Rolls-Royce News

His shed and under his house are packed with various vintage cars, mainly Rolls-Royces, in various forms of restoration.  The retired architect, now 77, says he doesn't restore them to concourse standard.  "I just want them to be able to run on the road," he says.Gargett started his love of old vehicles when he was a student at the Queensland University in 1954 and bought a 1926 Austin 7 utility for 35.  "It was a lot of fun but very primitive. But at least I learnt a lot about mechanics with that one," he says.But he claims his first "real vintage car" was a 1928 French Amilcar sports car he bought for 15 after uni when he joined the Vintage Car Club of Queensland (VCCQ)."I brought it home on a trailer and in bits in a box, but we got that going for some years," he says.His next purchase in 1961 was a 1925 20 horsepower (15kW) Rolls-Royce costing 220.  "It is fully registered and its six-cylinder engine is still running smoothly," he says.  "I don't drive it as often as I used to."His love of Rolls-Royces continued in 1963 with a 1920 Silver Ghost for 700.  "I had it out for our daughter's wedding and after the wedding I went to change the oil and a 1/4-inch bolt came out with the oil so I haven't been game to use it."I've stripped down the motor and am ready to put it back in now."  He then departed from Rollers but not too far with a 1924 Bentley Speed three-litre he bought for 500."The bloke apologised and said it wasn't worth it but he needed the money."  The Bentley remains a challenge to drive having the accelerator in the middle, another throttle on the steering wheel, gear lever on the right of the seat and the handbrake on the outside of the vehicle.  "It takes a bit of getting used to," he saysGargett claims his interest in British luxury saloons came from his father who "always admired them".  "It's not what they do, but the way that they do it," he says.  "I haven't had them valued because I'm on a pension."Anyway, people would need to spend some money to get them all back into good condition."  He also owns a 1972 Rolls-Royce Corniche with a 189hp (140kW) 6.75-litre V8 engine which would cost "well into the five figures just to do the motor up to running condition".He bought it in 1982 for $50,000 and used it every day until he put it off the road with engine failure.  The car also sports Queensland's first concessional registration number plate, "Qld Vintage 001".In the late 1960s the VCCQ authorised Gargett to discuss the possibility of concessional registration for cars built before 1930 with the government.  "In those days if the cars were not fully registered we had to arrange for a temporary permit for the weekend including insurance and we were supposed to return the permit on the Monday," he says. "A waste of time and money but nothing we could do would convince Main Roads to change their attitude. I think the permit cost us 10 shillings.  I received an introduction to a person from the Treasury and was telling him of our concern. He was surprised as he could see that the system was costing them far more than the fee they were charging."Talks with more government officials resulted in the establishment of concessional registration based on membership of a relevant club, use for club events, maintenance including testing within a reasonable distance from where the car was garaged and approved charity events.Today there are more than 15,000 vehicles in Queensland on concessional registration.  "I think the fact that one of my cars is registered as VIN 001 (now VN 0001) supports my summary of the position," he says.

