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Rolls-Royce sketching out SUV for possible 'late 2017' release

With each new story on the Rolls-Royce SUV, the Goodwood automaker comes off as more at ease with their reluctantly birthed yet necessary sport ute. Company design chief Giles Taylor told Autocar that his team is still "sketching to assess the viability of the concept," which to ours ears means they're trying to figure out if such a beast is even possible within the confines of the brand. If it is, Taylor says it will be "a shooting brake, not a crossover with a sloping roof. A proper SUV."
A different company source, unnamed, seems confident that Taylor's team will figure it out, telling the magazine it would start at 200,000 pounds ($335K US). However, that same source said the vehicle will be "a kind of Mercedes-GLK-plus-plus," which is a baffling description in several ways. More reasonable is the speculation that it will ride on Ghost, not Phantom, architecture and make its debut sometime around late 2017.
That Ghost platform is expected to take cues from the carbon, aluminum and steel bones that supported the BMW Vision Future Luxury concept shown at the Beijing Motor Show and destined for the 9 Series. Some of those tricks will also go into the next-generation Phantom, which Autocar says will come in 2017 and not 2020.

Rolls-Royce Ghost gets minor updates for 2013

Befitting a creature called the Ghost, it was there and then it wasn't: Rolls-Royce dropped a few details and a picture of the 2013 Ghost, then removed all trace of it from the corporate site. The Internet can't keep a secret, though, so we have the goss on a carryover sedan with a few upgrades.
Next year's model takes its inspiration and several new tricks from the Ghost Six Senses concept revealed at the Beijing Motor Show earlier this year. The new natural grain leather, cross-banded wood veneers and "exciter" (high-range) speakers come straight from the concept. A new alloy wheel option is also available, but the single press photo doesn't show the same alloys used on the Six Senses car. Not shown in Beijing but on the menu for the coming sedan is Comfort Access, the ability to open the trunk by waving your foot under the rear bumper as long as you have the key on your person. It is the first Rolls-Royce to get the option.
The price gets an upgrade, too, rising $7,050 to $260,750. Part of the increase is in the gas-guzzler tax, which climbed to $2,100 from $1,700 because of a new EPA calculations for fuel economy. As if you'd be worried about gas when you own a Ghost, but just in case, it will return 13 miles per gallon city and 21 mpg highway.

Rolls-Royce Wraith convertible planned, SUV rumors kicked to the curb

Seeing as it adheres to the exotic car template we've known for years, it should surprise no one that the next model from Rolls-Royce will reportedly be a convertible version of the Wraith. When the coupe is on its way to dealers at the end of this year, company CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös has told Autocar that the British luxury marque start applying itself to the convertible.
At no time will they apply themselves to an SUV, though. Still sticking to its brand-value guns, Müller-Ötvös says that an SUV wouldn't have that trademark Rolls-Royce feeling and that such a vehicle hasn't even been discussed. Having heard this before from other brands, we can't help but suspect that one day in the future we'll hear the phrase, "Oh, but this is the Rolls-Royce of SUVs."
The investment in an SUV would also mean a huge investment in the factory at Goodwood, however, since Wraith production is expected to need three shifts and raise levels to near capacity. And forget about building anything from The Spirit of Ecstasy somewhere else, Müller-Ötvös saying, "Rolls-Royces are built in Goodwood."