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Rolls-Royce debuts Phantom Coupe Aviator Collection at Pebble Beach

As if its cars aren't already exclusive enough on their own merit, Rolls-Royce is debuting an ultra-limited production version of the Phantom Coupe at Pebble Beach today. With only 35 cars expected to be built, the Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe Aviator Collection celebrates Charles Stewart Rolls - Rolls-Royce co-founder - who had a passion for flying and was only the second man in Britain to have a pilot's license before his death in 1910.
Unique elements of the Phantom Coupe Aviator Collection include the Aviator Grey exterior hue accented with a matte finish on the grille, hood and window frame. Setting the aeronautical theme of the car, the interior is fitted with exclusive features like the matte-black instrument gauges, an aviation-grade clock in the middle of the dash and a lower dash veneer that mimics the look of an old wooden airplane propeller. Even the transmission tunnel boasts an anodized aluminum cover with exposed torx-head bolts which attempts to match the fuselage of Rolls' award-winning (and Rolls-Royce-powered) Supermarine S6B aircraft.
No detail was overlooked in creating a truly unique atmosphere for the Aviator Collection so much so that it has a leather-lined glove box with the following quote from Rolls himself embossed into it:

2016 Rolls-Royce Dawn First Drive

There is apparently a migration of sorts among the set that would buy something like the 2016 Rolls-Royce Dawn, the newly arrived drophead variant of the raffish Wraith. When our theoretical Dawn buyer finds the Cote d'Azur or some such place a bit chilly, perhaps it's off to South Africa. Late March is the tail end of summer, and it's an exceedingly pleasant way to get into the Dawn state of mind. Stellenbosch is just northeast of Cape Town, the "Mother City." What used to be open country occupied primarily by the Khoikhoi and Khoisan peoples, as well as prototypical African game, is now wine country. Our starting point is a vineyard estate called Delaire Graff owned by a diamond baron. South Africa's diverse and stunning countryside is on display as we leave the vineyard and climb. The lower highlands are covered with quasi-Californian scrub, but with altitude the scene transforms into a mist-tickled moor full of low heather-like plants and tumbling rivulets. We traverse the suburban lowlands to a windy road clinging to a cliffside above the crashing surf of the Indian Ocean. Ancient cliffs and peaks jut over us at improbable angles and in fascinating shapes. At the end of our drive, looking across False Bay, the Cape stretches south towards the equivocal boundary between two oceans. Twice and then once, the Cape lighthouse winks at the end of Africa. Most automakers consider sportiness the ultimate attribute. Like its stablemates, the Rolls-Royce Dawn's draw is its timelessness and unabashed luxury. Here that's paired with the inherent hedonism of a convertible, not to mention the cachet that comes with spending $340,000 or more (most likely more) on a car. That figure makes the Dawn more expensive than the Ghost or Wraith, but less than the Phantom range. The Dawn is vast; like most huge things, it commands attention because it takes up so much space. Watching my colleagues dart around town was a bit like watching a flotilla of cruise liners maneuver to their moorages. Like a yacht with a lot of freeboard, the flanks rise impressively to the top of the door, but then there's some tumblehome inward to the thick brightwork strip ringing the cabin. A longitudinal spear of chrome bisects the hood, a bit like a grab-rail on the foredeck. The Spirit of Ecstasy could have graced the bowsprit of any of the windjammers that hove into Table Bay. Twice and then once, the Cape lighthouse winks at the end of Africa.

Rolls-Royce Ghost Series II rolls in with some subtle updates [w/video]

Downsizing is a relative term - especially when it comes to a Rolls-Royce. But that's just what the British luxury automaker did with the release of the Ghost in 2010. Sure, it's over seventeen and a half feet long (over eighteen in Extended Wheelbase form), but that's still shorter than the 19 feet the standard Phantom stretches, and that much shorter than the twenty-foot-long Phantom EWB.
The Ghost has now been on the market for four years, high time Rolls gave it a little refresh - and that's just what it's done here in Geneva with the release of the Ghost Series II. It's essentially the same vehicle as the outgoing model, but the Ghost Series II (like the Phantom Series II released in 2012) benefits from a host of minor updates. The styling has been subtly revised, and the sumptuous cabin space has been updated with such features as a new infotainment display, rotary controller and trim.
Although Goodwood hasn't released official output figures, the 6.6-liter twin-turbo V12 (only the second twelve-cylinder engine in Rolls-Royce history) carries over from the existing model. We might hope for some of the power upgrades released for the Wraith or the Ghost V-Specification, but what we know for sure is that it's mated to a Satellite Aided Transmission that uses GPS data to 'read' the road ahead and choose the right gear for the turns coming up. It's a nifty technology pioneered by parent company BMW, and along with the other updates rolled out for the Series II, promises to make the hyper-luxurious driving experience that much more so.