1994 Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit Reviews

China is clearly on top of the car world in 2011.

The English company - now a division of BMW - will use the one-off Phantom 102EX to see how customers respond to a fully electric-powered car, and will take it on a tour of Europe, the Middle East, Asia and North America.  It will be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show on March 1."We have engineered the world's first battery electric vehicle for the ultra-luxury segment," chief executive Torsten Muller-Otvos says in a statement."With this vehicle, we begin an exploration into alternative drive-trains, seeking clarity on which alternative technologies may be suitable to drive Rolls-Royce motor cars of the future."The company wants to ascertain how long the car can drive between re-charges and how it operates in extreme weather conditions, but there are no plans yet to develop a production version."I must be convinced that any alternative drive-train we choose for the future delivers an authentic Rolls-Royce experience," Muller-Otvos says."It must be a technology that is right for our customers, our brand and which sets us on a sound footing for a sustainable future."

The British super-luxury brand confirms the Ghost, which arrived last year as a four-door limousine, will be stretched into both a coupe and convertible to copy the lineup of the flagship Phantom.  There are no details yet, but Rolls-Royce chairman Ian Robertson hints to Carsguide that a drophead coupe based on the Ghost could be seen later this year. "There is likely to be an entry to the model line-up. I think you will see some Rolls-Royce derivates this year that move in that direction. A derivative," Robertson says. Rolls-Royce brought the convertible first when it stretched the Phantom line, before going on to the drophead coupe, but Robertson refuses to be drawn on the way the Ghost will be stretched.  "You'll have to wait and see," he says. The smaller, less-expensive Ghost - priced from $645,000 in Australia - has been a huge hit for Rolls-Royce and helped the company to sales of 2711 cars in 2010. This was a new record and more than double the previous record of  1212 cars in 2009. "Ghost is doing phenominally well. The Ghost has done the job it was supposed to," says Robertson.  "The interesting thing is that Phantom is holding up as well."  The top selling models in the Phantom range are the four-door cars, including the extended-wheelbase limousine that lists from $1.25 million without the bespoke customising done by almost all owners. Rolls-Royce says almost every Phantom had some sort of custom work in 2011, from something as simple as a special paint colour to kick panels inside the doors to full custom wood interiors with major entertainment packages. "The bespoke operation requires non-normal processes. If you use the normal process it does not happen," says Robertson, who predicts the bespoke business to grown considerable in 2011 with the Ghost.

"We found it in 1958, 50 miles (80km) west of Charleville rusted out in a paddock," says owner David McPhee, 80, of Brisbane. My wife said to buy it for parts but when we discovered how old it was it became a project on its own. It cost 40 (about $64 in today's currency) and we thought that was too much." McPhee won't say how much it's worth now, but Rollers of this vintage sell at auction for between $500,000 and $1 million. "I put 30 years of my life into it. I haven't put all that work into it just to sell it. No way," he says. The Derby-built 1100 series Silver Ghost, nicknamed "Quicksilver", is one of only 90 made. It is powered by a 7.5-litre, side-valve six-cylinder undersquare engine with 114mm by 120mm bore and stroke, one Rolls expanding carburettor and an output of about 35kW. Bosch electric start was fitted by the owner in 1920 because the big engine was too hard to crank start. McPhee says the three-speed crashbox gearbox guarantees a top speed of 105km/h. "For a 1990 motor car that's quite something," McPhee says. Rolls used the same slow-revving engine from 1906 to 1926 with little modification. The former civil engineer has done most of the mechanical restoration work, including building an air fuel pump. When he rescued it from outback oblivion, the car had a rusted four-door body, its third round of coachwork. McPhee's research found a Grosvenor two-seater body on a Rolls with chassis number 1126, just four more than his Roller, so he decided to replicate that body style. The coachwork was completed by a Gold Coast company in 1988. Before that McPhee used to drive it up and down his semi-rural street with just the chassis. "Without a body it went like a bloody rocket," he says. The body is made of aluminium, steel kauri wood from brewery beer barrels and it rides on metal leaf springs with drum brakes only on the rear wheels. Although it has primitive mechanicals, there is remarkably little changed from current cars with the same arrangements of pedals. However, cold-starting the antique machine is a process that takes time and patience. Before the driver gets in, they turn on the master switch on the battery located on the right-hand running board, then switch on the fuel cock behind the spare wheel. The driver gets in through the left-hand door because there is no right door as access is barred by the handbrake and gear shift. Once inside, the driver selects a rich fuel mixture on a control on the footwell, works a device like a bicycle pump to prime the fuel pump, turns on the magneto, coil and battery, retards the spark on a steering-wheel-mounted control, sets the governor control on the other side of the steering wheel to a fast idle and then either gets a friend to manually crank the vehicle from the front or hits the starter button. "It's a reliable system," says McPhee. True to his word, it springs into life immediately and purrs as quietly and smoothly as many of today's modern engines. Its muted rumblings are further dampened by the complex exhaust system which includes a large primary expansion chamber between the header pipes and the muffler. McPhee says he takes the car for regular runs and drove it from the top to the bottom of the British Isles in 2007. He claims he get about 17.6 litres per 100km, thanks to the 1740kg "lightweight" body and short chassis. * You can see McPhee's Roller at the Speed + Style + Beauty classic car show from January 12 to 16 at the old Metro Ford site in Ann St, Fortitude Valley.

