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Rolls-Royce Alpine Trial Centenary Collection celebrates century-old Austrian race

Among the harvest of premieres at the Shanghai Motor Show was a special-edition Rolls-Royce Ghost to celebrate the 1913 Austrian Alpine Trials. Four Rolls-Royce Silver Ghosts entered the race a century ago, and in completing the 1,820-mile challenge flawlessly earned the sobriquet "The Best Car in the World." The new Ghosts commemorating the feat represent two firsts for the brand: Rolls-Royce has never created a bespoke homage to one of its own cars, and it has never released a car with a black grille.
Those two features, as well as blue paint and black wheels, are in tribute to James Radley's privateer entry in that 1913 race that drove alongside the three factory teams. Other special features include the coachline (pinstripe) that evokes the four cars from the 20th-century race, and inside, a color-matched headliner, a clock with the rally stages and times, and topographical inlays on the front fascia and rear picnic tables.
The 20-Ghost Club will be reenacting the event this year, the parade including Radley's 1913 car. It kicks off in Vienna, Austria on June 14. For the time being you can read the press release below and check out the high-res photos above.

Rolls-Royce seriously considering SUV

A Rolls-Royce Phantom may be the size of an SUV, and the Ghost isn't that much smaller. Still, according to reports, the high-end British automaker is seriously evaluating the prospect of adding a proper sport-ute or crossover to its lineup.
The news comes courtesy of Bloomberg, which spoke to Rolls-Royce chief executive Torsten Müller-Ötvös at the Frankfurt Motor Show last week. Although the rumor of a potential Rolls off-roader has been floating around for several months now, this is the first we've seen of the company confirming the possibility.
The development would follow similar projects being undertaken by rival automakers. Former sister-brand Bentley is preparing to launch an SUV, Jaguar revealed its own concept crossover at the same show, Maserati is gearing up to start production of the Levante and even Aston Martin has considered the idea of a crossover.

Rolls-Royce readying Wraith convertible

For seven years, Rolls-Royce got by on the Phantom line alone, expanding on the original saloon with a long-wheelbase version, a coupe and the convertible. But now that the Ghost is part of the family, Goodwood seems to be following a similar expansion.
What started with the Ghost sedan has since been joined by the extended-wheelbase model and the Wraith fastback coupe. And now we're receiving spy shots of a Wraith-based convertible undergoing testing.
Potentially to be called the Wraith Drophead Coupe like its larger Phantom-based counterpart, the cabrio is likely to borrow much from the Wraith fastback - including its 6.6-liter twin-turbo V12 producing 624 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque - but with a folding cloth roof mechanism to let the wind and engine note in, although the prototype pictured here is wearing a makeshift hardtop.