Rolls-Royce cars

2013 Rolls Royce Ghost One Thousand and One Nights Edition

There are likely just a few people in the world who have not read at least one chapter from the incredible “One Thousand and One Nights.” And it looks like Scheherazade stories not only inspired our childhood, but also a bespoke collection offered by Rolls Royce Middle East.

The new Rolls Royce Ghost One Thousand and One Nights Edition is offered in a variety of two-tone paint schemes, which are specially mixed by Rolls Royce’s bespoke team in Goodwood, England. Each unit will feature a "One Thousand and One Nights" logo elegantly framing the door handles.

Geoff Briscoe, Director Middle East, Africa and Latin America for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, said: "A Rolls-Royce is the perfect canvas from which to commission highly individual motoring masterpieces. The One Thousand and One Nights collection is a testament to the ability of our bespoke designers to take inspiration from a rich array of cultures."

The One Thousand and One Nights Ghost will debut at the Sharjah International Automobile Show on November 28th.

Click past the jump to read Rolls-Royce’s full press release.

2013 Rolls Royce Ghost

The 2013 Rolls Royce Ghost will embrace very subtle revisions to the interior upholstery and the infotainment system of the car. What possibly can they upgrade or facelift? It’s already the perfect car, but it will be seeing similar revisions already found in the Phantom Series 2, apart from the day-time LEDs.

Revisions in the 2013 Ghost were mostly concentrated on the infotainment system of the car. It features an all new, advanced amplifier with the addition of ‘exciter’ speakers. Sounds exciting? The upholstery now comes with natural grain leather and cross-banded wood veneers. If this is an option they are introducing now, what was the type of leather they were using? Printed leather? Certainly that wouldn’t go along with Rolls Royce’s reputation of building hand-made cars out of exclusive materials.

On the outside, a new alloy wheel option will be available for customers who aren’t satisfied with the current options along with an all new, cool feature called the Comfort Access Boot. This feature lets you open the boot using your feet with the help of a sensor under the rear bumper, should both hands be full. It’s a neat feature that doesn’t require the hassle of taking the key out of the pocket while juggling shopping bags, but in a Rolls Royce?

Though it cannot be considered an incremental upgrade at all, except the cool boot feature, the 2013 Rolls Royce Ghost is, nevertheless, a car that sticks true to the Rolls Royce tradition of absolute perfection, immaculate ride, and supreme refinement. What is your take on the 2013 Rolls Royce Ghost? Let us know in the comments section.

Report: Cosworth is Up For Sale

For many years, Cosworth has been providing Formula One teams with high-performance engines and rumors have been floating around that it may pull out when the new F1 engine standards take hold in 2014. When Williams chose to drop Cosworth as its engine supplier in 2011 and switch to Renault, it looked like the nail had been firmly driven into Cosworth’s F1-racing coffin. Cosworth continued on with only two teams using its engines – Marussia and HRT – and its current owners have reportedly seen enough.

A report out of the UK-based newspaper, The Times, is stating that the famed engine builder’s owners have chosen to sell the company. According to the same report, Rolls-Royce is being tossed around as a potential suitor for the high-performance engine builder. The reason Rolls-Royce comes up is because Rolls is also one of Cosworth’s key customers in the aerospace side of its business. That would immediately give Rolls-Royce a leg up in the aerospace industry and net it a leg up in auto racing as a byproduct.

There are several other names floating around, like British aerospace company, GKN, but Rolls is certainly the front runner at this point. The fact that it can also benefit from the automotive engine technology could really push Rolls to up the ante and give Cosworth’s owners a fair bid. Whoever chooses to buy the automotive and aerospace company needs to work fast, as it will need to have an engine build and tested in time for the 2014 F1 season, if it hopes to compete.

We’ll keep an eye on how things shape up and let you know if any other bidders arise. Hopefully this doesn’t turn into a Saab-like situation.

Spy Shots: Rolls Royce Corniche Tests at the Nurburgring

The last time we caught the upcoming Rolls Royce Corniche testing, it was somewhere in Europe on roads typical to the testing of luxury vehicles, but now Rolls Royce is trying something a little unusual for a car of this caliber. The company took the Ghost-based coupe to the Nurburgring track for some testing. According to the company, this will be the sportiest and best handling Rolls Royce ever, as well as the fastest production Rolls Royce to wear the Spirit of Ectasy ornament.

These images show a well-camouflaged prototype and although Rolls Royce is still trying to fool us with those attached door handles, we are pretty sure the doors will open in suicide-style just like in the Phantom Coupe.

Under the hood, there will be a turbocharged V12 engine delivering as much as 600 HP that will be sent to the rear wheels via a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission.

2012 Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe Art Deco Special Edition

Everything is better in threes, so they say.

Okay, we may or may not have made that up, but at least someone seems to agree with us because British automaker Rolls Royce went to the 2012 Paris Motor Show with not one, not two, but three special edition "Art Deco" models - much to our excitement.

The three special edition models are based on pretty much the entire line-up of models Rolls has under its disposal: the flagship Phantom, the inimitable Ghost, and the topless Phantom Drophead Coupe.

The last of the troika, the Phantom Drophead Coupe, is arguably the freshest of the bunch, not only because it’s dropping swag like it’s hot, but because the car’s matching Light Blue exterior and interior makes us want to take this baby out for a ride out on the road with the wind blowing through our hair.

Add the specially designed Mother of Pearl trim detailing in the interior and you have a uniquely finished luxury convertible that not only catches enough attention to last a lifetime, but more importantly looks good in doing so.

