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Rolls-Royce Arcadia Droptail unveiled as the third in a four-car series

If you're wealthy, you buy a new Rolls-Royce. If you're extremely wealthy, you work directly with the brand to design a one-of-a-kind car from the ground up. The firm has revealed its latest one-off, a convertible named Arcadia Droptail, and detailed the long development process. Built for an anonymous client in Singapore, the Arcadia Droptail borrows the first part of its name from a place known as "heaven on Earth" in Greek mythology. Rolls-Royce explains that the design perfectly reflects the customer's tastes and personality, including a passion for architecture and a subtle, restrained take on the concept of luxury. This likely explains why there's not much in the way of bright trim on the outside; instead, the Arcadia Droptail is characterized by a soft and almost organic design while remaining recognizable as a Rolls-Royce. Working directly with the customer, the brand put a great deal of thought into picking a color: the shade of white chosen is infused with aluminum and glass particles for a pearl-like effect that adds depth. These details help the Arcadia stand out from the two existing Droptail models unveiled in 2023. The overall design remains largely unchanged with an upright grille, thin rear lights, and a rounded back end. Santos Straight Grain wood trim dominates the interior and creates another link between cars and boats. Rolls-Royce explains that this was one of the most challenging parts of the project: Santos Straight Grain is difficult to work with, and the client plans to use the car all around the world so the trim needs to withstand wildly different temperatures and humidity levels. The brand initially considered applying the type of coating used in yachts but ruled it out because it needs to be re-applied on a regular basis. Instead, it went through the trouble of developing a specific lacquer that lasts for the life of the car. It adds that this part of the build required over 8,000 hours of work, including testing. The clock embedded into the dashboard was created in-house as well; it took over two years to develop and five months to make. Referred to as "the most complex Rolls-Royce clock face ever created," it features a guilloche pattern with 119 facets and hand-polished parts. Rolls-Royce hasn't published technical specifications. We're guessing that power comes from a V12 engine. All told, designing the Arcadia Droptail took over four years. There's no word on how much the project cost.

Watch the Rolls-Royce Cullinan tackle the sand dunes outside Dubai

The Rolls-Royce Cullinan is coming soon. The British automaker has made copious effort trying to keep the coming Cullinan from being considered just a crossover or SUV. The carmaker calls it an All-Terrain High-Sided Bodied Vehicle, and a feature as banal as a tailgate has been billed as a "luxuriously comfortable viewing platform." Yet when Rolls-Royce took a prototype Cullinan for testing in the Dubai dunes, they recorded their Phantom-based SUV ripping up the sand in ways you'd expect from a 30-year-old Chevrolet Blazer. As the Nurburgring became to cars, the dunes outside of Dubai have turned into a testing venue as useful as they are photogenic. Rolls-Royce's trip there follows a list of other luxury SUV makers, including Range Rover, Bentley, and most recently, Lamborghini. What caught our eye in this video is that outside of century-old, black-and-white photos of Charles Stuart Rolls hammering one of his early cars in contests like the 1906 Tourist Trophy, this is the first time we've ever seen Rolls-Royce do anything unabashedly racy off-road. It's as if they plucked Florida Man from the Soggy Bottom Mud Park, gave him the keys to a Cullinan and the challenge, "A case of Pabst says you can't break it." Fast forward to the 1:08 mark to get into the action. Obviously, we don't expect any Cullinan driver — save those Dubai hoons — to thrash a Cullinan like so. But it's nice to know the All-Terrain High-Sided Bodied Vehicle can do it. Related Video: News Source: Rolls-Royce [via YouTube] via Autoevolution Rolls-Royce SUV Future Vehicles Luxury Videos dubai rolls-royce cullinan

2016 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance: It's all in the details

It's no secret that Pebble Beach is an ode to gorgeous, and mostly, classic cars. The car show may be a place for automakers to showcase extremely expensive cars to wealthy buyers, but it's also one of the go-to places for enthusiasts that love automobiles and culture. While it's easy to be overwhelmed by the overall beauty of a car, the real magic often needs closer inspection to be realized. Every car at Pebble Beach is a work of art, but the true beauty of the vehicles lies in the details. And Autoblog's photographer, Drew Phillips, managed to capture the details on some gorgeous cars. From the Lamborghini Miura's exquisite steering wheel to Rolls-Royce's Spirit of Ecstasy, it's all at Pebble Beach. We think the details on some of the cars are prettier than the cars themselves, but don't take our word for it. Check out the beautiful gallery above and enjoy the tiny bits and pieces behind some of the prettiest cars in the world. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2016 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance Details View 75 Photos Image Credit: Copyright 2016 Drew Phillips / Autoblog Misc. Auto Shows Aston Martin BMW Ferrari Lamborghini Rolls-Royce Pebble Beach