2007 Rolls-royce Phantom Sedan on 2040-cars

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Ringbrothers' 'Paramount' 1961 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II wafts into SEMA

Perennial SEMA show stars Mike and Jim Ring, known as Ringbrothers, brought three builds to Las Vegas this year. There's "Tusk," the Hellephant-powered 1969 Dodge Charger, and there's "Uncaged," a 1965 Ford Mustang that calls back to one of their builds from last year, a 1964.5 Mustang christened "Caged." These two represent the kind of confections we're familiar with from the Wisconsin-based brothers, American metal done up with marvelous lines and monstrous engines. The third build comes out of left field — or perhaps that's right field, depending on your perspective of the map. Known as "Paramount," it is a 1961 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II embodying the ideal balance of restraint and intervention. As we said of the Eneos 1969 Jaguar E-Type XKE 2+2 with the Toyota 2JZ engine, it's the kind of Frankenstein build we love to see at SEMA. The two Rings held themselves back from changing the sedan's lines, a rare and, in this case, excellent show of standoffishness. There's almost nothing to give the game away outside except the Ringbrothers badge on the trunk. An enthusiast would eventually notice the rolling stock, yet even the 18-inch EVOD Industries wheels in Falken rubber comply with the historic look and maintain proportions that respect the Paramount aura — finished here in BASF Glasurit's White as Fluff paint. The wheels hide what would be a glaring tell, Baer Pro six-piston calipers clamping 15-inch rotors. Likewise with the interior, where an oversized steering wheel with knurled spokes, ornate gauges and discrete billet switchgear, seats and picnic tables wrapped in blood red leather, and even the headliner with its 1,000 hand-sewn LEDS convey the appropriate depth of genuine Rolls-Royce veneer. And no one can spot the carbon fiber instrument panel and door cards behind the actual veneers. That headliner is a nod to modern Rolls, as are the gyroscopic center caps in the wheels that ensure the "RR" remains upright. We've never seen a Rolls-Royce with a custom rear armrest hiding two small bottles of Don Julio tequila, though. Everything else? All the bits you can't or rarely see? Gone. The original dual-carb 6.2-liter V8 that produced 185 horsepower and 339 pound-feet of torque retired to Cornwall, replaced by a Corvette's supercharged 6.2-liter V8 making 640 horsepower and 635 pound-feet of torque.

Rolls-Royce Phantom Metropolitan Collection wafts into the annals of exclusivity

Limited-edition, hand-built cars are kind of a bizarre thing. On the one hand, people pay umpteen amounts of money for bespoke cars, with the manufacturer adding that iconic descriptor to all its press materials, but then the company goes and produces 20 of the exact same car and sells them as a "special edition." It seems kind of contradictory.
Rolls-Royce must not see it that way, though, as it has just unveiled one of 20 Metropolitan Collection Phantom sedans at the 2014 Paris Motor Show. As the latest member of the brand's Bespoke Collection, the Metropolitan joins the Phantom Drophead Coupe Waterspeed Collection, the Pinnacle Travel and the Ghawwass Edition.
According to Rolls-Royce, the Metropolitan Collection pays "homage to the world's great metropolises" by way of the company's well known craftsmen. The veneers, particularly on the second row picnic table, get extensive attention, with just the table using 500 individual pieces of wood.

Check out King Charles III's $17.6 million car collection

King Charles III's coronation will take place in England on May 6, and being crowned a monarch comes with a long list of perks with four wheels. He will gain full access to the Royal Family's fleet of cars, which is valued at about GBP14 million (approximately $17.6 million). The two most expensive cars in the collection are nearly identical: they're a pair of Bentley State Limousine models (pictured) built for Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles III's mother, in 2002. Only two units were made, and they're both part of the Royal Family's fleet, so they're difficult to put a value on; it's not like one is going to end up listed on your favorite auction site anytime soon. British company Nationwide Vehicle Contracts, which compiled the list, estimates that each armored, 245-inch long sedan is worth at least GBP10,000,000 (roughly $12.6 million). Dropping below the eight-digit threshold, the second-most-valuable car in the Royal Family's fleet isn't really a car. It's the Gold State Coach, which Matchbox recently released a 1/64-scale replica of, and its value is estimated at GBP1.6 million (about $2 million). At 275 inches long it's even bigger than the Bentley limousine and it weighs about 9,000 pounds. It's 261 years old and designed to be pulled by eight horses, and has been part of every coronation since 1831. The rest of the Royal Family's vehicles are relatively mundane. There's a 1965 Aston Martin DB6 Volante that Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Phillip, bought for King Charles III on his 21st birthday. It's worth GBP1 million (about $1.2 million). The collection also includes a Rolls-Royce Phantom VI (about $627,000), a Bentley Bentayga (about $201,000), a Land Rover Range Rover long-wheelbase Landaulet ($133,000), a Jaguar XE (about $41,000), and a Land Rover Defender ($38,000). "Luxury cars have long been associated with the monarch and King Charles III, in particular, is known for his fondness of motor vehicles. His impressive collection features sentimental value with motors passed down from his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, to cars bought for him by his parents," explained Keith Hawes, the director of Nationwide Vehicle Contracts, in an interview with CBS News. Being at the head of a car-making nation's royal family also comes with drawbacks: Every vehicle in King Charles III's fleet is British.