1933 Rolls Royce in Barons 27th July Auction

Barons has secured a handsome and interesting trio of Rolls-Royce 20/25s for its sale of Classic, Historic and Sports Cars at Sandown Park on July 27th.

The trio includes a 1935 20/25 Limousine by Thrupp and Maberley. This is a highly significant machine, as it was one of the first cars ever painted with a pearlescent finish (achieved using fish scales suspended in the paint). This superb motor car has performed sterling duty as a wedding car, and is believed to have transported over 100 brides on their big day (£43,000-£48,000).

There is also a 'barn find' 1933 Sedanca de Ville with coachwork by Barker, which has been barn stored for many years and is presented in totally original condition, so presents an outstanding restoration opportunity (£15,000-£20,000).

Finally there is a 1930 20/25 Open Tourer with Keeble bodywork which has been in the same ownership for 30 years (£30,000-£35,000.

2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost

The Rolls-Royce Ghost is a driver's car. You know, the type of driver who is paid to wear a suit, always be early, and smile even on his worst of days. As such, the ride is so supple that you might imagine the massive twenty-inch wheels dancing around potholes rather than just soaking up the impacts. The twin-turbocharged V-12's 563 hp and 575 lb-ft of torque are massaged for gentle yet firm delivery through the eight-speed automatic. The engine never feels aggressive, yet there's always jet-like thrust at the ready.

The small Rolls affords plenty of room for rear-seat passengers, and the trunk could swallow a small Chevy. As you might imagine, the rear seats are just as comfortable as the fronts, and the lambs'-wool carpet under your feet feels like it's three inches thick. I was surprised, though, to see how much equipment was optional, rather than standard on the Ghost. A panoramic sunroof-standard on a $46,355 Acura ZDX-is a $7000 option on top of the $248,700 base price. Passive entry costs $1700 while those iconic wood tray tables cost $2800.

The navigation and entertainment system is borrowed from BMW's iDrive, which means that Rolls doesn't have to curse high-dollar cars with inferior electronics, like so many other niche manufacturers do. The center stack is kept free of clutter by burying a few settings (such as stability control) deep in the iDrive-like system. There's also a neat interactive owners' manual that can be accessed when the vehicle is stopped.

2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost: A dazzling follow-up

Sir Winston Churchill would undoubtedly roll over in his grave to learn that Rolls-Royce and Bentley, the noblest of British luxury car brands, now belong to German manufacturers. The former is one of the BMW Group’s brands, just like another British icon, the Mini. The latter is part of the large Volkswagen conglomerate.

Purists and jingoists alike have no reason to worry about these ownership changes since Rolls-Royce and Bentley, long-time twins, have been brought back to life and re-launched with vigour and an impressive respect for their traditions. Not to mention that they now benefit from the most advanced technology and German engineering and manufacturing know-how. So much for the often questionable and fuzzy quality and innovation that once undermined the reputation of English cars.

Of these two brands, by far the most prestigious and renowned is Rolls-Royce, which, more than any other, is associated with royalty and great wealth. With a still imposing silhouette and an immense Greek temple-like front grille crowned with the emblem of the Spirit of Ecstasy (a feminine figure with wings outstretched) you’d recognize a Rolls anywhere.

2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost Review

Your butler, Aloysius, may be seriously unimpressed when you bring home the 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost, with its MSRP of just $245,000. Cars.com senior editor Joe Wiesenfelder is here to reassure him, though. Rolls-Royce’s “downmarket” sedan still has all the refinement, luxury and driving prowess of a Rolls and doesn’t even come close to dipping into the shantytown, Hoover flags territory of a BMW or Mercedes-Benz. Read Wiesenfelder’s full review to learn more about the slightly less outlandish Ghost.

2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost

Rolls-Royce has positioned its "cheap" model, the Ghost sedan, brilliantly, in terms of both its price and its unapologetic pursuit of comfort in a class of wannabe sport sedans.

Side The Ghost is 17 inches shorter than the short-wheelbase Phantom, but it's still plenty long, roughly between the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban full-size SUVs.

