1991 Rolls Royce Silver Spur Super Low Miles Lunch Tray on 2040-cars

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Leaked patent images reveal one-off Rolls-Royce with boattail rear end

Rolls-Royce's bee apiary is expected to produce a record-breaking amount of honey in 2020, but the 250,000 bees that live and work on the company's property aren't the only ones staying busy this year. Leaked patent images posted online have revealed a one-off coupe that was likely commissioned by a wealthy collector. Spanish enthusiast forum Coches Spias first published the images, which were released by Brazil's patent authority. Up front, the coupe falls in line with the company's current design language with a tall, upright grille and thin LEDs positioned above a set of round headlights. Suicide doors add a touch of class to the overall design, and flying buttresses that stretch over what look like blacked-out b-pillars connect the roof to the rear end.  Rolls-Royce has dabbled in one-off, client-requested models before; it introduced the one-of-a-kind Sweptail in 2017. Shown below, it took the form of a big coupe with a trailing boattail design, but the model depicted in the patent images takes the maritime-inspired design a step further with what looks like wooden decking over the rear end. We'll let you decide if it resembles a boat, or a fancy tonneau cover built for a classic pickup truck. View 14 Photos Although technical details didn't accompany the patent images, we're speculating the one-off is based on the Wraith, which is the only coupe in the Rolls-Royce range. Shortening the Phantom's platform is certainly feasible, but it sounds like a tremendous amount of work, even for what was certainly a money-no-object build. Venturing further into speculation territory leads us to a 6.6-liter V12 engine, which effortlessly develops 624 horsepower and 605 pound-feet of torque when it's bolted in the Wraith's engine bay. It likely powers this car, too, but its power levels might have increased. It probably spins the rear wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission. Rolls-Royce is keeping its lips sealed about this project. We expect to learn more about it in the coming months, but some details (like the identity of the collector who commissioned it) might not be revealed until several years after the coupe's global introduction. As for pricing, keep in mind the aforementioned Sweptail allegedly cost $13 million. It's not the most expensive new car ever sold; that honor goes to the Bugatti La Voiture Noire. It cost about $12.5 million before taxes, and over $18 million after, claiming it the title. Related Video:    

The best cars we drove this year

Six hundred and fifty. That's roughly how many cars pass through the hands of Autoblog editors every year, from the vehicles we test here at home, to the cars we drive on new product launches, testing roundups, long-term cars, and so on. Of course, our individual numbers vary due to several reasons, but at the end of the day, our team's repertoire of automotive experience is indeed vast. But let's be honest, some cars certainly stand out more than others. So as the year's about to turn, and as we're readying brand-new daily cat calendars for our cubicles, our editors are all taking time to reflect on the machinery that made this year so special, with one simple, open-ended question as the guide – a question that we're asked quite frequently, from friends, family, colleagues, and more. "What's the best car you drove this year?" Lamborghini Huracan When I review the list of everything I drove in 2014, picking an absolute favorite becomes almost impossible. I mean, how does one delineate between the joy offered by cars as different as the Alfa Romeo 4C, Volkswagen Golf R, Mercedes-AMG GT S and even the humble-yet-wonderful Chevy Colorado? Okay fine, I'll just pick the Lamborghini. I drove the Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4 on a racetrack, in the mountains, and along southern coast of Spain. It felt like the king of the car jungle in all of those places, sucking the eyeballs of observers nearly out of their heads as it drove by, and almost melting my brain with its cocktail of speed and grip and intense communication. It feels a little easy to say that the one new supercar I drove this year was also my favorite, but the fact is that the Huracan is one of the finest cars I've driven during my career, let alone 2014. Judge me if you must. – Seyth Miersma Senior Editor Rolls-Royce Wraith There are a couple of ways to look at the question, "What's the best car you drove this year?" In terms of what was so good I'd go out and buy one tomorrow, that'd be my all-time sweetheart, the Volkswagen GTI. Or if I'm just talking about sheer cool-factor, maybe something like the Galpin GTR1, BMW i8, or Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG. But instead, I'm going to write about the sheer opulence of being the best of the best. The hand-crafted, holier-than-thou, shut-your-mouth-when-I'm-talking-to-you supremacy. I'm picking the Rolls-Royce Wraith. I drove the Wraith for a week in April, and was really, really impressed. This car does everything, perfectly.

Rolls-Royce debuts Phantom Coupe Aviator Collection at Pebble Beach

As if its cars aren't already exclusive enough on their own merit, Rolls-Royce is debuting an ultra-limited production version of the Phantom Coupe at Pebble Beach today. With only 35 cars expected to be built, the Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe Aviator Collection celebrates Charles Stewart Rolls - Rolls-Royce co-founder - who had a passion for flying and was only the second man in Britain to have a pilot's license before his death in 1910.
Unique elements of the Phantom Coupe Aviator Collection include the Aviator Grey exterior hue accented with a matte finish on the grille, hood and window frame. Setting the aeronautical theme of the car, the interior is fitted with exclusive features like the matte-black instrument gauges, an aviation-grade clock in the middle of the dash and a lower dash veneer that mimics the look of an old wooden airplane propeller. Even the transmission tunnel boasts an anodized aluminum cover with exposed torx-head bolts which attempts to match the fuselage of Rolls' award-winning (and Rolls-Royce-powered) Supermarine S6B aircraft.
No detail was overlooked in creating a truly unique atmosphere for the Aviator Collection so much so that it has a leather-lined glove box with the following quote from Rolls himself embossed into it: