BMW didn’t have a world debut this year at The Quail but Rolls-Royce decided to premiere the Droptail during the Monterey Car Week. In addition, the ultra-luxury brand had a couple of other special cars to show, including this lovely Ghost Black Badge finished in Boraci Blue. The stately sedan has an equally exquisite cabin with Grace White upholstery, black accents, and contrasting lime green stitching.
The coachbuilt roadster and the ultra-luxury sedan were joined by a Cullinan SUV, with all three having the V12 engine. However, the internal combustion engine is not long for this world since Rolls-Royce has already announced it’ll become a purely electric marque at the end of the decade. Also showcased during the Monterey Car Week, the Spectre leads Goodwood’s EV ambitions, with first deliveries scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2023.
While one new model has entered the lineup, two have been dropped this year. The final Dawn convertible was assembled at the beginning of 2023 and the last Wraith coupe followed suit with an epilogue dubbed Black Arrow. The latter will go down in history as the final V12-powered Rolls-Royce ever. The new Droptail has a coupe-like silhouette but its hardtop can be removed, therefore transforming the one-off into a roadster.
Regardless of lineup changes, the Phantom will forever remain RR’s absolute flagship. The imposingly large luxury sedan went through a mild facelift last year when the Series II was launched as a subtle evolution of what is generally regarded as “the best car in the world.”
What’s next? A spy video from May 2023 revealed RR is working on an update for the Cullinan but the changes are likely going to be as discreet as they were for the Phantom.
Rolls-Royce is doing better than ever as sales reached a record-breaking level of 6,021 units in 2022, up by 8% compared to the previous year. In the first half of 2023, deliveries saw a minor decrease of 0.3% to 3,181 vehicles, but that’s to be expected considering the Wraith and Dawn have been discontinued. The numbers should remain high taking into account that the order books for Spectre are already full for the entire 2024, so a new order won’t be delivered until 2025.
