That treasure trove of appalling autodom described in the most gnarled English imaginable, otherwise known as eBay Motors, serves up today's flavorful morsel of weird and wonderful. Why wait for the upcoming Rolls-Royce RR4 when you can just throw $50K at this heavily customized Chrysler 300C? It's got the ostentatious grille, the suicide doors, the RR embroidered headrests, but most importantly, a HEMI V8 underhood. HEMI, apparently now transmuted to mean "multi-displacement system," will save you fuel as you rent the car out for the dreamy rate of $750 per day as the seller suggests. At least with a Chrysler lurking underneath all that nasty, you can be assured that repair costs will be nominal compared to the real thing.
If you've got it, flaunt it. The super high-end automotive market has been counting on that attitude for years, and it may now be coming back to bite them. It seems that sales of luxury marques such as Bentley, Maybach and Aston Martin have been on a downward trajectory over the last year. Despite the fact that there are a number of people who still have plenty of dough to purchase these expensive toys, public perception is causing some of them to hold back and keep those fat wallets in their pockets. To combat the problem, some high-end brands are choosing to aim even higher. If ex-customers with a net-worth of less than $5 million find it socially unacceptable to make a purchase, Bentley has said it will begin marketing to those with at least a net worth of $25 million. Let us add that we've driven a few Bentleys and Rollers and can say with certainty that they are definitely conspicuous in a sea of CamCords and Mustangs.
Yes, this is a Mirage, but no, you're not seeing things. Following hot on the heels of the Peony edition Phantom, Rolls-Royce is introducing yet another special edition of the uber-luxury saloon exclusively for Middle Eastern customers.
Official details aren't available yet, however the Mirage edition Phantom is reportedly named after a famous Arabian horse. It can be had in either black or white, and features 21" wheels, special tailpipes, a carbon fiber interior (yeah, we're serious) and a special emblem stitched into the headrests and assuredly emblazoned elsewhere around the luxury land-yacht. Of course, like the name Phantom Mirage might suggest, the performance image is all smoke and mirrors, with no actual mechanical changes made over the standard model. But like the likewise sporting-pretentious Maybach 57 Landaulet, you can bet buyers will be paying a considerable premium for this special edition.
The RR4 -- the Rolls-Royce that asks that you "don't call me 'baby'" -- is slowly undressing, striptease-like, before its final reveal at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show. Previous spy shots hinted at rear suicide doors, or coach doors as Rolls-Royce refers to them, and now it is official: the hinges on the rear door are on the rear of the door. The car has plenty of Phatom-esque cues, and although it doesn't look anything like the initial sketch, it looks like it could be a very attractive proposition when it shows up for the big dance. Still no word on engines, but we have no doubt its output will be something along the lines of prodigious.
If someone has enough cash on hand to commission an entirely rebodied Rolls-Royce from one of Italy's most famous coachbuilders, you can bet he's not going to be wearing an off-the-rack watch, either. That's why Girard-Perregaux crafted the special timepiece you see here. As we reported with the initial news of the Pininfarina Hyperion, this one-of-a-kind tourbillon is specially designed to be removed from its ivory leather wristband and mounted into the dashboard of the unique Rolls-Royce. Its meticulously-hand-crafted 30-jewel movement has 72 components but weighs less than a third of a gram, encased in 18-karat white gold with a face colored the same light blue as the Hyperion it was made to accompany. Like the one-off Hyperion is based on the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe, the watch is based on the Girard-Perregaux Vintage 1945 Tourbillon. But again, like the car, there was only one built.
