1979 Rolls-royce Corniche on 2040-cars

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Rolls-Royce Spectre EV spied up close in best spy shots yet

Rolls-Royce promised it would be developing the Spectre electric car “in plain sight,” and hereÂ’s some decent proof of that in spy shot form. Outside of the initial teaser photos released by Rolls-Royce earlier this year, we havenÂ’t seen any other details of the electric Rolls. ThatÂ’s changed today, as one of our spy shooters captured a test Spectre both on the pavement and on a flatbed.  The most intriguing angle of view is directly from the front. We can just make out that this Rolls appears to be wearing a version of the upcoming stacked headlight look previously spied on soon-to-come BMW models like the next-gen 7 Series and refreshed X7. The close-up view also provides a look at the traditional Rolls-Royce grille and the lower front bumper design. Perhaps Rolls will sort out a more elegant solution by production time, but the sensor module in the center of the lower front bumper is a bit of an eyesore.  Heading to the rear, we see some taillights lit up, but itÂ’s difficult to make out what they might look like in final production form. These could simply be test lights and not represent what the actual production lights look like, too. As for the rest of the rear, the lower bumper is quite the piece. It juts out way beyond the bodywork and in no way looks like the finished product. One of the last intriguing items of note is the angle of the rear tire when the driver has the steering wheel at full lock. ItÂ’s not an extreme angle of rear-wheel steer, but the rear wheel does appear to be turned in the opposite direction as the fronts. This car being a coupe, itÂ’s reasonable that it wouldnÂ’t need a massive amount of rear-wheel steering to be agile in a city, but itÂ’s still a Rolls-Royce, so coupe or not, itÂ’s massive. Beyond those specific details, we can simply enjoy seeing the upcoming EV in clearer, closer photos than ever before. Rolls-Royce says the production car is coming in 2023, so we suspect there will be many more spy shots and small details released between now and then. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Former Princess Diana Rolls-Royce being auctioned for charity [w/video]

While it isn't that uncommon to see cars belonging to celebrities and dignitaries roll across the auction block these days, this car is a little extra special. This particular 1979 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow was the car that Prince Charles and Princess Diana arrived at the White House in during a visit in 1985. As some added trivia, this was also the visit where Princess Di cut a rug with none other than John Travolta.
Volo Auto Museum will be auctioning off this piece of American and British history on November 9th - exactly 27 years from Princess Di's White House visit. According to the auction listing, this armored Silver Shadow was the official car of the UK's embassy, and it has been valued at around $2 million by the Berman Museum of History. The auction will have no reserve with some of the proceeds going to the Children with Cancer UK charity that Princess Diana started in 1988.
Scroll down for more information about this car and its auction as well as a video showing Prince Charles and Princess Diana arriving at the White House in the car back in 1985.

BMW profit of $2.7B is down as automaker invests to keep luxury lead

Despite selling 6.6-percent more vehicles - a record by volume - and posting higher revenues in the second quarter of 2013, BMW Group's profit of 2.07 million euros ($2.75 billion) is down 8.8 percent from last year. Investments in new technology (e.g. the new i3) and personnel, in addition to a competitive market, are to blame, BMW states. But the automaker remains committed to its fiscal targets for 2013, which, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Norbert Reithofer, says will be "on a similar scale to 2012."
The BMW brand's sales performance in the first half of the year, which increased by 7.7 percent to 804,258 vehicles delivered, was good enough for it to maintain its lead in the luxury market, narrowly beating Audi, which delivered 780,510 vehicles, Automotive News reports. Mercedes-Benz delivered 694,433 vehicles to cement third place.