The $695,000 indigo blue Rolls-Royce Ghost - number four off the production line - landed in Australia to woo clients before being air freighted back to the UK. Even before it landed the buzz surrounding the newest Rolls has secured firm orders.  So far, of the 40 cars expected in Australia, more than 30 have been sold, even though deliveries do not start until next June.Rolls-Royce distributor, Trivett Classic, expects the Ghost to be one of the most popular Rolls-Royces available.  The factory is aiming to build between 2000 and 2500, more than doubling output at its UK factory in Goodwood.General manager, Bevin Clayton, says there has been a strong level of interest in the smallest and cheapest Rolls, even though it boasts a 6.6-litre 12-cylinder engine capable of 250km/h and a zero to 100km/h sprint of 4.9 seconds.  "It has certainly appeal to a wide number of Melbourne buyers, which has further strengthened the high demand we are experiencing in Australia despite the current economic climate," he says.Clayton says there are signs of a recovery in top-end luxury car sales, with Trivett selling three Phantoms in recent months.  He describes the Ghost as ‘business suit’ Rolls-Royce, where the larger Phantom is the ‘dinner suit’ Rolls.  Many Ghost customers are new to the brand, he says."It is luring people out of other high-end European cars," he says.  One customer is trading his $500,000 AMG Mercedes-Benz S-Class to go British.Ghost No4 may have been fresh off the production line but it boasts some exquisite features, from a silver satin bonnet, to 20-inch alloys, dual chrome exhausts, lambswool floormats, front and rear ventilated massage seats and picnic tables.As befits a Rolls, the Ghost uses the finest wood and leather materials.  Housed in the front doors are integrated teflon-coated umbrellas, while it borrows the Phantom's rear coach doors that open to a generous 83 degrees.For a limousine ride, the car rides on a high-tech air suspension that can detect even the smallest change in road surfaces.  For example, it will detect the movement of a single rear seat passenger from one side of the vehicle to the other and adjust the ride.

Worried about how to keep the champers perfectly chilled in the Caulfield and Flemington carpark during Spring Carnival?  Rolls-Royce has come up with the perfect solution. Buyers can now specify an $18,000 custom-made fridge in the boot of the $1.4 million Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead coupe.  The fridge, along with enough room for three bottles of Krug and eight custom-made cut crystal wine glasses, fits snugly into the Drophead's boot, which can be lined in your choice of leather, carpet or teak.  The fridge sits out-of-sight under the luggage floor. If you need picnic tables to go with the Krug, they will set you back a modest $2000.  The fridge is one of hundreds of special options available through Rolls-Royce Bespoke, which as the name suggests personalises cars to the whims of the owners. The 25-strong Rolls Royce Bespoke team can do just about anything and obviously, money is no object.  Bespoke's product and sales manager, Thomas Jefferson, and manager of interior design, Gavin Hartley, have just finished a whirlwind tour of Australia to meet clients and spread the message about Bespoke.  Jefferson says personalisation is big business, with more than 80 per cent of Rolls-Royce customers choosing something from the Bespoke range. "When it was launched in 2003 Bespoke accounted for about a third of Rolls-Royce business," he says.  "Today it is running between 80 per cent and 90 per cent so it's gone from being quite a minor player to being a major part of the company." It is not surprising that Rolls-Royce customers are not averse to spending up big.  As a rule they generally have millions in their bank accounts, own two or more houses and usually have a garage with more than five cars.  Some are known to have his and hers Roll-Royces, while others have a Rolls-Royce at their disposal in each of the homes around the globe.  One client, which we assume were from the Middle East, bought 10 Phantoms at a $1 million apiece for Christmas presents and then commissioned Rolls-Royce Bespoke to individualise them. Not surprisingly, Middle East royalty and oil money are big clients, followed by customers in Japan and North America.  