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Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail one-ups the floral theme with gemstones

Rolls-Royce debuted its first Droptail commission during Monterey Car Week, the floral-themed La Rose Noire. Not seven days later, the second Droptail took to the alpine stage in Gstaad, Switzerland, commissioned by a client wishing to celebrate his gem business, his home region, and his son. This one's called the Amethyst Droptail, the quartz crystal chosen for being the son's birthstone. The International Gem Society says February's gem ranges "from pale lilac to deep reddish purple," a symbol of royalty as well as "spirituality, mental clarity, and healing." We're also told the vivid stones are generally more valuable and desirable than the pale stones, hence the intense colors on the Amethyst Droptail.  There's another lilac connection in the Globe Amaranth flower native to Guatemala, Panama and Brazil, but grown all over the world. Rolls-Royce said this amaranth "blooms in the desert near one of the client's homes." The roadster starts with the soft purple body color dubbed Globe Amaranth and flecked with aluminum, contrasted with deep purple Amethyst paint swirled with a blend of red, blue, and violet mica flakes. Carbon fiber sections around the hem of the car display book-matched chevron patterns and are finished with Amethyst-tinted lacquer. More contrast shows in mauve accents painted inside the 22-inch wheel spokes. The brightwork's seen a great deal of attention. There are two finishes on the vanes of the Pantheon grill, each thin leading edge polished to a shine, the broadsides being brushed. The 3D-printed composite lower grille is affixed with 202 stainless steel ingots hand-painted in Globe Amaranth. Above that, a ring of rounded (as opposed to faceted) and polished amethyst surrounds the Spirit of Ecstasy when she appears. The stone's been finished into a shape referred to as a cabochon, generally featuring a convex upper surface and flat underside, and engraved with the word "Droptail." The interior is designed around the commissioning client's choice of Calamander Light wood, which features long bands of varying tones. Lighter bands decided the hue of the Sand Dunes leather on the seat bolsters framing the Amethyst leather centers. There are more amethyst cabochons laid around the gauges in the instrument cluster.

Rolls-Royce electric airplane smashes record, hits 387.4 mph

Just two months after its maiden flight, Rolls-Royce's "Spirit of Innovation" has hit a top speed of 387.4 mph, tentatively smashing the speed record for electric airplanes, Gizmodo has reported. It also claimed the top speed of 345.4 MPH over a 3 kilometer (1.86 mile) course and lowest time to a 3,000 meter (9,843 feet) altitude (202 seconds). The records have yet to be certified, but if the 345.5 mph speed stands, it would beat the current record of 213 mph — held by a Siemens-powered Extra 330LE — by an impressive 132 mph.  Rolls-Royce (the aviation, not the car company), conducted the tests on November 16 as part of its ACCEL (accelerating electrification of flight) project. To have the records certified, it's submitting the trials to the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI), the body in charge of world aviation records. If confirmed, the speeds would be pretty impressive considering that the plane only made its maiden flight in September — suggesting that with more time, it could go even faster. 51690212450_7e8bcb3ad8_k View 12 Photos The Spirit of Innovation is an old-school "tail-dragger" airplane (steering at the rear) with the canopy pushed way back, and looks as fast as it goes. It's powered by a 400 kW (535 HP), 750 volt motor. Rolls-Royce said it uses the "most power-dense propulsion battery pack ever assembled in aerospace," with 6,480 cells.  As Engadget detailed in an explainer, electric airplanes aren't practical since current batteries are 50 times less energy dense than jet fuel. However, they do hold some promise for very short trips, like a 30 minute jaunt between Vancouver and Victoria in Canada. And unlike non-turbocharged ICE engines, electric motors retain full power as an airplane climbs, making them ideal for time-to-altitude record attempts — as the Spirit of Innovation has just shown.  Green Rolls-Royce

Rolls-Royce rings up best-ever sales year

The wheeled monolith above is the 2013 Rolls-Royce Phantom Extended Wheelbase - a rolling demonstration of the real definition of "More." For that reason we can use it as a symbol of the firm's sales, which have not only achieved 'more' for the past three years but have also broken company records. Adding to its record-setting years in 2010 and 2011, the Goodwood-based carmaker moved 3,575 units, an increase of 38 over the year before.
The US retook its crown as the greatest consumers of Rolls-Royces, snagging it back from China. Other market movers were the Middle East, where sales rose 26 percent, Mainland Europe - the same place where mass-market makers are drowning in woe and inventory - that rose by 21 percent, and the Asia Pacific region and its 18-percent rise. Rolls-Royce is probably making more money on its cars, too, with bespoke uptake reaching 95 percent on the 10-year-old Phantom line and 73 percent for the Ghost line.
With a just-refreshed lineup and one or perhaps two more models coming, the indicators for more upward sales movement are strong, even if we don't know how soon the new models will arrive. For 2012, the brand that sells more cars above $200,000 than any other proved the saying that storms can't affect you when you live above the clouds. The press release below has more to say about the record year.