Rolls-Royce Motors was created from the demerger of the Rolls-Royce car business from Rolls-Royce Limited in 1973. Rolls-Royce Limited had been nationalised in 1971 due to the financial collapse of the company caused in part by the development of the RB211 jet engine. In 1973 the British government sold the Rolls-Royce car business to allow Rolls-Royce Limited to concentrate on jet engine manufacture.
In 1980 Rolls-Royce Motors was acquired by Vickers. In 1998 Vickers decided to sell Rolls-Royce Motors. The leading contender seemed to be BMW, who already supplied engines and other components for Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars. However their final offer of £340m was outbid by Volkswagen, who offered £430m.
However Rolls-Royce plc, the aero-engine maker, decided it would license certain essential trademarks (the Rolls-Royce name and logo) not to VW, but to BMW, with whom it had recently had joint business ventures. VW had bought rights to the “Spirit of Ecstasy” mascot and the shape of the radiator grille, but it lacked rights to the Rolls-Royce name in order to build the cars. Likewise, BMW lacked rights to the grille and mascot. BMW bought an option on the trademarks, licensing the name and “RR” logo for £40m, a deal that many commentators thought was a bargain for possibly the most valuable property in the deal. VW claimed that it had only really wanted Bentley anyway, and in sales terms this was the stronger brand, with Bentley models out-selling the equivalent Rolls Royce by around two to one.
BMW and VW arrived at a solution. From 1998 to 2002 BMW would continue to supply engines for the cars and would allow use of the names, but this would cease on January 1, 2003. On that date, only BMW would be able to name cars “Rolls-Royce”, and VW’s former Rolls-Royce/Bentley division would build only cars called “Bentley”. Rolls Royce’s convertible, the Corniche, ceased production in 2002.

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by Dan Roth

All that money, and it looks like a lowered Ford Courier with a nice paintjob — from the side, anyway. This Silver Shad-amino (Shadero?) has just undergone a two-year restoration by Florida’s Foreman Motors. It’d be just the thing out on the Estate, cruising the grounds surrounded by sumptuous leather and wool with the Spirit of Ecstasy up on the prow. We think it’s great; it’s not like these particular Rollers are rare cars, anyway. The duPont Registry, want ads for those with excess filthy lucre, has it listed at $49,000, or a dollar per accrued mile. It could be worse, at least the Silver Shadow has handsome, stately lines and the conversion appears to be high-quality. Imagine what a Camargue’s blockier profile would do without its fast C-pillar. Although, that rakish rear window may make a nice Cam-a-Lanche. It’d likely beat the truck in fuel economy, too.

[Source: duPont Registry via Winding Road]

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by Noah Joseph

In most countries around the world, if you’ve got the cash and the chutzpah to be rolling in a Roller, you’re an instant target for theft, carjacking, kidnapping and various forms of armed extortion. No wonder, then, that Rolls-Royce is finally launching a fully armored version of the Phantom luxury limousine.

The beefed-up Phantom starts its life as any other does at the factory in Goodwood, but is then sent to an undisclosed independent contractor for fortification. There, specialists install sheets of the latest fiber composites, steel plating, bullet-proof glass and an additional polycarbonate laminate inside the cabin. All the extra protection gives the armored Rolls-Royce the highest VR7 security rating. To cope with the extra weight, the suspension and chassis have been beefed up, but the 453-hp V12 engine carries over unchanged to pull the extra mass.

From the outside the armored Phantom is indistinguishable from its unprotected counterpart. Inside, Rolls-Royce redesigned parts of the cabin to maintain the same standard of comfort and luxury despite the thicker door panels, and customers can still customize their rides to the same degree as any other. The “Phantom Armoured” is going on sale first in Europe and the Middle East, but we doubt it’ll be long before Rolls-Royce would respond if American buyers demanded the armored VIP carrier.

[Source: Rolls-Royce]

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Once you’ve decided the old Locomobile or YT-1300 freighter simply isn’t on the cutting edge of technology anymore and are ready to take a mallet to the piggy bank in order to upgrade your motoring experience, you may want to peruse this list from Forbes, which list’s Figrin D’an Lienert’s top technological vehicles. Watch out for Greedo, though. We he hear he hangs out ’round those parts. Dude’ll carjack your Veyron sure as shit. – Davey G. Johnson

Acura RDX
Audi R8
BMW Hydrogen 7
BMW M6 Convertible
Bugatti Veyron
Lexus LS Hybrid
Mercedes E320 Bluetec
Mercedes S600
Porsche 911 Turbo
Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead

[Forbes]

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by Alex Nunez

The Detroit Auto Show traditionally belongs to the domestic automakers, who pull out all the stops as they unveil some of their best and brightest new products and concepts. This year, however, the ultimate showstopper may well be located at the Rolls-Royce display. The fabled British marque (now owned by BMW, of course) has chosen Detroit to reveal the 2008 Phantom Drophead Coupe, a jaw-droppingly spectacular 4-seat convertible aimed squarely at Bentley’s Azure.

The Drophead Coupe is, for all intents and purposes, a perfect production interpretation of RR’s 100EX concept car, which made its debut at 2004’s Geneva show. The key elements of the 100EX remain — the thin LED headlamps, rear-opening “suicide” doors, brushed steel hood and A-pillar, and teak decking aft of the passenger compartment are all here. The V16 that powered the 100EX is replaced in the Drophead Coupe by the Phantom sedan’s proven 6.75L V12., which generates 453 horsepower and 513 lb-ft of torque at 3500 rpm. That’s enough to propel the 5775-pound droptop to 60 mph in approximately 5.7 seconds.

Follow the jump for more of our take, an animation of the roof mechanism, plus the official (and very long) press release and tech specs from Rolls-Royce. If you’d like to have the Drophead Coupe grace your desktop, check out our mega-gallery of over 60 hi-res photos.

[Source: Rolls-Royce]

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