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2021 Rolls-Royce Ghost has a fascinating new part to make it one of the most comfortable cars in the world

One of the neat things about Rolls-Royce is the extraordinary lengths the company will go to for maximum comfort. It's like how supercar builders will look for every little advantage to make their cars a tenth of a second faster. On the 2021 Rolls-Royce Ghost, the company is employing something called the Planar Suspension System, a nebulous designation for the collection of systems and parts employed. Some are straight forward, such as the four-wheel independent air suspension, and the way the GPS and forward cameras inform what level of firmness should be employed on the road. But one part left us perplexed: the upper control arm damper. We spoke to Jon Simms, lead engineer for the Ghost, for more information, and now we have a better grasp on what it is and what it does. As for what it is, it's the roughly horseshoe-shaped object highlighted in purple in the above photo. The yellow parts are bumpstops, and it's mounted on the same joint as the upper control arm. And it turns out it's a pretty simple piece of equipment. It works very much like the harmonic balancer on the end of an engine. It's a weight with a rubber-y flexible hinge, and going over smaller bumps, it absorbs some of the extra vibration and movement from the suspension. Those bumpstops in yellow give the damper some extra purchase on the control arm, and they absorb impacts from larger bumps that may move the control arm suddenly so that the arm and damper don't bang into each other. This may seem like a pretty minor thing, but remember, Rolls-Royce and its buyers are out for maximum comfort, so there's reason to invest in ironing out every possible ride quality issue, no matter the size. And even if it's a minor improvement, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Simms told us that existing Ghost customers they talked to during development had one key request about the driving experience: "don't break it." So making sure that the new car was basically like the last one, but a bit better, would seem to be what customers would want. 2021 Rolls-Royce Ghost View 29 Photos The Ghost is the first Rolls-Royce to adopt this full suite of Planar Suspension System parts, though other Rolls-Royce models have had pieces of the system. And considering the fact the Ghost shares its platform with the Phantom and Cullinan, now, we wouldn't be surprised if later versions of those models pick-up parts like this damper. Related Video:

Rolls-Royce debuts Phantom Drophead Coupe Waterspeed Collection

For the next act in its Bespoke Collection, Rolls-Royce has found one of its own to celebrate with the Phantom Drophead Coupé Waterspeed Collection, noting the achievements of British land and water record-holder Sir Malcolm Campbell. Like a few other racers of his era in the 1920s and 1930s, Campbell used his Bluebird Motor Company and Bluebird Garage to fund his interest in motorsports. He would break the waterspeed record in 1937 in his Bluebird K3 powered by a Rolls-Royce R engine, traveling 126.33 miles per hour on Italy's Lake Maggiore.
We've seen sketches of what Rolls-Royce intended with the Waterspeed Collection, and the real thing is just as handsome, and the new model includes a number of firsts for the marque. The Maggiore Blue exterior paint is also used for highlights on the engine, the polished wheels, two-tone steering wheel and the dashboard. The tonneau cover normally finished in teak is instead done in hand-finished brushed steel, a closer contrast to the Windchill Grey interior. The Abachi wood veneers have also been bookmatched so that their grain evokes the wake of a speeding boat.
The droptop will be shown first at the Bluebird Garage Cafe in London on the site of the original garage, after which it will get its first wider showing at the Concorso D'Eleganza at Villa D'Este later this month. The press release below has a lot more detail on the finer detailing of the Drophead Coupe Waterspeed, and the images above are worth at least 8,000 words.

Michael Fux sure likes fuchsia — now there's a 'Fuxia' Rolls-Royce

Over the weekend, we told you about a McLaren 720S done up in a bespoke color at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, an eye-popping fuchsia that McLaren dubbed "Fux Fuchsia." And now it's showing up on a Rolls-Royce as well, unveiled at The Qual in a color RR calls simply "Fuxia." There's a lot more surface area on a Rolls than on a McLaren, so on a day when we're supposed to save our retinas by not looking directly at the solar eclipse, you might consider wearing your eclipse goggles to view the gallery above. The car is, well, vivid. Fux is a Cuban immigrant who made his millions in mattresses as the founder of Sleep Innovations. A mattress is clearly not where he stores those millions, since he has amassed a vast car collection. This "Dawn in Fuxia" car is his 11th Rolls, each highly personalized. "Michael is a very special patron of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars," said RR CEO Torsten Muller-Otvos in revealing the car. "Rolls-Royce designers love working with him because he constantly challenges them to take their work to an even higher level, delivering a true work of art." The color is said to be based on the petals of a fuchsia flower Fux found last year at Pebble Beach. He presented them to Rolls Royce to replicate. As with the McLaren, Rolls is using Fux's car to highlight the fact that it can build you a bespoke car in any color you want — Rolls says it offers a palette of 44,000 choices. Some of Fux's previous Rolls-Royces have come in these custom colors (each officially named using his name): Fux Blue was his Pebble reveal last year. Before it was Fux Intense Jade Pearl; a two-tone of Aequus Green Jade Pearl, Cornish White Jade Pearl; Deep Purple; Candy Red; and Yellow. Related Video: