Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud Reviews

Try identifying all 77 of these cars from popular television shows and movies, pictured in cartoon style by the BBC's Autos website. Some of them will be easy to guess: The Dukes of Hazzard's General Lee, Ghostbuster's ECTO-1, and the DeLorean from Back to the Future are all in our image above. But see how you go with the other 74. Head over to the BBC Autos page and try to guess the cars BEFORE you hover over the image to reveal their identity. And when you've got a score, hand the game over to any children in your vicinity, to see how they fare with automotive popular culture. Given that some of the cars go back a few decades, this might be the only computer game you're ever going to beat the kids at. This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott    

The Rolls-Royce brand manager in Dubai, Mohammed El-Arishy, has ordered a very special edition from his company's customisation arm, Rolls-Royce Bespoke. Called the Chicane Phantom Coupe, the one-off is a tribute to the Goodwood Circuit near the storied brand's British HQ.To salute the race venue, the Phantom's wood-trimmed interior has been ditched in favour of ultra-modern carbon-fibre, a chequered flag has been embroidered into the seating, and a metal plaque featuring the Goodwood track map installed.Exterior accents have been finished in matte black, and the bodywork painted a gunmetal grey with matching wheels -- the first time they've been painted on a modern Roller.“I wanted to create a motor car that captures the unique atmosphere and history of the Goodwood Motor Circuit,” El-Arishy said. And we have to admit that while we've seen a lot of garish bespoke work on Rolls-Royces -- some of it from El-Arishy's home in the United Arab Emirates capital -- his creation is restrained and tasteful, if a departure from normal fit-out.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

Never say never – at least at Rolls-Royce. In just months the luxury brand has backflipped on the statement they’d never build an SUV, announcing the reversal at Frankfurt motor show."We are intensively thinking about entering the SUV segment," Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös said at the event. The competition for the best concept design will heat up at the company, now in a catch-up race with rival Bentley who has already pre-empted this move, leading the charge with the ultra-luxurious EXP 9 F concept.Production of the high-riding Bentley will begin in 2016, at least a full year before Rolls-Royce can respond in the showroom.  Even so, Rolls-Royce and its parental conglomerate in Bavaria will likely use this opportunity to develop a large SUV platform that will give buyers an alternative to the Audi Q7 and Mercedes-Benz GL-Class. Just another sweetener for venturing into what has become a lucrative market segment.While every Rolls-Royce is hand-built in their UK Goodwood factory, the British brand has access to BMW's extensive parts bin, so that could help fast-track a future concept into reality. However, with the cheapest Roller starting at about $600,000 here, expect the SUV to be similarly priced if it hits our shores.

The first one I tried, a Toyota Prius, could happily measure the gaps and reverse into place provided I took care of work on the brake and accelerator, and that's a familiar package now for a range of cars including the Ford Focus.But there are also cars that can parallel park, and even reverse safely out into traffic using a range of radar-style sensors. Some people say the rise of self-parking cars is all about our increasing laziness and the ability of technology to take over the menial, or annoying, tasks in our day-to-day lives.Others might, more controversially, draw a link between self parking cars and the inability of many women to do the job. Before you get too carried away, I should point out that this has now been scientifically proven by a study in the UK that I read about in a book called 'Why Men Don't Listen and Women Can't Read Maps'.The book is by Allan Pease - the body language man - and his wife Barbara, and includes the parking research in a section devoted to women's relative lack of 'spatial awareness'. This apparently affects their ability to read maps, and park, but is offset by greater peripheral vision that makes it easier for women to spot things in a fridge than men.But, moving along, I've also recently heard about a new incentive for self parking cars. It comes as Audi accelerates its work on cars that can valet park themselves, linking electronically to a system inside a carpark that identifies open slots and then guides the car into place. They can then be summoned out of hibernation as needed.There is currently only one self-parking garage in the world, not surprisingly at Audi's headquarters in Germany, although work is progressing at other sites and on other cars. But the idea is that cars which can park themselves will free up extra space for parking. After all, when you park - often with other people in the car - you need clearance to open the doors for access. It's the same for head space, as well as clearance to open a hatchback boot.But if the cars can park autonomously, think about all the extra space in the world. It's something that occurs to me nearly every week as I head to the airport or my local shopping centre and wonder where the space has gone. Cars are obviously getting larger, and SUVs are making an increasing land grab, but am I the only one who thinks that parking slots are being shrunken to get a bigger car - and cash - return on the available space?Then again, there are cars that cannot be helped. In Britain - where 1950s garages designed for tiny Austins now look ludicrous in the face of even a humble Ford Fiesta - I was once driving a long-wheelbase Rolls-Royce Phantom. When I drove into the supermarket to buy some fruit I was shocked to discover that the brutally brilliant limousine actually required four standard-sized parking spots, as it was both too long and too wide for anything less.This reporter is on Twitter: @paulwardgover 