The nouveau riche in Russia and China are also hopping on the bespoke bandwagon.  Hartley expects demand for the service to grow over the next few years in the emerging powerhouse countries, particularly once the global financial crisis is behind us.  He says that despite their wealth, Bespoke clients still expect value-for-money and the exquisite attention to detail that comes from the hand-crafted cars. Australia remains a small market but Trivett Classic, which sells Rolls-Royce here, says there is growing interest from Rolls-Royce owners.  Trivett Classic general manager, Bevin Clayton, says as word spreads buyers are becoming more interested in personalising their cars.  "We're interested in the Bespoke program because it's a great way of getting someone out of their four or five year old Phantom and personalising their new car," he says. Hartley says Bespoke services are restricted to trim and paint.  There is nothing so crude as chipping the engine for better performance, he says.  "Generally speaking our clients find the power more than adequate," Hartley says.  Hartley says Bespoke can match an exterior colour to just about anything and has even had one request to match a colour to a particular hand cream.  "People can also reserve an exterior colour for themselves and have it named after them," Hartley says. Apart from specific colours, which can cost more than $11,000, Bespoke also has 44,000 colour combinations available for customers so no two Rolls-Royces are the same.  "We have customers bringing us a handbag, lipstick or a tie and we'll colour match it," Hartley says.  The same goes for the interior, where options are only limited by the clients' imagination with the extensive range of leathers and hand-crafted woods. The cheapest item ranges from a few hundred dollars for personalised lambswool mats to one-off features that are done upon customer request that can run into telephone book numbers.  One customer wanted - and got - his wood veneer from a particular tree on his estate.  Another female Phantom owner wanted her car in lilac and Rolls-Royce Bespoked obliged. She also got a full leather lilac interior. Rolls-Royce can also measure customers, as you would for a suit, to determine the exact position and angle of the rear footrests in a Phantom.  No task is too small, minor or considered insignificant.  On one occasion, the Bespoke team asked an owner what drinks they preferred and engineered the cupholders to a particular-sized drink can so it would fit snugly without rattling. Among the more popular ‘options’ in the Phantom are the Starlight headlining with minute fibre optic lights inset into the roof lining for a cool $18,000 and a jewelled illuminated Spirit of Ecstasy radiator mascot for $7400.  If the illuminated variety is not to your liking, you can order the Spirit of Ecstasy in solid silver or gold plate for $10,000 and $11,396. Need privacy? The partition wall between the driver and rear passengers in the long-wheelbase Phantom will set you back a cool $100,000.  To date the most expensive Bespoked Rolls-Royce was a $780,000 Drophead coupe but a special one was recently auctioned for charity and fetched $2 million at a US wine festival. Bespoke guides its customers with a polite but firm hand. Yet if you really want a hot pink paint scheme and lurid interior, the Rolls-Royce folk will reluctantly oblige.  Ultimately though Jefferson says Bespoke is the arbitor of quality and craftsmanship.  "Style is very uniquely personal and it's important to allow the customer to have the final say in their personal style," he says. What you can buyStarlight headlining in oatmeal leather $18,480 Tilt sunroof $10,230 Vanity mirrors for rear passengers $3795 Picnic tables with veneer backs $5005 Individual rear seats $17,435 Drinks cabinet for individual seats $22,605 Drinks cabinet in rear doors $40,040 Solid silver Spirit of Ecstasy $9988 Gold-plated Spirit of Ecstasy $11,396 Humidor in the glovebox $7766 Pen set in the glovebox $10,560 Secure safe with electronic lock $15,950 Silver bezel clock face $7128 Silver bezel white clock face $7128 Partition wall/glass $100,056 Drophead Coupe Lambswool floor mats $2706 Leather trimmed boot $14,410 Starlight headlining in bamboo or dark grey $26,620 Teak decking $19,305

