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Giles Taylor succeeds Ian Cameron as head of Rolls-Royce design

Back in the day, a Rolls-Royce looked pretty much the same as a Bentley, but with a different grille. Once BMW took over Rolls-Royce, however, it was faced with the challenge of visually separating itself from its former sister brand. And most would agree that it did so pretty well. But its cars have looked pretty much the same ever since. What Rolls-Royce needs, then, is a bit of a design shake-up. And that's just what this latest appointment could bring.
After a baker's dozen years as design director at Rolls-Royce (and twenty years designing for the BMW Group altogether), Ian Cameron is retiring from his post. In his place, Rolls-Royce has named Giles Taylor as its new director of design. In his new capacity, Taylor will report directly to BMW Group chief designer Adrian van Hooydonk, and be responsible for all design matters related to the Rolls-Royce brand and its products.
Taylor was promoted to the role from his previous position as head of exterior design for the marque, a position he's held for barely more than a year. We'll be eagerly watching to see what the veteran British car designer has in store for the future of Rolls-Royce. In the meantime you can read the full announcement below.

The Rolls-Royce of cocktails is a coddling ride for your tastebuds

In our last installment of the irregular and irreverent series on drinks loosely connected to – or named after – automobiles, we sipped a Speedway Cocktail, a drink that was as exciting (and dangerous) as the early Indy 500. This time, we're stirring a Rolls-Royce Cocktail with a silver spoon. And, as always, enjoy cocktails (and reading about them) while you're not behind the wheel. If the rumors we hear are correct, Rolls-Royce will be unveiling an all-new Phantom this summer. The arrival of a flagship Roller isn't quite as rare as the coronation of a new member of the British Royal Family, but is tres recherche nonetheless. Since the nameplate's founding nearly 100 years ago, this will be only the eighth generation of Phantom to be delivered into the greedy hands of the world's vilest oligarchs. If you're one of the .01 percent, this is cause for a drink, and what better cocktail to raise in toast than one named for the brand itself? (For us 99.99 percenters, the answer is easy: Molotov.) As you might expect, the Rolls-Royce cocktail is kind of a classied-up version of an upscale iteration of an already elegant drink, conjugated from the classic (gin) martini and it well-married brother, the Martinez. "It's basically a very wet martini," says Paul Hletko, founder of FEW Spirits, an Evanston, Illinois gin and whiskey distillery acronymically (and winkingly) named for local maven Frances Elizabeth Willard, who helped found the Women's Christian Temperance Union – one of the forces behind Prohibition. "Two-to-one is a fantastic ratio of gin to vermouth that really lets the vermouth shine, and then having that split between dry and sweet vermouths gives you fantastic and rich complexity, with that little bit of Benedictine being that really nice herbal add," Hletko told us. It all sounds intriguingly botanical, and the drink itself has a reputation as being a favorite among bartenders, a coupe brimming with insider insight. "In the history of drinking there are many cocktails made with vermouth and gin," says legendary mixologist Charles Schumann from Schumann's Gastronomie in Munich.

Rolls-Royce Wraith and Dawn order books closed globally

Rolls-Royce closed order books for the Wraith coupe and Dawn convertible at the end of last year in the U.S. Brand chief Torsten Muller-Otvos told Autocar that both have since been removed from every market. Final orders are still being produced at the Goodwood factory, so the last Wraith and Dawn won't likely leave the line until early next year. But with the taps turned off and nothing to replace them yet, Rolls-Royce will soon be two-thirds of the way done with what has been a very successful chapter in its history. Those two offerings, as well as the Ghost sedan, are based on the architecture BMW created for the 2008 7 Series. Now only the Ghost remains of the trio, at this point planned for production until 2030 when Rolls-Royce will convert being to an electric-only automaker. More modern products like the Phantom II sedan and the Cullinan crossover ride on the company's Architecture of Luxury. That structure will also support the Spectre battery-electric coupe meant to go on sale at the end of 2023. Spectre spy shots reveal a body that looks much like the Wraith; however, Autocar says, "Rolls instead views the Spectre as a belated successor to the coupe version of the seventh-generation Rolls-Royce Phantom, with the pair sharing a similar footprint and the Spectre therefore having its own distinct positioning within the Rolls range." The erstwhile Phantom Coupe's length and wheelbase were about 20 inches longer than those of a Wraith. The Phantom II sedan is but a couple of inches longer than the previous two-door. Point being, the Spectre might be silent, but it won't be small. There will still be some BMW in it, however, like Rolls-Royce's version of the stacked headlights BMW is about to debut on the i7 and X7, and there's speculation the top-dog BMW iX M60i powertrain will cross the Channel to enter Goodwood's service. Peak output for the BMW reaches 610 horsepower and 811 pound-feet of torque, which sound like fine numbers for wafting.