Then again, the open-air Phantom was revealed at Pebble Beach in California, the scene of America's most cashed-up annual car show. The Concours d'Elegance judging at Pebble, on the 18th fairway of one of the country's most-famous golf courses, usually draws a collection of restored classics with a total pricetag beyond $250 million. The special Phantom was created to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Pebble Beach classic and was re-worked from a Phantom Drophead Coupe, a convertible with a starting price of $1.35 million in Australia. The Bespoke department at Rolls-Royce in England went all the way on the car, starting with a special one-off Bespoke exterior colour called Stillwater Blue as a tribute to Stillwater Cove on the Monterey Peninsula. The car's navy blue soft-top is lined with cashmere and upholstered in a cream-coloured leather interior. Interior wood fittings combine cross-banded Santos Pallisander veneer with a silver pinstripe inlay. The car has special teak decking for the roof tonneau and luggage compartment, which is loaded with a fitted champagne set to take advantage of the refrigerated cabined beneath the floor in the boot. The final Bespoke touches are an enamelled plaque on the dash with special Concours logs on the tread plates and embroidered on the seats.

You could be forgiven for thinking it's a luxury yacht, however these are features of a limited edition Rolls-Royce.  The Phantom Drophead Coupe has received the bespoke additions to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the legendary Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in Carmel, California. The car was unveiled at the event by Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Muller-Otvos and chief designer Ian Cameron, and was sold within minutes.  The exterior paintwork is a tribute to Stillwater Cove on the Monterey Peninsula. It also features a navy blue soft top lined with cashmere and interior wood fittings cross-banded Santos Pallisander veneer contrasted with a silver pinstripe inlay. Handcrafted oiled teak decking is used for the roof tonneau and also in the luggage compartment flooring with a refrigerated cabinet underneath. Further Bespoke cues include an enamelled plaque on the dash, Concours logos on the tread plates and embroidery on each seat.  Price? If you have to ask, you can't afford it. Besides, Rolls is simply not discussing it.

The flagship Phantom was sliced and diced for a scene where Ironman star Robert Downey, playing Tony Stark, is attacked by his Russian rival Ivan Vanko, played by Mickey Rourke.  The villain uses high-powered whips to wreak the havoc on the Rolls- Royce, exposing the car's signature alloy spaceframe construction in an unsuccessful attack during what is claimed to be the Monaco historic car race meeting. It looks like a piece of costly product placement by Rolls-Royce, but the British company says it did not even know its Phantom was being used in Iron Man 2. And it says - unlike a vast number of companies, including Apple and Pepsi - that it does not pay to have its cars placed in major movies. "No product placement payments were made by Rolls-Royce, nor did Rolls- Royce supply free vehicles for destruction," says Rolls-Royce's spokesman in the USA, Wayne Kung.  A matched pair of Phantoms were bought for the movie, starring in the Monaco scenes involving Downey and his co-star Gwyneth Paltrow. One survives but the other came to a grisly end. "The filming/stunts were done without our knowledge after the production company bought two cars from our dealer," says Nigel Wonnacott of Rolls-Royce in the UK. Kung takes up the story.  "The Rolls-Royce motor cars used in the film were purchased by a representative of the studio through a dealer. These Phantoms are privately owned by the studio, and were used in the film without oversight from Rolls-Royce," he says. "As always, we have the utmost respect for the privacy of our clients, and I cannot comment further on their purchase."