...plus, we put the Mercedes 320cdi through its paces and Rolls Royce CEO Ian Robertson tells us more about the Rolls Royce Ghost.

The Spirit of Ecstasy which sits as the guiding light on the front of every Rolls-Royce Phantom can now also be lit for night-time impact. The illuminated Spirit of Ecstasy began as a motor show tease and was fitted to the front of the Rolls-Royce 101EX, a concept car which was first seen at the Geneva motor show in 2006. The idea was supposed to start and finish there. But Rolls-Royce has some very persuasive customers with giant cheque books and so the spotlight was shifted to the mascot, with the company's 'bespoke' division swinging into action. The result is a very special mascot made, instead of steel, from an innovative polycarbonate material called Makrolon. This gives a frosted-glass effect but, more importantly, allows the light source to be piped up into the Ecstasy mascot. The system uses a pair of tiny LED bulbs in the base of the figurine which are activated when the Phantom's owner triggers the welcome lighting system which also turns on the headlamps. But this special light show does not come cheaply - it's close to $10,000 - and only 24 have been fitted so far. None have made it to Australia yet, but that could change easily if Rolls-Royce decides to shine the light on the upcoming Ghost, a model that will at least double production and sales of the historic British brand.

The smaller, cheaper — less costly — luxury limousine is still firmly on track for a production preview at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September ahead of the first sales in 2010.Undisguised test cars are now a relatively common sight in Britain, where Carparazzi photographers caught this Ghost during on-road trials close to Rolls-Royce headquarters at Goodwood.Work is also well advanced at the Rolls-Royce factory, where a second production line is being installed for the Ghost alongside the existing Phantom assembly line. The plan is to double production from 800 to 1600 cars, although this number could be adjusted during the expected early rush for the Ghost.More information has just come on the car, which will have an engine producing 420 kiloWatts and 780 Newton-metres of torque. Rolls-Royce says this will be enough for a top speed limited to 250km/h and a 0-100km/h sprint time of 4.9 seconds.

Well, you will in 2010 when the newest Rolls-Royce hits the road. The baby brother of the hulking Phantom has just been named, and it's officially the Ghost. The name takes over from the RR4 tag used during development of the compact new Rolls-Royce and was announced today at the opening of the Shanghai Motor Show. The Ghost name has a long history at Rolls-Royce, starting from 1906, although it has not been used since 1925. The company's best-known car is the original Silver Ghost. The Ghost will become Rolls-Royce's fifth model when it joins the Phantom, Phantom extended wheelbase, Phantom Drophead coupe and Phantom coupe. It will be built on a dedicated production line at the Rolls-Royce factory at Goodwood in the UK, and is expected to more than double sales from the 1212 sold in 2008.  

...every so slightly and ever so briefly, suggest that the latest Rolls Royce offering is simply a smaller version of the flagship Phantom. “This is absolutely not a pocket Phantom,” Cameron, chief designer for the famous British marque, counters as the `experimental' 200EX exerts its considerable presence in the background. “If you use the analogy of clothing this is not a different sized suit it is a different style ... but at the same time you want to be able to recognise the hand of the tailor that cut the Phantom. “So, you will see the same sort of strong surfaces but this car is all about informality where the Phantom is about formality. “If you think of the Phantom as a tuxedo then this is maybe the business suit.” Cameron has just finished introducing the baby Rolls — expected to be badged as the RR4 when it goes into production at the end of this year — and is clearly unimpressed with any suggestion that the latest car is any way the result of an “if it ain't broke don't fix it” expansion of the marque. “The brief was to produce a Rolls Royce that would have a different clientelle, a youthful clientelle,” Cameron says. “Typically our customers have garages with five or six cars. They use that garage like a wardrobe — different cars for different ocassions.” In Rolls speak the 200EX is still an “experimental car” but Cameron concedes it will be very close to the production model due to be revealed at the end of this year. “Truth be told I think it bears the same relationship to previous experimental models such as the 100EX (Coupe) and 101EX (Drop Head Coupe) ... it is very close to what the final production car will look like.” At this stage the 200EX is all about visual appeal with precious little information on the engineering and technical specifications of the car released. The four-door five seater rides on 3295mm wheelbase with an overall length of 5399mm, compared to the Phantom's 3570mm wheelbase and 5834mm overall length. The engine is described only as a “new” V12 but will certainly be comparable to the 338kW and 720Nm 6.7-litre unit used in the Phantom and coupled to a similar ZF six-speed automatic. The 200EX performance figures are likely to be slightly more sporty than the Phantom given the younger target market and the car's smaller size. The Phantom is governed at a top speed of 240km/h and can put the 0-100km/h sprint away in 5.9 seconds. Cameron says that the genesis of the 200EX was to produce a complementary model that would attract customers apart from those interested in the Phantom — an objective early feedback seems to indicate has been met. “That is the feedback we have had ... tremendous enthusiasm from people who think that the Phantom is just too much over the top,” Cameron says. “I personally think the whole car is cool but we always say with a Rolls Royce that you have to deliver something special. When you live with these cars and drive them it is not something you can describe. It is rather like a piece of music ... and that is what design is like. “You have all these elements that you have to pull together and at some point it becomes music — or that is what you hope happens. When it does you have a great design.”  

