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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

Muhammad Ali's 1970 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow is going for auction

Boxing fans and Rolls-Royce fans, get your wallets ready. A very special car is going to cross the Bonhams auction block this October. It's a 1970 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow Mulliner Park Ward convertible that was owned by none other than Muhammad Ali, the boxer that ended George Foreman's undefeated streak. Bonhams reports that the car was owned by Ali for 6 years, meaning Ali must've enjoyed this car and used it quite a bit. The company postulates that since Ali bought the car in 1970, it may have been a celebratory purchase, since that was the first year Ali could box again after a five-year ban from the sport for being a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War. The car itself has a number of notable features. For one thing, Bonhams says the car is completely unrestored, and is in quite good condition as such. It also is apparently one of just 272 Silver Shadow Mulliner Park Wards that were built with left-hand drive. It ended up in Holland after Ali's tenure with it, which is partly why it will go for auction at a Bonhams auction in Belgium. Also interesting is that this is a celebrity car – a nice one, too – that is in the realm of affordability. Bonhams estimates it could sell for between $47,000 and $70,000. The low end of that price is actually a couple grand less than Hagerty's estimate of $49,200 for a concours-ready example without celebrity history. And even at the high end, you'll still be paying way less for this than, say, a new Rolls-Royce Ghost. So if you can get yourself to Holland and have the means to buy and ship the car, this could be a way to get a great celebrity car for not a massive amount of money. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Ugur Sahin returns with Rolls Royce Jonckheere Aerodynamic Coupe II design

The "Round Door" Rolls-Royce Phantom I Aerodynamic Coupe (inset) is a magnificent black beast of a car (and you can see it at the Petersen Automotive Museum for a limited time) as well as a mystery: designed by the Jonckheere Works in Belgium in 1935, all records for the one-of-a-kind coupe were destroyed in World War II, so no one knows who designed it or who commissioned it. What remains of the original coachbuilding company now makes bodies for cars and buses, and has asked designer Ugur Sahin to reinterpret the most fabulous car from its history.
We've written about Sahin often before, recently about his Corvette-based Anandi being shown at Top Marques Monaco and going into production. For a man who favors long hoods and short bodies, this particular Rolls-Royce couldn't be better. Sahin says the word "Respect" guided his lines for the 77-year-old car, the most apparent changes being the front fender treatment, the headlights dropping into the fenders, and the serious downsizing of the fin at the rear. Sahin says that there are talks with potential investors about building a one-off.
You can find out a little more about it in the press release below, and check out the gallery above of high-res images for every angle.