1986 Rolls-royce Silver Spirit/spur/dawn on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Check out King Charles III's $17.6 million car collection

King Charles III's coronation will take place in England on May 6, and being crowned a monarch comes with a long list of perks with four wheels. He will gain full access to the Royal Family's fleet of cars, which is valued at about GBP14 million (approximately $17.6 million). The two most expensive cars in the collection are nearly identical: they're a pair of Bentley State Limousine models (pictured) built for Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles III's mother, in 2002. Only two units were made, and they're both part of the Royal Family's fleet, so they're difficult to put a value on; it's not like one is going to end up listed on your favorite auction site anytime soon. British company Nationwide Vehicle Contracts, which compiled the list, estimates that each armored, 245-inch long sedan is worth at least GBP10,000,000 (roughly $12.6 million). Dropping below the eight-digit threshold, the second-most-valuable car in the Royal Family's fleet isn't really a car. It's the Gold State Coach, which Matchbox recently released a 1/64-scale replica of, and its value is estimated at GBP1.6 million (about $2 million). At 275 inches long it's even bigger than the Bentley limousine and it weighs about 9,000 pounds. It's 261 years old and designed to be pulled by eight horses, and has been part of every coronation since 1831. The rest of the Royal Family's vehicles are relatively mundane. There's a 1965 Aston Martin DB6 Volante that Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Phillip, bought for King Charles III on his 21st birthday. It's worth GBP1 million (about $1.2 million). The collection also includes a Rolls-Royce Phantom VI (about $627,000), a Bentley Bentayga (about $201,000), a Land Rover Range Rover long-wheelbase Landaulet ($133,000), a Jaguar XE (about $41,000), and a Land Rover Defender ($38,000). "Luxury cars have long been associated with the monarch and King Charles III, in particular, is known for his fondness of motor vehicles. His impressive collection features sentimental value with motors passed down from his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, to cars bought for him by his parents," explained Keith Hawes, the director of Nationwide Vehicle Contracts, in an interview with CBS News. Being at the head of a car-making nation's royal family also comes with drawbacks: Every vehicle in King Charles III's fleet is British.

Not every Rolls-Royce Cullinan Black Badge comes in black

SPARTANBURG, S.C. — When Rolls-Royce recently unveiled the Cullinan Black Badge, the released press photos were of a very black car in a very black environment. But that did not match the car that was actually shown to the press. Quite the opposite, actually. The small event at the BMW Zentrum factory in South Carolina took place at night under a set of bright lights, and the car that came through the curtain wore a bright white body. We were fortunate enough to spend a brief time with the white Black Badge and snapped some photos of its details. As a reminder, all Black Badges have upgraded performance on top of the altered visual cues. Its twin-turbocharged 6.75-liter V8 has been upgraded to make 600 horsepower and 664 lb-ft of torque, and the brakes, suspension and exhaust have been retuned as well. We spent an extremely limited amount of time in the Black Badge, so we cannot offer full comments about how it drives, but we can say the exhaust offers a nice insulated grumble in "Low" mode, the quickness off the line doesn't make any sense for a vehicle its size (trust us, it is huge), and it seemed controlled while cruising up the curves onto the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina, where these photos were taken.  The white paint exaggerates the parts Rolls-Royce darkens on all Black Badge models. The Spirit of Ecstasy, the grille surround, the inverted badging, the side frame finishers, the trunk handle, the trunk trim, the lower air inlet finisher, and the exhaust pipes have all gone black. Inside, this particular Cullinan has a red leather interior with patterned carbon fiber accents. It also has light contrast stitching, which includes infinity signs, a symbol used on Sir Malcolm Campbell's Rolls-Royce-powered Blue Bird K3 hydroplane. Check out all the details, including the built-in event seats in the trunk, in our massive gallery above. Featured Gallery White Rolls-Royce Black Badge Cullinan View 55 Photos Design/Style Rolls-Royce Luxury rolls-royce cullinan

Rolls-Royce to auction first Dawn in America for charity

Want to get your hands on the first new Rolls-Royce Dawn to reach North America? The automaker will auction off the first of its new convertibles in the US at the Naples Winter Wine Festival in January. All proceeds will go to charity. The Dawn is the new drophead counterpart to the Ghost and Wraith. The four-seat convertible features a 6.6-liter twin-turbo V12 good for 563 horsepower and 575 pound-feet of torque, channeled to the rear wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission for a 0-62 time of under five seconds. It's a suitable foil to the likes of the Bentley Continental GTC and Mercedes-Benz S-Class convertible. Rolls-Royce introduced the Dawn at the Frankfurt Motor Show just a couple of months ago, and will begin arriving at dealers in April. The example pictured here will be the first to arrive in North America. It'll be outfitted by the Bespoke division in Arctic White with a Deep Red roof and a corresponding interior with Indian Rosewood trim and unique treadplates. It's valued at over $400,000, but bidding will start at $335,000 at the wine fest scheduled for January 29-31 at the Ritz-Carlton in Naples, FL. Proceeds from the auction will go towards the Naples Children & Education Foundation. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Offers Once-In-A-Generation Opportunity To Own The Sexiest Rolls-Royce Ever Built Bidder at the 2016 Naples Winter Wine Festival will become the first North American customer to receive the new Rolls-Royce Dawn WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J., Nov. 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Bidders at the 2016 Naples Winter Wine Festival will have a truly exclusive opportunity to become the first North American customer to receive the sexiest Rolls-Royce ever built. The all-new Rolls-Royce Dawn marks a new horizon in the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars' lineup of pinnacle motor cars, and the brand has offered the very first delivery in North America to benefit Naples' charities. This Dawn will be offered at the Naples Winter Wine Festival to be held from January 29-31 2016 at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort in Naples, Florida with proceeds benefiting the Festival's founding organization, the Naples Children & Education Foundation. A true four-seater, Dawn is the most social of super-luxury drophead motor cars. Its effortless elegance and luxurious, yet approachable demeanor fits seamlessly into the backdrop of the 16th annual Naples Winter Wine Festival.