1975 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow on 2040-cars

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Even in a down economy, Rolls-Royce is on a roll

Limited Volume, Big Margins Spell Success
Bigger isn't always better, especially when it comes to selling super luxury. Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös expects the British automaker to again post a record year, despite the economic troubles in Europe and weak growth in both the US and China.
"It is not all doom and gloom out there," Müller-Ötvös explains, noting that the declining sales in Europe and elsewhere have been offset by good performance for the marque in the Middle East, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Russia.

Ugur Sahin returns with Rolls Royce Jonckheere Aerodynamic Coupe II design

The "Round Door" Rolls-Royce Phantom I Aerodynamic Coupe (inset) is a magnificent black beast of a car (and you can see it at the Petersen Automotive Museum for a limited time) as well as a mystery: designed by the Jonckheere Works in Belgium in 1935, all records for the one-of-a-kind coupe were destroyed in World War II, so no one knows who designed it or who commissioned it. What remains of the original coachbuilding company now makes bodies for cars and buses, and has asked designer Ugur Sahin to reinterpret the most fabulous car from its history.
We've written about Sahin often before, recently about his Corvette-based Anandi being shown at Top Marques Monaco and going into production. For a man who favors long hoods and short bodies, this particular Rolls-Royce couldn't be better. Sahin says the word "Respect" guided his lines for the 77-year-old car, the most apparent changes being the front fender treatment, the headlights dropping into the fenders, and the serious downsizing of the fin at the rear. Sahin says that there are talks with potential investors about building a one-off.
You can find out a little more about it in the press release below, and check out the gallery above of high-res images for every angle.

Aeroboat packs 1,100 seahorses of Rolls-Royce Merlin V12 power

We don't typically cover boats here - this is, after all, Autoblog and not Aquablog - but every so often something comes along that makes us want to dip our toes in the water, whether it's a Jaguar-designed speedboat, a Gulf-liveried megayacht or a Lamborghini-powered Riva Aquarama. This is another one of those occasions.
Set to be unveiled at the Salute to Style show in July at The Hurlingham Club in London, the Aeroboat is a motor yacht that seems to blend retro and furutistic lines in equal measure that would make Jules Verne proud without going Steampunk. Inspired by the Spitfire fighter plane, the Aeroboat packs aircraft-inspired switchgear and shock-mounted seats into a long, sleek form. But what really has our interests piqued is what lies beneath the stylish decks.
Each of the dozen Aeroboats to be built will pack a reconditioned, marinized, fuel-injected Rolls-Royce Merlin V12 engine - the same 27-liter powerplant that propelled the Spitfire. With 1,100 horsepower on tap, it's expected to propel the Aeroboat up to a top speed between 75 and 95 knots, or 86-109 miles per hour by landlubber standards, which is pretty damn fast on the open water.