1982 Rolls Royce Silver Spirit, 1 Owner Since 1983, 23k Miles! No Reserve!!! on 2040-cars

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Ugur Sahin returns with Rolls Royce Jonckheere Aerodynamic Coupe II design

The "Round Door" Rolls-Royce Phantom I Aerodynamic Coupe (inset) is a magnificent black beast of a car (and you can see it at the Petersen Automotive Museum for a limited time) as well as a mystery: designed by the Jonckheere Works in Belgium in 1935, all records for the one-of-a-kind coupe were destroyed in World War II, so no one knows who designed it or who commissioned it. What remains of the original coachbuilding company now makes bodies for cars and buses, and has asked designer Ugur Sahin to reinterpret the most fabulous car from its history.
We've written about Sahin often before, recently about his Corvette-based Anandi being shown at Top Marques Monaco and going into production. For a man who favors long hoods and short bodies, this particular Rolls-Royce couldn't be better. Sahin says the word "Respect" guided his lines for the 77-year-old car, the most apparent changes being the front fender treatment, the headlights dropping into the fenders, and the serious downsizing of the fin at the rear. Sahin says that there are talks with potential investors about building a one-off.
You can find out a little more about it in the press release below, and check out the gallery above of high-res images for every angle.

Rolls-Royce Phantom Metropolitan Collection wafts into the annals of exclusivity

Limited-edition, hand-built cars are kind of a bizarre thing. On the one hand, people pay umpteen amounts of money for bespoke cars, with the manufacturer adding that iconic descriptor to all its press materials, but then the company goes and produces 20 of the exact same car and sells them as a "special edition." It seems kind of contradictory.
Rolls-Royce must not see it that way, though, as it has just unveiled one of 20 Metropolitan Collection Phantom sedans at the 2014 Paris Motor Show. As the latest member of the brand's Bespoke Collection, the Metropolitan joins the Phantom Drophead Coupe Waterspeed Collection, the Pinnacle Travel and the Ghawwass Edition.
According to Rolls-Royce, the Metropolitan Collection pays "homage to the world's great metropolises" by way of the company's well known craftsmen. The veneers, particularly on the second row picnic table, get extensive attention, with just the table using 500 individual pieces of wood.

Rolls-Royce Ghost Series II represents a host of subtle tweaks

It's not every day that an automaker admits in its own words that a new generation of one of its models is a "subtle redesign," but that's exactly how Rolls-Royce is describing the changes made to its Ghost Series II. Most of the bodywork has seen very light resculpting, including what the brand is calling a tapered "wake channel" that starts just behind the beloved Spirit of Ecstacy's wings evoking "the sight of a jet's vapour trail" and "hinting at the car's dynamism."
So much does Rolls-Royce want to emphasize the Ghost Series II's so-called dynamism that it uses the descriptor a total of eight times in the press release that you're welcome to read below. Looking past that all-too-current buzzword, what we see here is clearly a Rolls-Royce, clearly an ultra-luxury sedan and clearly desirable.
Rest assured, prospective buyers will see all the latest technology inside the new Ghost's interior, including a 10.25-inch high-definition screen and a Spirit of Ecstacy Rotary Controller so as not to "leave unsightly fingerprints at driver and passenger eye level." Of course, plenty of customization is available for the most discerning of buyers, and two new wood veneer options are available - Paldao and Walnut Burr Crossband.