"I always thought I'd like one of those cars one fine day," he says.  So when he went into semi-retirement about 15 years ago, he sought out an early model Roller just like the Galway vet's.  The 1938 Phantom III he bought at a deceased estate auction in Sydney originally cost less than $5000. Glynn paid $84,000, restored it to its original condition and it's now worth over $500,000.  "I don't think I'll ever sell it. It's part of the family," he says.  Phoebe the Phantom, as he calls it, comes with quite a history. The chassis was built in Crewe and the Sedanca de Ville town car coach was built by H.J. Mulliner in London.  It was a demo model for seven months before being bought by a French woman and shipped to Quebec. She died in 1952 and it was taken to a New York caryard until 1967 when it was bought for about $1200 by a London undertaker who returned it to Old Blighty.  The body was modified to add another row of seats so it could be used as a mourning car. Just two years later a Sydney solicitor bought it and drove it around London for a couple of years before shipping it out the colonies.  In 1975, a Sydney Volvo dealer swapped a new Volvo for the relic which was then in need of substantial restoration. The dealer restored the engine, but little else until Glynn came along and bought it.  Glynn smiles as he fires up the Roller's big black 7340cc twin-spark V12 engine and it purrs into life. "It's true what they say about it being so quiet inside the only thing you can hear is the clock,' he says.  "Sometimes you can hold the starter on for too long because you can't hear or feel when the engine has started. "But it can sit in the garage for three months without running and it starts first time."  The big 2630kg beast has 160 horsepower that will roll it up to 100km/h in 16.5 seconds and out to a top speed of 150km/h while guzzling fuel at 23.5L/100km. Mechanical highlights are a Bijur auto lubricating system with "miles" of copper tubing, hydraulic auto jacks, three-speed auto and four drum brakes.  Only 727 of these were made and they have been owned by lords, ladies, princes, maharajahs, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Field Marshal Montgomery. But as each model is purpose built to owner specifications, no two models are the same.  Glynn's features the extra seats, a cocktail cabinet, a rear picnic table, pull-out tool kit, one-way intercom from passenger to chauffeur and, as his wife, Ann, points out, an electrically controlled silk privacy screen. "There's plenty of room to do whatever you like in the back," she says.  Their other pride and joy is a 1960 Bentley Continental Flying Spur with a coach also made by Mulliner. It was originally owned by Hammer Films managing director Lt Col J. Carreras.  Only 70 were ever made and Glynn believes there are only six in Australia. He bought it for $60,000 from a Hong Kong doctor when the British colony was handed back to the Chinese in 2000.  "The doctor sold it because of the ill feeling toward the British at the time," he says. "But look at Hong Kong now and there are Rolls-Royces and Bentleys everywhere."  Glynn believes the V8 Spur is now worth about $200,000. "I won"t sell either of them. We've had them in the family a long time and every time I sit it them I feel good," he says. Become a fan of Carsguide of Facebook

