1977 Rolls Royce Silver Wraith Ii Base Sedan 4-door 6.7l on 2040-cars

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Rolls-Royce releases sketch of Phantom Drophead Coupe Bespoke Waterspeed Collection

A limited-edition Rolls-Royce Phantom is something of an oxymoron. The company only sold 3,630 cars last year, and even fewer of those were its flagship Phantom. However, that isn't keeping the company from regularly revealing even more limited editions of its already hyper-exclusive cars. This is precisely the case with the new Phantom Drophead Coupé Bespoke Waterspeed Collection, a forthcoming model limited to 35 examples.
The special models are inspired by a famous speedboat race on September 1, 1937, between the United States and Great Britain on Lake Maggiore on the Swiss-Italian border. The British fielded the Bluebird K3 hydroplane boat powered by a massive supercharged V12 Rolls-Royce R-Type engine with Sir Malcolm Campbell at the helm. All that displacement shot the sleek watercraft to 129.5 miles per hour, claiming a new world waterspeed record in the process.
For the special commemorative Drophead Coupé model that celebrates "a seminal act of British daring and endeavor," Rolls-Royce is finishing the convertible in Maggiore Blue paint with a brushed steel hood and tonneau cover, along with inlaid wood trim. Rolls is not announcing an official release date or price for the special cars yet, but they are going on sale before the end of the year. Scroll down for the whole story about the car's inspiration.

Is your brain predisposed to make you love Rolls-Royce?

XCAR has taken a look at what could very well be one of the most quintessential British cars ever built: the 1973 Rolls-Royce Corniche. The question at hand is whether or not expensive luxury items like artisan foods, designer clothing and yes, high-end automobiles are worth their monetary cost. Do they bring some undefined additional value to the table over their low-buck counterparts, or are they simply an excellent way to part a fool from his dollar bills? While the video below can't comment on four-course meals or $400 jeans, our valiant host does have a word or two on the joy a Rolls-Royce can bring to your life.
That's even true of a model like the '73 Corniche. Built during one of the darker days of the company's history, the convertible was designed and manufactured by an automaker on the verge of collapse. Still, it manages to hold on to that essential spirit of luxury so crucial to the Rolls-Royce brand. Check out the video below to see what we mean.

BMW shuffles chairs in its design department

BMW Group has made some changes to its design team since August 1, and has shuffled top personnel to different positions at BMW Design, Mini Design and Rolls-Royce.
The BMW Design team led by Karim Habib (middle, right) gains a new head of Exterior Design in Domagoj Dukec (right), who has worked for the exterior design team since 2010 and shaped the Concept Active Tourer.
Oliver Heilmer (left), who has worked for BMW's interior design unit since 2000 and designed the 5 Series interior, replaces Marc Girard as head of Interior Design BMW Automobiles. Marc Girard goes to manage BMW's subsidiary design group, BMW DesignworksUSA.