Rolls Royce

Year of the Dragon Rolls-Royce Phantom sold out in just two months

The car boom in China is not showing signs of any slow down. The luxury car segment continues to show the same as a special edition Year of the Dragon Rolls-Royce Phantom that has a tag price of $1.2 million was bought just two months after being rolled out to the showroom.

The special model was specifically built for the Chinese New Year that was celebrated recently and welcomes the lunar year of the dragon.

According to the Rolls-Royce CEO, the Chinese market is not easily pleased with plain luxury rides but want highly custom built models. Some popular items include custom embroidery and even drink cabinets. The topman of Rolls-Royce admit though that 2012 might not surpass the 2011 performance of the brand in China but the car marque will still push ahead with more dealership to add to their 14 showrooms in order to meet the high demand in the luxury car segment.

Rolls-Royce looks into more vehicle customization to sustain and promote growth of the brand. The current orders for the Ghost Rolls-Royce sedan shows that around 56% of the orders involve some for of personalization which may range from cigar humidors, custom paint, and even picnic sets.

For the higher end Phantom, the customization is even higher with 79% for the Asian market and around 99% of the orders looking for bespoke features for Middle Eastern clients. The North American market is also following the trend with 84% of customization for the orders last year, a big jump from 30% in 2005.

Design your own Rolls-Royce Ghost with an online visualizer

In order to keep the hordes of RR loyalists and consumers interested, Rolls-Royce has created a website that features only one of its models—the Ghost. The site is complete with computer generated images and press releases.

The most amazing feature is perhaps the site’s “visualizer” that enables people to come up with their own color schemes to match their preferred interiors and exteriors. To make the site more enjoyable, it also allows you to adjust the trims and dash. Just how cool is that!

As we have scene in recent spy photos, the Rolls-Royce Ghost looks like the Rolls Royce 200EX concept car. Several users have said that the images produced online for both interior and exterior is close pretty close the specifications of the final production.

Despite the global financial crisis that has several car makers all over the world in a steady downward spin with possible bankruptcy threats, foreclosures, and purchase, the production of the new Rolls-Royce Ghost is right on track. The Ghost will push forward s the first few models will be joining the line ups in showrooms. It is assumed that the Ghost models will come out early in 2011.

The Rolls-Royce Ghost is aimed at its high-end competitors: Mercedes-Benz and BMW (read up on BMW on BMW Blog, BMWTalk.net). It is also expected to compete with Bentley’s Continental line up. With these information at hand, we could only assume that the Ghost will have the heavy price tag that would fall in between $200,000 and $300,000.

Rolls-Royce 200EX to get New V12 Power Plant

The Rolls-Royce 200EX concept car that took a bow at the Geneva Motor Show is set to get a new V12 6.6L turbocharged engine under its hood when it goes to production.

The new engine is capable of producing around 500 horsepower with its 4-valve per cylinder architecture utilizing the newest direct fuel injection technology. This engine is a sibling of new engines like the 4.4L turbocharged V8 engine installed in the 7-series of BMW.

The V12 engine for the 200EX is expected to produce a torque of around 553 lb-ft to ensure power and relaxed cruising power on the road as most Rolls-Royce clients put it.

In comparison with the higher Phantom, the new engine tops its V-12 6.7L engine that pounds on the road with 460 horse power and a torque of 531 lb-ft.

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