In the past few years, ultraluxury brands have been adding models to their lineups that are priced lower than their typical ultrarich cars, but that are still more expensive than the most feature- and power-packed models from mass-market luxury brands like BMW and Mercedes-Benz. In 2004, Bentley introduced its sporty Continental GT coupe at the unprecedented low price of $149,990 and promptly quintupled its sales without damaging the brand, as some had predicted the car might. A four-door Continental Flying Spur followed, currently priced at $177,600, $202,500 for a more powerful Speed version.

At a base price of $245,000, the Ghost comes in above the Spur and the new Aston Martin Rapide ($200,000), and well above the priciest versions of Maserati's Quattroporte ($133,700) and Porsche's new Panamera ($132,600), all of which have four doors.

Yet the Ghost doesn't cost as much as Rolls-Royce's flagship sedan, the Phantom ($380,000), or the 57 ($366,000) from Maybach, a Daimler brand. Though its retired 2009 Arnage was in the same range as the Ghost, Bentley's all-new 2011 Mulsanne flagship starts at $285,000.

Both its character and its price put the Ghost in a position to satisfy buyers and succeed in what's becoming a crowded subset of the luxury market.

First Drive: 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost

You feel it the moment you open the door, which is thicker and heavier than in other cars, closes silently behind you at the push of a button, and has a removable Teflon-coated umbrella stashed in its innards in case the weather turns inclement. The handmade interior trim looks like the finely crafted wood you might find on a 1930s-era yacht. The seat leather, the company says, is made from the hides of bulls raised in pastures free of barbed-wire fencing, which might cause surface blemishes.

2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost

That's all to be expected in a Rolls. What sets the Ghost apart from Roll-Royce's other model, the Phantom, is its relatively diminutive size (a mere 212.6 in. long, some 27 in. shorter than the extended-wheel-base version of the Phantom) and relatively low price (starting sticker is just $247,000, $138,000 less than the "base" model Phantom sedan). Of course, optional equipment can easily add $50,000 to the price of either model (and far more if you go a little crazy).

The rear-wheel-drive Ghost also is the most powerful Rolls ever, with a turbocharged V12 engine under its hood similar to the one in the BMW 760Li—only tweaked to make it even more powerful. In the Ghost, the engine is rated at 6.6 liters (vs. 6.0 liters in the BMW), 563 horsepower (vs. 535 in the BMW), and 575 ft.-lb. of torque (up from the BMW's 550).

As a result, the Ghost not only has the ultrasmooth and quiet ride you expect from a Rolls but also goes like a bat out of hell when you punch the gas. The company says the Ghost will accelerate from zero to 60 in a blazingly fast 4.8 seconds, slightly quicker than a Chevy Corvette Grand Sport and about one second quicker than the Phantom. That's an amazing stat for a big luxury sedan that weighs 5,445 lb. Top speed is 155 miles per hour.

1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II for sale at Bonhams Auctions

A 1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II, which was used by Greek industrialist Theodore Cozzika to commute between his girlfriend’s (the American film star Pearl White) home in the South of France and their residence in Cairo, is to be sold by Bonhams as part of its Rolls-Royce, Bentley Motor Cars Automobilia sale at Rockingham Castle, Leicestershire on 19 June 2010.

Cozzika and White shared a love for travel. Accordingly the chassis cards state that the car was ‘for use on Continent and Egypt at very high speeds with fairly heavy luggage’.

Pearl White is often referred to as the ‘Stunt Queen’ of silent films and most notably starred in the 1914 series The Perils of Pauline. A legend in cinema history, she is mentioned in the classic film Sunset Boulevard by Betty Schaefer, who claims to be her granddaughter.

When White died of cirrhosis in 1938 at the age of 49, following a battle with drink and drug addiction, she left all of her French property to Cozzika. The car was subsequently sold to Jack Barclay in London in 1941, and a continuous history for the Rolls-Royce is known. Estimated at £250,000 – 300,000, it recently underwent a complete last nut and bolt restoration by marque experts Taylor's of Chichester to concours standards.