Fast and flashy. That's the Geneva show of 2009 in two words.

The only time the 200EX looks small is when it is lined up beside the flagship of the British luxury fleet, the Phantom. The 200EX - officially only a concept car for the Geneva Motor Show next month but already confirmed as the RR4 for production - is a full 327mm longer than a BMW 7 Series, as well as 46mm wider and 81mm taller. When you see the RR4 - or 200EX as Rolls-Royce now prefers - the car comes into crisp focus as a potential leader in the $350,000-ish luxury class which is about to become a hotbed of competition with everyone from Bentley to Aston Martin, Lamborghini and Porsche. It is clearly a Rolls-Royce, yet much less imposing and formal than the Phantom. Even the giant chromed grille, a RR signature for generations, has been moved aside and replaced by something which is just as recognisable but far less confrontational. "This car is for a new group of Rolls-Royce customers. They will be considerably younger than Phantom buyers," says Ian Robertson, chairman of Rolls-Royce and now also head of marketing for the BMW Group in Germany. He is speaking at an exclusive press preview of RR4, at Goodwood in Britain last September. I am one of a small group of journalists to see the car before it is confirmed as the 200EX concept and the impact of the car is immediate and surprising. It looks smaller than I expect, and less like a Roller, at least at first. But as I slide into the back seat, and luxuriate in more space and luxury than a long-wheelbase 7 Series, I can feel that this is something different. The smoother look is good, too. If only the dreaded iDrive controller, picked up as part of the electronic package from Rolls-Royce's owners in Germany, was not so obvious in the centre console... There is also a BMW-style shark-fin aerial on the roof as a reminder of the family tie, although Rolls-Royce's chief designer does not see it that way. "I prefer to think of it as as Rolls-Royce beauty spot," says Ian Cameron. The 200EX is being unveiled as Rolls-Royce gears up for production in 2010. The factory has already been split, as I see in September, to allow two cars to be built at the same time without disrupting production of a Phantom family which already has four members. It is the latest in a series of near-production concept cars which have also previewed the Phantom coupe and convertible since Rolls-Royce became part of the BMW Group in 2003. The big surprise is that it is confirmed with an all-new V12 engine. The car still has the rear-hinged 'coach' doors used on the Phantom but the design is much more modern, including the grille. "200EX is a touring saloon with more than a little panache and perhaps more bravado than one might expect," says Cameron. "We wanted this to be less reminiscent of the traditional 'Parthenon' style and more like a jet intake." The bottom line, says Rolls-Royce's chief executive Tom Purves, is simple. "200EX is a modern execution of timeless Rolls-Royce elegance, breaking with some areas of tradition but retaining the core values that make our marque unique," he says. But there is one thing Rolls-Royce is not talking about - a name. The car is being shown as the 200EX at Geneva, and internally it is known as RR4, but it will be called something different for production. It could be a traditional name, like Silver Cloud or Wraith, but no-one at Rolls-Royce is giving any hints and there is strong talk that - like the car - the name will be completely new. News of the 200EX comes as Rolls-Royce makes some minor revisions to the Phantom for 2009. There is a streamlined front bumper that is closer to the design of the Phantom Coupe and Drophead, finished in stainless steel. The car also gets 21-inch alloy wheels, LED illumination for the door handles, new door cappings with grab handles and double reading lamps for the rear seats. There is other stuff but it is very minor. Rolls-Royce says it sold 1212 Phantom series cars in 2008, the best for the brand in 18 years, and that it has recently spent $100 million on its factory at Goodwood in preparation for production of the RR4 in 2010.