2014 Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe. English White With Seashell. on 2040-cars

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Rolls-Royce Wraith looks rad in red [UPDATE]

UPDATE: An earlier version of this post called this car the "St. James Edition," which is incorrect. It's not a full-on special edition, rather a bespoke color. And an awesome one, at that. Of all the cars that would look right in red, and of all the colors you could specify for a new Rolls-Royce, ordering up a bright scarlet Wraith might not seem like the first choice to many. Fortunately there are plenty of other options available in the Rolls-Royce catalog. But for those who disagree, the British luxury automaker offers St. James Red, the bespoke color seen here. The color is offset by chrome brightwork on the grille, window frames, and door handles. The wheels are done up in a two-tone silver and gloss black, while the interior is swathed in what we're sure is only the softest, most supple black leather known to man. Of course, since it's a Wraith, there's power to match that racy exterior. This coupe is, after all, the most powerful vehicle Rolls-Royce has ever offered, packing a 6.6-liter twin-turbo V12 with 624 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque, propelling over 5,000 pounds of luxury to 60 in a scant 4.4 seconds. More than adequate, indeed. If there was ever a Rolls that could get away with the bright red approach, surely it's the Wraith.

I got to see the Rolls-Royce Dawn

It may look like a Wraith convertible, but that doesn't do this new Rolls justice. In mid-May, Rolls-Royce announced the name of its forthcoming convertible: Dawn. Two days after that news was released, I saw the new car in Beverly Hills, CA. And as you can probably guess from earlier spy shots, not to mention my choice of lead photo, it looks like a Wraith convertible. Well, sort of. Before getting a full briefing of the new Dawn, I was frisked, security guards waved handheld metal detectors around my limbs, and my iPhone was confiscated. I was left standing outside a glamorous mansion with no more than a blue notebook, a pen, a glass of champagne, and gorgeous views of the Hollywood hills and Pacific Ocean. I was told to keep my mouth shut about everything I was about to see, until further notice. So no, I can't tell you everything I know about the Rolls-Royce Dawn; the company wants to save some information for the car's official unveiling in September at the Frankfurt Motor Show. I don't have photos. I don't even have a napkin sketch. Instead, I'm now allowed to tell you my impressions of the car I saw. It may look like a Wraith convertible, but that phrase alone doesn't do this new Rolls justice. Fabulous places. Shared social occasions. That's the sort of imagery Rolls-Royce wants to convey with the Dawn. In an effort to really convey this, Rolls-Royce opted to give the car a totally different name – that's why it isn't called Wraith Drophead Coupe, like the convertible version of the flagship Phantom. "'Dawn' perfectly expresses the character of the new Rolls-Royce. In its tentative, inchoate, anticipatory state, dawn is the world coming to light from the ethereal dark of the night," the company said in its original release. The Dawn name also harks back to the incredibly exclusive Silver Dawn from the 1950s, pictured above. Fabulous places and fabulous people. Shared social occasions. That's the sort of imagery Rolls-Royce wants to convey with the Dawn. After a hearing details that shall not be mentioned here (yet), I met the Dawn for the first time. The car drove up a path to the Beverly Hills mansion's courtyard, top up, modern music playing in the background. This was the first time in recent memory that a convertible was introduced with its roof affixed, but this was intentional. With the roof on, the differences between Wraith and Dawn are immediately noticeable. View 8 Photos With the roof up, the big droptop sort of looks like a hot rod.

Rolls-Royce Serenity takes luxury to a new level in Geneva [w/video]

Rolls-Royce is known for cosseting occupants in the lap of luxury, but the brand is taking opulence to a whole new level at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show with the Serenity. The company's Bespoke Design team starts with the already lavish Phantom Extended Wheelbase and just keeps adding extravagant touches. The unique styling takes inspiration from Japanese royalty. For the exterior, the Serenity features a three-stage pearl-effect paint with 12 hours of hand polishing to make it really shine. There are also hand-painted flower blossoms in the coachline. The interior is where the grandeur truly shows, though. Rolls-Royce selected the highest grade of silk from China and then had it hand-woven in Britain into nearly 33 feet of fabric. From there artisans embroidered and hand-painted a delicate, design of trees and blossoms. Rolls-Royce used all of this special material to cover the rear seats, roof and door panels. For even more luxury, the company used a combination of Smoked Cherrywood, bamboo and mother of pearl for the trim. For a little extra embellishment, the designers even applied rubies to the clock. Despite all of the lavish design work, the Phantom Extended Wheelbase's mechanicals remain the same with a V12 engine and eight-speed automatic gearbox. Get a full look at the Serenity's luxurious styling in our gallery above from the Geneva show. Show full PR text ROLLS-ROYCE MOTOR CARS BRINGS SERENITY TO THE 2015 GENEVA INTERNATIONAL MOTOR SHOW 02/03/15 from Rolls-Royce Motor Cars "Celebrating the historical role played by silk as a symbol of ultimate elegance, the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Bespoke Design team has created a magnificent one-off Phantom which will set a new benchmark for luxury individualisation in the motor industry, and reaffirm that Bespoke is Rolls-Royce." Torsten Muller-Otvos, CEO, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has brought Serenity to this year's Geneva International Motor Show, unveiling the new standard in authentic, bespoke luxury motoring to the world's media.