A more menacing Ghost is haunting the dreams of the uber-rich and Rolls-Royce predicts it will be its most popular vehicle with Australian buyers.The fastback-styled Wraith coupe is being promoted as a driver’s car, a departure from the traditional Rolls line-up where the owner tends to appreciate the ambience from the rear seats. Backing up the looks is the most powerful engine ever installed under the Spirit of Ecstasy mascot. The twin-turbo V12 applies 465kW/800Nm to the rear wheels to give the luxury coupe a 0-100km/h time of 4.6 seconds.The car rides on a shortened and widened Ghost platform and is a visually stunning vehicle. The teardrop silhouette transforms the donor car’s stately sedan looks into a genuinely sporty vehicle. Rolls-Royce Asia Pacific general manager Dan Balmer says the Australian preference for performance vehicles extends even to this rarefied end of the market.“We believe the Wraith will be preferred car in the range and our Australian customers also have a very high uptake of bespoke personalisation,” he says. Bespoke treatments - ranging from the expected custom interior and exterior colours to almost any whim the buyer decrees - will add to the $645,000 base price and extend the delivery time beyond early 2014.Australian vehicles will include a birds-eye camera and satellite-assisted eight-speed automatic transmission. The former is to ensure the Wraith isn’t damaged when parking, while the latter provides a predictive application of gearing: matching the transmission to the terrain and the vehicle’s velocity.The pair of doors are rear-hinged and close with the push of a button while the interior is bedecked in open-grain wood veneer panelling, the “starlight” headliner that uses tiny LEDs to simulate a night sky and a multifunction screen. There is no touchscreen functionality: that might leave “unsightly fingerprints ate driver and passenger eye level” according to the press release.The air suspension has been adapted to provide a more engaging drive when going hard without sacrificing the Rolls-Royce “waftability” that isolates the four occupants from potential jostling on back roads - spilling one’s martini would spoil not just the mood but the acres of leather throughout the cabin. 

Fresh from its appearances at the 2013 Geneva and New York auto shows, Rolls-Royce’s new Wraith finally gets a chance to stretch its legs.Here we see the elegant coupe take to some of Britain’s country roads, with the car’s product manager, Philip Harnett, sitting behind the wheel.He lets us share the journey by providing an intimate explanation of what it feels like to drive the new Wraith.We also learn about the extensive testing program the car was put through before being signed off for production. Durability and performance testing took place at the Nürburgring while extreme weather tests were done in the heat of California’s Death Valley and the cold of northern Sweden.The end result of Rolls-Royce’s hard work is the marque’s fastest and most powerful model to date. The Wraith, which is powered by a 616-horsepower version of the Rolls-Royce Ghost sedan’s twin-turbocharged 6.6-liter V-12 engine, needs just 4.6 seconds to reach 60 mph.One other standard feature of the Wraith worth mentioning is its unique Satellite Aided Transmission. Using GPS data about the road ahead, the Wraith pre-selects the correct gear for the terrain--effectively shifting intelligently based on topological, road map, and other key data.Hopefully we’ll have a chance to experience it firsthand when deliveries commence in the fourth quarter of 2013.www.motorauthority.com 

