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Check out some of the coolest Rolls-Royce Bespoke projects of 2023

The vast majority of buyers who order a new Rolls-Royce customize the car to some extent — the sky is the limit, and we're not talking about the one embedded into the headliner. As 2023 draws to a close, the British brand is highlighting some of the coolest requests it received. Rolls-Royce notes its Bespoke department received several unprecedented requests in 2023; one customer even asked for a special scent, and engineers had to develop several new paint processes. One of the highlights is the Phantom Syntopia, which the company labels "the most technically complex Bespoke commission ever undertaken." Created jointly with Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen, it explores a theme called "Weaving Water" with custom details on the hood, the dashboard, and the headliner, which took nearly 700 hours to make. Travel inspired several Rolls-Royce customers in 2023. Three units of the Cullinan Black Badge Lucid Nights were built for the South Korean market and painted in Lime Green, Indy Red and Tucana Purple, respectively, as a tribute to the neon-lit streets of Seoul. Moving closer to the brand's headquarters, the one-off Phantom Cinque Terre features styling cues inspired by some of Italy's most touristic villages and the wine made in that region. The headliner notably incorporates a map of Italy embroidered with no less than 14,338 individual stitches. Limited to 25 units, the Ghost Black Badge Ekleipsis Private Collection features styling cues from the world of astrology. It's finished in a color combination inspired by a total solar eclipse, and its headliner gains an animation that mimics an eclipse and lasts for seven and a half minutes. The dashboard gets a clock whose bezel incorporates a brilliant-cut 0.5-carat diamond — the first in Rolls-Royce's history. Riding in the one-of-one Rose Blossom Phantom should feel like sitting in a summer garden, without the sunburn and the wasps trying to taste your drink. Rolls-Royce embroidered flowers into the dashboard and the headliner, and it added four species of butterfly (Swallowtail, Peacock, Common Blue and Duke of Burgundy) to bring the backdrop to life. The headliner in this car required over 200 hours of work. Some buyers take a more personal approach to customization.

Muhammad Ali's 1970 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow is going for auction

Boxing fans and Rolls-Royce fans, get your wallets ready. A very special car is going to cross the Bonhams auction block this October. It's a 1970 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow Mulliner Park Ward convertible that was owned by none other than Muhammad Ali, the boxer that ended George Foreman's undefeated streak. Bonhams reports that the car was owned by Ali for 6 years, meaning Ali must've enjoyed this car and used it quite a bit. The company postulates that since Ali bought the car in 1970, it may have been a celebratory purchase, since that was the first year Ali could box again after a five-year ban from the sport for being a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War. The car itself has a number of notable features. For one thing, Bonhams says the car is completely unrestored, and is in quite good condition as such. It also is apparently one of just 272 Silver Shadow Mulliner Park Wards that were built with left-hand drive. It ended up in Holland after Ali's tenure with it, which is partly why it will go for auction at a Bonhams auction in Belgium. Also interesting is that this is a celebrity car – a nice one, too – that is in the realm of affordability. Bonhams estimates it could sell for between $47,000 and $70,000. The low end of that price is actually a couple grand less than Hagerty's estimate of $49,200 for a concours-ready example without celebrity history. And even at the high end, you'll still be paying way less for this than, say, a new Rolls-Royce Ghost. So if you can get yourself to Holland and have the means to buy and ship the car, this could be a way to get a great celebrity car for not a massive amount of money. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Rolls-Royce's design team renders kids' drawings from worldwide design contest

Back in April, Rolls-Royce put out a call to action to kids around the world. The British luxury carmaker wanted to see children design their dream Rolls-Royce of the future. The motivation for doing so? Winners get to enjoy a chauffeur-driven ride to school in a Rolls-Royce with a friend of their choice. Not a bad prize for a kid who is obsessed with cars. It’s been a few months now, and Rolls-Royce has selected a number of winners. Rolls-Royce ended up slotting all the entries into four categories: Technology, Environment, Fantasy and Fun. That means there are four winners, but three other ideas were so good that Rolls gave them “Highly Commended” awards. Rolls-Royce said it received submissions that were inspired by unicorns, space travel, bumblebees, Pablo Picasso and the Egyption pyramids. After selecting all the winners and “highly commended” entries, Rolls-Royce had its design team transform the drawings into digitally-rendered illustrations. They used the same software and processes that theyÂ’d use when working on an actual Rolls-Royce design. You can click through the winners in the gallery at the top, or scroll down below to see them all, along with their corresponding descriptions. Winners: Technology: Bluebird II Rolls-Royce is back to breaking world speed records! Environment: The Capsule For Earth lovers and those that have peoplesÂ’ health at heart. Fantasy: Turtle Car Inspired by sea and land turtles, the Turtle Car can transport patrons not only by sea and land but by air too. Fun: Glow A dream for the future. This timeless Rolls-Royce demonstrates the full spectrum of creative vision. Highly Commended: Bolt The Pinnacle of Intergalactic Space Travel Prosperity The Rolls-Royce Prosperity is only for the most exacting patrons, who believe ease of travel should never be compromised. House of Esperanto This ultimate flying machine can communicate with every creature and combines all the convenience of a house with the mobility of a car. The ground-breaking technology that allows this development is brought to humanity by a mysterious bird that has been living in outer space for a million years.