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Rolls-Royce's CEO shares his 3 favorite details of the Spectre EV

Rolls-Royce's first electric car, the $420,000 Spectre, has arrived. At a press event marking the EV's launch, the brand's CEO, Torsten Muller-Otvos told Insider he's proud of what Rolls-Royce has achieved in a big-picture sense — by transplanting the essential character of a Rolls into a vehicle with a completely novel powertrain and fuel source. But when asked about his absolute favorite parts of the new model, a few smaller, more subtle details sprang to mind.  Those taillights Rolls-Royce is renowned for painstakingly making sure every detail on a vehicle is as elegant as possible. Look closely at the Spectre's taillights and you'll notice they're single, uninterrupted parts, plunged into a smooth, uninterrupted body panel. Rolls-Royce says this sophisticated look is meant to evoke "islands in a lake." Most cars' taillights are broken up by a trunk lid, or butt up against a gap in the bodywork. That makes things easier, the brand's design director, Anders Warming, said. But the Spectre isn't most cars.  Achieving that look and making sure everything was water-tight took lots of engineering, Muller-Otvos said.  "The effort we've put into those rear lights to give them that shape and also more or less stick them into the body was quite something," he said. "We finally got there, and it works." A grille? On an EV? What's a Rolls-Royce without its iconic, upright grille? It's such a recognizable design element that Rolls-Royce decided to keep it for the Spectre, even though there's no radiator or engine up front. "I also love the detail of the Pantheon grille, because that was also something not in any way debatable," Muller-Otvos said. "You might argue you don't need a grille because there is no cooling air needed, but obviously this is such a signifier of our brand that we said it's unthinkable not to have one." Muller-Otvos said the company went to great lengths to adjust the grille's design so it would deflect air around the car and aid aerodynamics. In an EV, every bit of drag you can eliminate adds driving range.  A brake pedal with a new feature Every new Rolls has doors that electronically swing shut at the push of a button. The Spectre introduces a new feature that makes things even more effortless. Now all you need to do is hop in and press the brake pedal, and the driver's door closes automatically.  Read the original article on Business Insider

Senna director working on biopic about Rolls-Royce founders

Asif Kapadia, the director of the amazing motorsports documentary Senna, has signed on to helm Silver Ghost, a film about the earliest days of Rolls-Royce. Martin Scorsese is among the movie's producers, and Lord Richard Attenborough was involved with the project before his death. Silver Ghost would tell the story of Charles Rolls and Henry Royce at the beginning of the 20th century. Automotive pioneer Lord John Douglas-Scott Montagu and his wife would also have roles. It seems that the film will involve the story of how Montagu's mistress, Eleanor Velasco Thornton, inspired the iconic Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament. "What struck me when I read Silver Ghost was how this true story weaves together the lives of five remarkable people that changed the destiny of the Western world and I am delighted to be working together with the legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese and Anthony Haas to bring it to the screen," Kapadia said in the announcement. "Most of the filming is due to take place in England and the intention is for production to begin later this year," project spokesperson Brigitte Hill told Autoblog. She wouldn't unveil anything about the cast at this stage, understandably. We first heard about Silver Ghost in 2012 when Scorsese and Attenborough were working on it. They reportedly had a script from Goldeneye screenwriter Jeffrey Caine and playwright Sharman Macdonald. Silver Ghost is among several automotive biopics that could arrive in cinemas. A Ferruccio Lamborghini film might start shooting this summer, and Robert De Niro has a Ferrari movie in the works. Leonardo Di Caprio also already has the big-screen rights to a future book about the Volkswagen diesel scandal. That's a huge crop of car movies, and we couldn't be more excited about it. Related Video: X ASIF KAPADIA TO DIRECT FEATURE LENGTH DRAMA SILVER GHOST PRODUCED BY MARTIN SCORSESE & ANTHONY HAAS 29/01/16 from Beaulieu Print this page Add this release to Your Downloads Asif Kapadia is to direct the Martin Scorsese/Anthony Haas produced feature film drama SILVER GHOST. The project will be a co-production between Scorsese's Sikelia Productions and Zuma Productions.

Rolls-Royce to decide on SUV by year's end

The market for high-end luxury SUVs continues to climb, but Rolls-Royce is in no huge rush to jump on the leather-clad, high-riding bandwagon. The company has just announced a new sales record for the fifth year running, with over 4,000 units delivered in 2014. But it recognizes that SUVs are where the market is going, so it's going to carefully weigh its options, and make a decision on how to proceed by the end of 2015. This according to Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Muller-Otvos in speaking with Auto Express. "There is not yet a final decision, because we still need to answer a couple of questions ourselves," said Muller-Otvos in regard to a potential SUV, admitting, "You need to move the brand from time to time, you need to go with the flow. We might even see in a few years that the classical sedan segments are shrinking due to the fact that SUV type vehicles are growing. So if you don't change your product portfolio to something that is up to date then at some point in time you might even die." If the storied Goodwood-based marque does proceed with an SUV, it would be following former sister-company Bentley into the segment. But they're not the only ones. Mercedes is said to be preparing a Maybach version of the next GL-Class, Jaguar Land Rover keeps making increasingly expensive and luxurious Range Rovers, and Maserati is preparing to launch its Levante crossover. The prospect of an SUV isn't the only project Rolls-Royce has in the works, though. It's got a convertible version of the Wraith coming soon, and sooner or later there will be a replacement for the thirteen-year-old Phantom saloon, potentially to include some carbon fiber in its construction to help trim weight. A hybrid powertrain could be in the mix as well, though customers have shunned the idea of a pure electric model. Just don't expect a Rolls-Royce more accessible than the Ghost: the company is glad to be growing its sales, but is not chasing any specific sales targets that would press it to cheapen the brand by going down-market.