The recall is equivalent to more than one year of sales in Australia, and is not due to a safety issue but because owners might notice the smell of fuel coming from the car. It follows two recalls at about this time last year that took in almost every Rolls-Royce sold in Australia over the previous 10 years for a potential brake failure and fire risk.The $645,000 Ghost limousine is being recalled this time simply because customers may notice the smell of fuel when approaching their vehicles. The director of global communications for Rolls-Royce, Richard Carter, told News Limited: “Australia seems to be at the moment the only country around the world to make this recall on a safety basis. It’s a minor fuel vapour venting issue. As fuel is naturally vented from the fuel tank when not in use it goes through a carbon filter … which removes any odours.“The software is not properly working. That means that you could when approaching your car smell fuel,” Carter said. “We are convinced this is not a safety issue because fuel vapours occur on any car, it’s just that you don’t smell them.”Last year Rolls-Royce recalled approximately 74 of the company's flagship Phantom sedans, coupes and convertibles sold between 2003 and 2009, and approximately 36 of its Ghost sedans sold between 2009 and 2011. It amounted to most cars sold over the previous 10 years and almost $100 million worth of vehicles. The latest recall affects only $12 million worth of vehicles.Product Safety Recalls Australia reported last year the $645,000 Ghost was being recalled because: “If the turbo cooling pump cracks, the pump electronics may smoulder, possibly causing an engine compartment fire or a vehicle fire.”At the same time, the agency issued a notice that the $1 million Phantom range was being recalled because of “the possibility of oil entering the brake booster, there may be a reduction in power braking assistance and an increased chance of an accident occurring.” 

Luxury car buyers in Australia are paying too much, according to a British exotic brand that has just slashed a massive $100,000 from its local pricetags.

Given the success of the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe, it’s safe to assume the prestigious British brand will launch a similar drophead version of its latest 2014 Wraith.However, we can’t say with certainty that a Wraith Drophead Coupe will be launched until we either see some spy shots or Rolls-Royce confirms the matter. But Rolls-Royce's boss has now come close to doing the latter.Speaking with media at the UK launch of the Wraith, held fittingly at the Harrods luxury department store in London’s upmarket Knightsbridge, Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös strongly suggested that that a Wraith Drophead Coupe was in the pipeline.“The design certainly lends itself to a drophead coupe, and I think that will be the next variant,” Müller-Ötvös revealed to Auto Express. Unfortunately, he went on to say that producing another Wraith variant could take “some time.”One variant that we definitely won’t be seeing, however, is an SUV. Müller-Ötvös confirmed that there were no plans for a Rolls-Royce SUV despite some rumours to the contrary.Finally, the Rolls-Royce CEO mentioned some of his company’s plans for the next-generation Phantom flagship sedan. He said that a plug-in hybrid was definitely the way to go with such a car, as some city centres, particularly in Europe, may have restrictions on the use of non-electrified vehicles when the model is finally launched.As previously reported, Rolls-Royce ruled out an all-electric Phantom because of range concerns, saying plug-in was a better option. The next-generation Phantom is tipped to arrive sometime around 2016.www.motorauthority.com

You may find the color of this Rolls-Royce Ghost Extended Wheelbase a bit distressing, but there's a good reason for the particular hue applied to this car. The Ghost was painted this way to help foster support for breast cancer care.It was commissioned by FAB1, an organization headed by British broadcaster Chris Evans and which aims to raise funds for breast cancer care. However, the paint finish is only part of the scheme. The one-off Ghost will be used as a hire car in the UK over the next 12 months, with all proceeds from the hire service being donated.The car will also make appearances at exclusive events and be used by celebrities in order to build awareness for the FAB1 cause. Organizers are hoping to raise at least a million pounds (approximately $1.53 million).In support of the project, Rolls-Royce has combined numerous exclusive bespoke elements, from pink accented umbrellas, to hand-embroidered headrests featuring the breast cancer care pink ribbon motif.Further enhancements include unique ‘FAB1’ treadplates and a custom pink and cream leather interior. The cabin is also enhanced with hand veneered picnic tables, 9.2-inch LCD screens and a champagne coolbox.In case you were wondering, the FAB1 name comes from the pink Rolls-Royce seen in the 1960s British science-fiction television series Thunderbirds; owned by London agent Lady Penelope and driven by her butler, Parker.www.motorauthority.com