2017 Rolls-royce Dawn on 2040-cars

Auto blog

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.

Check out Rolls-Royce's totally awesome AWD mule

No, this isn't just a super badass Phantom. The car you see here – codenamed Project Cullinan – is an early development mule for the new all-wheel-drive suspension system that will eventually be found in Rolls-Royce's upcoming SUV. It's made up of a shortened Phantom body, looks totally murdered out, and has a huge freaking wing on the back. We love it. Of course, Rolls-Royce properly poo-poos any similarities between this mule and the eventual production model. "The body may hint at the size of the new car, but it features no design aspects of the eventual high-sided, all-terrain motor car announced by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars in February this year," the company said in a press release. The end goal of this mule is to create "a final all-wheel-drive system that delivers Rolls-Royce's hallmark 'magic-carpet' ride not only on the road, but off-road too." Screw the SUV. We'll take one as-is. PROJECT CULLINAN BEGINS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME AS ENGINEERING MULE APPEARS IN PUBLIC In its open letter on 18 February this year, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars gave an undertaking to inform stakeholders of the progress of Project Cullinan. Keeping this promise, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has today published photographs depicting the first key milestone in the vehicle's development programme. The photographs are of the first engineering mule, which will be seen on public roads this week. This early engineering mule, based on a shortened Phantom Series II body, has been created purely to begin the development of an all-wheel drive suspension system that will deliver a ride that will be Effortless ... Everywhere. The body may hint at the size of the new car, but it features no design aspects of the eventual high-sided, all-terrain motor car announced by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars in February this year. The mule rides on the first iteration of an all-new suspension that will assist Rolls-Royce engineers in developing a final all-wheel drive system that delivers Rolls-Royce's hallmark "magic-carpet" ride not only on the road, but off-road too. The first series of tests will focus on Project Cullinan's on-road behaviour from suspension throw to high-bodied stability, and will test the new suspension across all types of international road surface specification at test facilities, as well as on public roads. Test surfaces will include; Belgian Pave, cobblestones, corrugated concrete, noise development and measurement surfaces, resonance road, and acceleration bumps.

Rolls-Royce Wraith and Dawn order books closed globally

Rolls-Royce closed order books for the Wraith coupe and Dawn convertible at the end of last year in the U.S. Brand chief Torsten Muller-Otvos told Autocar that both have since been removed from every market. Final orders are still being produced at the Goodwood factory, so the last Wraith and Dawn won't likely leave the line until early next year. But with the taps turned off and nothing to replace them yet, Rolls-Royce will soon be two-thirds of the way done with what has been a very successful chapter in its history. Those two offerings, as well as the Ghost sedan, are based on the architecture BMW created for the 2008 7 Series. Now only the Ghost remains of the trio, at this point planned for production until 2030 when Rolls-Royce will convert being to an electric-only automaker. More modern products like the Phantom II sedan and the Cullinan crossover ride on the company's Architecture of Luxury. That structure will also support the Spectre battery-electric coupe meant to go on sale at the end of 2023. Spectre spy shots reveal a body that looks much like the Wraith; however, Autocar says, "Rolls instead views the Spectre as a belated successor to the coupe version of the seventh-generation Rolls-Royce Phantom, with the pair sharing a similar footprint and the Spectre therefore having its own distinct positioning within the Rolls range." The erstwhile Phantom Coupe's length and wheelbase were about 20 inches longer than those of a Wraith. The Phantom II sedan is but a couple of inches longer than the previous two-door. Point being, the Spectre might be silent, but it won't be small. There will still be some BMW in it, however, like Rolls-Royce's version of the stacked headlights BMW is about to debut on the i7 and X7, and there's speculation the top-dog BMW iX M60i powertrain will cross the Channel to enter Goodwood's service. Peak output for the BMW reaches 610 horsepower and 811 pound-feet of torque, which sound like fine numbers for wafting.