Wealthy customers in the United Arab Emirates seem to have a penchant for special editions of the most expensive luxury saloons. As if it wasn't enough to get the Maybach Landaulet revealed right there on their home turn, one Arabian customer recently ordered a custom gilded Rolls-Royce Drophead. Now Rolls-Royce has followed up with a special edition of its Phantom limousine targeted specifically for the UAE. Called the Peony edition, the bespoke Phantom borrows its name from the indigenous Asian flower that symbolizes royality in ancient Oriental culture. The car features a special two-tone pearl blue exterior and Seashell interior, emblazoned with the peony floral motif. It even comes with a complementary bottle of perfume specially crafted by Emirate fragrance specialist HIND. The special edition was created by the Rolls-Royce Bespoke Program, which does the bulk of its business with Middle Eastern customers. No word on how many will be built or how much it costs, but if there was ever a case of "if you have to ask, you can't afford it", this is it.
It says a lot about a place when a gold-gilded Rolls-Royce comes across as the most tasteful thing we've seen there recently, but so it is. Following the gold-accented Camry spotted in neighboring emirate Dubai, a brand new Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe has been delivered to its new owner in Abu Dhabi. But this convertible is distinguished by a gold paintjob and an actual gold-plated Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament (Seriously, the owner couldn't spring for a solid gold hood ornament?).
The car was created as part of the Rolls-Royce Bespoke Program, which allows customers to specify all manner of optional extras, both inside and out. Of course, this example was also fitted with the optional stainless steel hood, twin coachlines, teak rear deck and Rolls-Royce emblems etched into the headrests, but the gold touches put it over the top and square into evil arch-villain status.
As we count down to this year's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, one of the most highly anticipated concept cars scheduled to make its debut there has popped up a bit early. Based on the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe, the Pininfarina Hyperion has been commissioned by one lucky and presumably very wealthy customer. The unique creation does away with the rear seats and moves the front ones, along with the swept windscreen, back by 400 mm. If you can believe it, a gun rack has been fitted in front of the cabin (yeah, we're serious), while famed watchmaker Girard Perregaux has crafted a special tourbillon timepiece for the Hyperion that can be removed from its wrist-strap and mounted in the dashboard. Meanwhile, word has it that Rolls-Royce could be collaborating with Zagato or Bertone on another special model as well.
After having maxed-out the Phantom range with sedan, coupe and convertible variants, Rolls-Royce has been hard at work preparing its second range. Known tentatively as the RR4 (following in succession after the three Phantoms), the new "baby Rolls" will be anything but, and is expected to be unveiled next March at the Geneva show.
Based on a heavily-modified version of the BMW 7-series, the RR4 will offer direct competition to the Bentley Continental. And not just the four-door Flying Spur, either. Although the RR4 will initially appear – in concept form – as a sedan, the platform is expected to spawn additional coupe and convertible body-styles just like its big brother and its targeted competitor. Although many details still remain big question marks for the luxury sedan – including whether it will bear the "suicide" rear doors of the Phantom and what engines (including potential diesel and hybrid powertrains) will appear underhood – the RR4 is anticipated to double the output of the stoic British marque from its production of 1000 Phantoms last year to 2000 once production gears up on the as-yet-unnamed baby Roller.
It'd be hard to find a vehicle that conveys a greater sense of authority and superiority than a Rolls-Royce. How about a Rolls-Royce that previously belonged to a dictator? A year and a half since his execution, several uber-luxury automobiles that belonged to Saddam Hussein are now popping up for sale.
Following previous posts on Saddam's '88 Mercedes 560 SEL and Lamborghini LM002 – to say nothing of fellow executed despot Benito Mussolini's Alfa Romeo – comes the sale of a burgundy Rolls-Royce Corniche owned by the deposed Iraqi dictator. The car was acquired by an Iraqi investor and is being sold by Autocontinental, an importer in Surrey, England. The convertible appeared briefly on eBay before disappearing, suggesting there was either a legal issue or the car was sold. Among the prospective buyers cited by the dealership was a U.S .army colonel who wanted to acquire the license plate SADDAM for the ride. Even if the Corniche has already been sold, don't worry, because there are more coming to market, including another Corniche in blue and a gilded Maybach that Saddam never even drove before his regime collapsed.