However, retired boilermaker Noel Irwin, 70, of Rockhampton, has invested carefully and can now indulge his boyhood dreams of owning a historic Roller, plus an MG, Whippet and an Ariel motorcycle. "I have always loved cars and my collection started off when my wife got Alzheimer's and I bought a 1930 Whippet Tourer to give her an interest," he says. "She instantly fell in love with it." He bought the fully restored Whippet two years ago for $16,000 and the 1947 MG saloon 18 months ago for $17,000. In August, he bought the 1969 Rolls-Royce Mk I Shadow for $28,000. "A Rolls-Royce means prestige but for me I'm an old boilermaker and there are no airs and graces on me," he says. "I don't care if you call it a Roller. I don't own it for the prestige but because I can and when I was young I thought I'd love to own a Rolls-Royce one day. But it's still just a motor car." He plans to show the Roller at the MotorMania show and shine at Rockhampton Showgrounds on July 25. The show is part of a 10-day Central Queensland MotorMania festival of motoring and motorsport that includes cars, karts, drag racers, motorcycles and more. "I haven't had this in any shows yet," says the member of the local All Classic Motor Club and Veteran and Vintage Car Club. "When people look at it they can't believe it's in original condition." The Shadow features a 6.2L V8 with three-speed auto. "There's no tacho and Rolls doesn't stipulate its horsepower, but I've had it up to about 140km/h," he says. "It only gets 15mpg (18L/100km), but it's got a 107-litre fuel tank and the car is very reliable. Everything works. Even the (Kienzle) clock still works. "Only the light in the glovebox and under the bonnet don't work and I don't think I'll be working on the engine in the dark. It also needs new padding under the bonnet, but after 40 years you expect some wear and tear." The Rolls had 71,000 miles on the odo when Irwin bought it. He is the fifth owner. The first owner racked up 27,000 miles in 23 years. It came with a pristine owner's manual which Irwin claims can fetch as much as $3000 on eBay. The 1969 Rolls was ahead of its time with self-levelling hydraulic suspension like the Citroen, power assisted steering, airconditioning, four-wheel discs, electric front seats and windows, day/night mirror, electric aerial, and the door skins and bonnet are made of aluminium. "I wish it had cruise control. That's the only thing missing," he says. There are individual lights at each seat; walnut dashboard trim; Connelly leather upholstery, door trim and roof lining; separate armrests; picnic tables in the rear; four ashtrays and three "cigar" lighters, according to the manual. "I'm an ex-smoker but I've never been a fan of cigars," says Irwin. "I use it weekly for leisure and for birthdays and formals for friends and relatives. I don't hire it, I just do it for the love of it." Visit www.motormaniacq.com.au for more information on upcoming MotorMania shows and events.

The three companies with Australia in their sights - Great Wall, Chery and Geely - are all expected to unveil new value-driven compacts and SUVs at the country's biggest annual motoring event.  Great Wall is the only brand with vehicles already in local showrooms, a dual-cab ute and SUV, but Chery and Geely will both hit the road down under before the end of 2010.BYD, a technology leader for China, is also planning to reveal its first plug-in electric cars in Beijing although it currently has no plans to sell overseas.  All 47 of China's manufacturers are expected to have something new at the show, with a move away from the copycat designs of the past - everything from the Rolls-Royce Phantom to the BMW X5 was either parodied or duplicated - to unique Chinese designs."They will all show their new export cars," says Ric Hull, the Ateco Automotive executive responsible for the Great Wall and Chery brands.  Hull says the Chinese car industry is advancing so rapidly it is hard to keep tabs on the new-model action."I think everything has to be seen in the context of the market. The Chinese made and sold about 13.6 million vehicles last year, and the US was 10.4 million," he says.  "They have not only eclipsed the US, they have gone way beyond them. In good years the US is 17 million, but the Chinese are there already."In the first quarter of this year, they have sold 4.6 million vehicles. So you're now talking 18 or 20 million a year. It's just gone bezerk.  "The thing that fascinates me most is how anyone can lift production to those levels. I don't believe the Japanese could do it, or even the Koreans."Hull says Ateco is already on track with additions to the Great Wall range including a single-cab ute, with Chery to hit first with a compact SUV.  "We'll launch Chery in August. It has just been an agonizing process to get the compliance issues in place, but it will be fine."I'm hoping to launch a RAV4-kind of vehicle at a really good price.  "Great Wall are talking about a 1.5-litre car that we'll introduce before the end of the year. They are getting there and getting there awfully, awfully quickly."Hull says he is expecting rapid improvement in Chinese vehicles, with quality and safety as top priorities.  Great Wall is just about to face its second ANCAP crash-test barrier in Australia and, following the miserable two-star result for the ute, Hull is hoping for a four-star rating for the brand's SUV."We took a hammering from NCAP on the utes but Great Wall reacted and they have made a lot of changes," Hull says.  Car sales in China are so important that all the world's major makers will be displaying in Beijing.Even though many skipped last year's Tokyo Motor Show, previously the world's equal number one with Frankfurt every two years, no-one can afford to miss the biggest motoring event in China.  There were more than a dozen world previews at the last Beijing show and a lot of the action is at the upmarket end of the business in 2010.Ferrari is unveiling its new go-faster flagship, the 599 GTO, and Mercedes-Benz will reveal an update of the $1.5 million Maybach ultra- luxury limousine.