By the way, having a 6.75-liter V12 engine that produces 453 horsepower and 531 lb/ft of torque with a 5.7-second 0-60 mph time and a top speed of 149 mph?

That helps too.

2013 Rolls Royce Ghost Art Deco Special Edition

The second of the three "Art Deco Special Edition" models British luxury automaker Rolls Royce is bringing to the 2012 Paris Motor Show was a unique take on the Ghost.

As if the Ghost isn’t unique enough by itself, Rolls Royce is taking a whole new approach with this one, dressing it up in a two-tone Jubilee Silver and Cobalt Blue exterior finish. Inside, the fine and fresh interior enhancements include a blindingly white leather interior with contrasting blue accents, a full wood dashboard, and last but certainly not least, bespoke marquetry adorning trim pieces that you can find throughout the cabin.

Under the hood, no modifications were given to this expected-to-be rare as rare can be Ghost Art Deco Special Edition. Be that as it may, the luxury sedan’s 6.6-liter twin-turbo V12 engine with 563 horsepower, a 0-62 mph time of 4.7 seconds, and a top speed of 155 mph, is still plenty impressive in our book.

Finally, pricing for the Ghost Art Deco Special Edition has yet to be announced, although as a unique, special edition model, expect it to cost more than just a shiny penny if it does hit the production block.

2013 Rolls Royce Phantom Art Deco Special Edition

British automaker Rolls-Royce will be bringing three special edition models to the 2012 Paris Motor Show, all while paying tribute to the 1925 Paris Exposition, which was the site for the birth of the phrase ’Art Deco.’

The first of these models is for the Rolls-Royce Phantom. Considered the flagship model of the British luxury car brand, the Phantom Art Deco Special Edition has been treated to a bevy of bespoke enhancements, highlighted by a fresh interior that has been dressed with an Arctic White leather treatment and contrasting black accents. On top of that, the interior also gets added goodies like hand-finished stainless steel inlays on the drawers, door cappings, and rear picnic tables.

More than just a showpiece model, the Phantom Art Deco Special Edition is Rolls-Royce’s way of giving customers a peg on what a custom art deco car should look like. The British automaker is even taking it a step further by giving its customers an opportunity to build their own custom art deco cars, with the modifications on the three special edition models serving as inspiration.

As far as the Phantom is concerned, its engine remains intact, which means that you can expect a 6.7-liter V12 engine that produces 453 horsepower and 531 lb/ft of torque to go with a 0-60 mph time of just 5.7 seconds and a top speed of 149 mph.

2012 Rolls-Royce Ghost "One-Off Qatar" Edition

The phrase "one-off" has been popularly used in the auto industry these days with plenty of automakers building one-off models for their popular line of vehicles.

The latest to do so is British luxury car maker Rolls Royce. Sure, they’re not known for one-off customizations like this one, but for a special client in Qatar, they went the extra mile, building a unique Rolls Royce Ghost with a two-tone English White and Ensign Red finish. The Ensign Red color, in particular, appears to be something Rolls Royce cooked up in their shops, accounting for a great chunk of the luxury car’s characterized phrase of one-off exclusivity.

Inside, there are also plenty of upgrades, highlighted by an interior trim that’s unmistakably Rolls-Royce: Seashell with Consort Red leather and an Elm Cluster veneer. Adding touches of panache to the leather and veneer, Rolls also added Consort Red accents that extend all the way to the dashboard, the steering wheel, and even the lower section of the floor.

For a one-off model, Rolls Royce did this Ghost some justice. Some people may be flippish on it, but from our end, it looks pretty good.

Heck, it’s even better when you account for its 6.6-liter twin-turbo V12 engine with 563 horsepower, a 0-62 mph time of 4.7 seconds, and a top speed of 155 mph.

Video: Jay Leno and the Pebble Beach Concepts

Jay Leno had a ton of fun at the 2012 Pebble Beach Concours, taking in all of the luxury vehicles in attendance, including all of the concepts revealed. In the last episode of Jay Leno’s Garage show, Leno took his time reviewing the Lamborghini Sesto Elemento and the Urus Concepts, but his new episode focuses more on the other concepts presented at the show.

Leno got an up-close look at Infiniti’s fully electric Emerg-E, as well as the latest concept coupes from Rolls-Royce Bespoke and Mercedes-Benz. The first concept to be reviewed is the Emerge-E, which received less than stellar marks. Next, Leno takes a look at the Mercedes-Benz Concept Style Coupe which will be unveiled in production form sometime next year. His final concept to review was the Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe Aviator Collection which is also set to be put into limited production.

Rolls-Royce launches new "PPSL" app that allows you to find used Rolls-Royce models

Rolls-Royce is breaking new company ground with the launch of its latest app, which has been designed to help you find used Rolls-Royce models without so much of a hassle.

The app is called the Provenance Pre-owned Stock Locator and follows the Provenance app that Rolls-Royce launched last year for its certified pre-owned vehicle program. Among the features of the PPSL app include easy-to-navigate search filters, as well as a feature that allows users to be able to make direct auto comparisons.

The app works in such a way that users can search for certain Rolls-Royce models in a specific country. From there, they can specify the exact model depending on a number of variables, including the car’s model, age, mileage, budget, or color.

For all the neat features of the app, it does have one caveat. The app will only cater to the highest grade models, which will be determined by a team of factory-trained technicians, who, in turn, will subject the car to a comprehensive road test before grading them.

The PPSL app can be accessed on the company’s official homepage and is available for the iPad, PCs, Macs, and most smartphones.