much as 450 hours to build, which is more than half the time it takes to build the real vehicle at Goodwood. ItÂ’s then hand-painted with Rolls-Royce color-matched paint and polished by hand. Clients can choose from an astonishing 40,000 standard colors, or replicate a finish of their own choosing. The finished product comes presented in a meter-long display case, set on a gloss-black floor and mounted on a base, with a removable plastic window for closer inspection of the minutiae. “It demonstrates, and reminds us as a company, that inspiring greatness applies at every scale,” the brandÂ’s CEO Torsten Muller-Otvos said in a statement. WeÂ’ve asked Rolls about the price for the miniature and will update this if we hear back. The starting price of the full-size SUV itÂ’s modeled on is $330,000. Related Video:

Former Princess Diana Rolls-Royce being auctioned for charity [w/video]

While it isn't that uncommon to see cars belonging to celebrities and dignitaries roll across the auction block these days, this car is a little extra special. This particular 1979 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow was the car that Prince Charles and Princess Diana arrived at the White House in during a visit in 1985. As some added trivia, this was also the visit where Princess Di cut a rug with none other than John Travolta.
Volo Auto Museum will be auctioning off this piece of American and British history on November 9th - exactly 27 years from Princess Di's White House visit. According to the auction listing, this armored Silver Shadow was the official car of the UK's embassy, and it has been valued at around $2 million by the Berman Museum of History. The auction will have no reserve with some of the proceeds going to the Children with Cancer UK charity that Princess Diana started in 1988.
Scroll down for more information about this car and its auction as well as a video showing Prince Charles and Princess Diana arriving at the White House in the car back in 1985.