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Rolls-Royce shows its festive side with limited-edition Neon Nights models

Anyone who has traveled to Las Vegas has undoubtedly seen brightly-colored Rolls-Royces parading down the Strip, but these head-turning creations usually weren't painted at the factory. The firm decided to flaunt its flamboyant side and one-up the tuners by releasing a colorful trio of limited-edition models named Neon Nights. Rolls-Royce based the Neon Nights on the Black Badge variants of the Wraith, the Dawn, and the Cullinan. Buyers have three colors to choose from: Lime Rock Green (for the Wraith), Eagle Rock Red (for the Dawn), and Mirabeau Blue (for the Cullinan). The first two receive gray leather, while the latter gets a white interior. Stylists didn't choose these colors at random. Lime Rock Green, in Rolls-Royce's own words, is naturally bestowed on the Australian green tree frog. One of its paint specialists spotted one while traveling. Eagle Rock Red is inspired by the flowers of a Hawaiian tree named 'Ohi'a lehua, and Mirabeau Blue is the paint team's tribute to the Periander metalmark butterfly that's native to Central and South America. After selecting suitably exotic plants and animals, Rolls-Royce's in-house paint team set out to give each hue a neon-like glow. Building the Neon Nights cars on the Black Badge variants peppers a bit of irony on the project, but it also gives customers more power. Pop the Cullinan's long, stately hood to find a 6.75-liter V12 that's twin-turbocharged to 600 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque, up from 563 and 627 in the regular model. Both the Dawn and the Wraith receive a twin-turbocharged, 6.6-liter V12 with 593 horsepower and 620 pound-feet of torque on tap, increases of 30 and 15, respectively, over the cars not ordered with the optional Black Badge package. Rolls-Royce explained it initially planned to cap production at one car per color, and it noted the trio was created specifically for customers in the United States. Unexpected demand from other global markets convinced the company to paint three additional cars in each color, meaning a total of 12 examples will be produced. Pricing hasn't been announced yet, but the buyers the British firm is trying to reach don't need ask for a window sticker. Related Video:

King Charles' electric I-Pace goes to auction next month

Never mind the Bentley State Limousines, the Aston Martin DB6 Volante that Queen Elizabeth II bought him on his 21st birthday, or the Rolls-Royce Phantom VI valued at more than $600,000. The car of the moment, if we’re talking about the garage of King Charles III of England, is a far more ordinary — and all-electric — Jaguar I-Pace purchased in 2018 by His Majesty “for his personal use." The royal Jag is set to be auctioned off March 2 at the famed Ascot Racecourse; estimated selling price is as high as $88,000. If you miss out on the auction of a president's former ride, here's one from a king. The SUV, notable as the first all-electric vehicle to be embraced by the royal family, is the range-topping I-Pace EV400 HSE all-wheel-drive luxury five-seater that the king — prince of Wales at the time — bought in September 2018 for $75,000. According to the auction site, the Jag was "purchased with his own money." Charles had Jaguar install a fast charger at Clarence House, his residence. The vehicle was returned to a Jaguar dealership after two years — itÂ’s not clear if it had been leased — with only 3,000 miles on the clock. Subsequently, the SUV was sold to one Karen French of Oxfordshire. She said in a statement offered by Historics Auctioneers, “This I-Pace was exactly what I was looking for and pretty much on my doorstep. It was only when I agreed to buy it that I discovered its extraordinary history — I was absolutely thrilled. Having driven it over 30,000 miles,” she added, ”I decided in the New Year that it was time for a change.” Noted by the auctioneers in typical British understatement, the high-specification car was uniquely finished in Loire Blue and remains the only I-Pace “to be painted in this colour, whilst those inside the car enjoyed a sumptuous, contrasting leather interior in, fittingly, Light Oyster Windsor.” A revised Jaguar I-Pace is scheduled to arrive next year. Regarding the KingÂ’s affection for automobiles — British automobiles — he reportedly overseas a fleet worth more than $17 million. And while heÂ’s fond of driving conventional vehicles, he told the BBC some years ago that “my old Aston Martin, which I've had for 51 years, runs on — can you believe this — surplus English white wine, and whey from the cheese process.” Essentially the classic had been converted to run on E85 bio-ethanol. "The engineers at Aston said, 'Oh, it'll ruin the whole thing,'" Charles shared with The Telegraph in 2018.

On this Rolls Ghost, diamonds are forever in the paint

Diamonds, the hardest rocks in the world, are found in everything from jewelry to tools – and now automotive paint. Rolls-Royce, a company happy to help paying customers indulge in one-of-a-kind, specially customized cars, has produced a long-wheelbase Ghost with a paint job featuring 1,000 crushed diamonds. It's called "Elegance," which seems like a pretty fitting name. One thing is for sure, the paint is dazzling in these photos. So the two months Rolls-Royce spent testing diamond paint finishes seem to have paid off. The rest of the car is a bit more run-of-the-mill Rolls-Royce, which is to say still pretty custom. It has hand-painted coachlines in red and black along the flanks, and the 21-inch wheels have matching red pinstripes. The color scheme is continued inside. Up front, everything is black, from the leather seats to the wool carpets. The sea of black is punctuated by red stitching and piping on the seats, as well as open-pore oak wood trim on the dash. In the back, the seats are a lighter gray leather with the same red stitching and piping. Our favorite part, though, is the plaid upholstery that lines the space in the front seats into which the rear tray tables fold. The car will be on display at the Geneva Motor Show alongside a few other older Rolls-Royce Bespoke models. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.