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New Rolls-Royce Boat Tail shows off coachbuilding chops of the Phantom platform

Rolls-Royce is flexing the coachbuilding muscles of its highly versatile new Phantom platform with this gorgeous Boat Tail commission. Rolls-Royce claims the build required the fabrication of more than 1,800 unique parts and 20 years of combined man-hours to complete.  Even by Rolls-Royce standards, this is pretty ambitious stuff. The commission was inspired by a 1932 Rolls-Royce Boat Tail, and like the original, it was inspired by, well, boats. Shocking, right? The trim elements both inside and out (Caleidolegno veneer, if you're curious) were designed to be reminiscent of the teak decking you'd see on a wooden yacht. "Today marks a seminal moment for the House of Rolls-Royce. We are proud to unveil Rolls-Royce Boat Tail to the world, and with it, the confirmation of coachbuilding as a permanent fixture within our future portfolio," said Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Muller-Otvos in the Boat Tail announcement.  "We have formally re-established our Coachbuild department for those patrons who wish to go beyond the existing restraints, and explore the almost limitless possibilities this opens up for them," Muller-Otvos said previously. "We are able to offer our customers the opportunity to create a motor car in which every single element is hand-built to their precise individual requirements, as befits our status as a true luxury house." There are quite a few bespoke accessories as well, though apart from the full picnic service shown in some of the pics (there doesn't appear to be much of a trunk — sorry, boot), most of it was left out of the promotional materials. Most notably absent are the custom his-and-hers Bovet 1822 timepieces that were commissioned alongside the car. They can be either mounted in the dash or worn on the wrist (of course), but we see only a glimpse of one in the top-down image Rolls-Royce provided.

Corniche Comeback: New Rolls-Royce coupe spotted testing

It's been over a decade since Rolls-Royce last offered a Corniche, which was the company's name for its unibody coupe and convertible models since the early 1970s. But from the looks of what our photographers recently snapped in Munich, that drought may soon be over.
What they've spied is the 2014 Rolls-Royce Corniche coupe, a forthcoming model based on the Rolls-Royce Ghost. Never mind the fake door handles and rear doors on the test mules, the production Corniche will have just two suicide doors like its big brother the Phantom coupe.
Powertrain will probably be carried over from the Ghost sedan, meaning a 6.6-liter V12. We suspect that BMW will roll out its new Roller at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2013. Until then, our spies will keep their eyes open for more prototypes, including the oft-rumored convertible.

Rolls-Royce celebrates Maharajas with special Phantom DHC

A century ago, the princes and maharajas of India shared a relationship with Rolls-Royce that spanned five decades and saw the nobility on the subcontinent commissioning over 840 unique vehicles from the stoic marque. It's that golden age that Rolls-Royce celebrates with the debut of this one-of-a-kind luxury cabriolet.
Based on the Phantom Drophead Coupe, this unique Maharaja edition is distinguished by such special touches as Carrara White paint embellished with a peacock motif, emerald green coachline, a deep green top (hood in UK terminology), light creme leather interior with green accents, marquetry inlays and custom seashell embroidery.
Said to be two years in the making by the Rolls-Royce Bespoke division, this one-off Phantom DHC was unveiled not in India, but in Dubai, where a fascination with the Golden Age of the Raja is evidently alive and well.