One lucky and extremely deserving person, Mr James Kilby has won a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. Mr Kilby has been raising money for the Macmillan Cancer Support and on the 7th of December received a very exciting phone call, he had won a 1968 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow in a raffle!

Mr Kilby is planning to sell the car after Christmas, and some of the proceeds will help fund his future charity runs.

He writes, “Really need to sell the car soon, as I want to use some of the proceeds to fund my running for 2008, that way everything I raise will go to charity and no costs will have to come out, also it is a big car and I have limited space, so it will need a new lovng owner asap. If anyone is interested please contact me on my email that is on the justgiving website and I can give you more details.”

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One of the most important engines ever, the Merlin was Sir Henry Royce’s final design. An aero engine which arguably changed the outcome of World War II. It was fitted to the legendary Spitfire fighter along with many other British aircraft including the Lancaster bomber as well as tanks. The American P-51 Mustang also later adopted this amazing engine. The massive engine produced over 1400 horsepower helped by it’s two-stage supercharger. Later generations would produce even more power.

The Rolls-Royce Phantom II was unveiled at the 1929 Olympia Motor Show. An evolution of the ‘New Phantom’ it featured an improved six-cylinder engine, transmission, hydraulic shock absorbers and under-slung semi-elliptic springs. Approximately 1767 Phantom II’s were produced. Only one however was fitted with the 27 litre Merlin V12 engine. Producing over 1100 horsepower with out a supercharger. This behemoth Rolls-Royce could out accelerate a 1958 Vanwall Grand Prix car!. The only comparable vehicle is a Merlin powered Phantom III now owned by American comedian Jay Leno.

This amazing Rolls-Royce has just been sold at the Al Wiseman collection auction for $412,500.

Last nights showing of the excellent The Nature of Britain BBC programme examined some interesting places and in particular for this viewer the Rolls-Royce factory roof in Goodwood.

Alan Titchmarsh MBE highlighted the plight of the skylark, a bird with a beautiful song, which in the wild would expect to see only one third of it’s chicks surviving as they are easy prey for hedgehogs, weazels and stoats. Some enterprising skylarks have found an ingenious means of keeping their nest out of harms way - by nesting on the green roof of the Rolls-Royce factory.

Designed by Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, the architect of the Eden Project in Cornwall. The 60 million pound Rolls-Royce building features the largest green roof in Europe. One that nesting skylarks have taken full advantage of, and one that keeps them out of reach of many of their natural mammal predators.

The eight acre roof has been planted with sedum plants which have water-storing leaves which helps to foster insects, which in turn creates the perfect environment for nesting skylarks. It is hoped that the Rolls-Royce roof will help keep their beautiful bird song in full chorus over the rolling Sussex Downs.

Over 400,000 trees and shrubs have been planted in the Rolls-Royce grounds where even the man-made lake acts as a heat sink for the climate control systems in the office buildings, resulting in savings in air conditioning costs. Custom-made owl boxes are also being deployed to encourage the increase of barn owls, which are now a specially protected species in the UK.

BMW the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Ltd, are renowned for their driving machines. But their Hydrogen 7 powered cars offer a glimpse of how eco-friendly travel will in the future be as luxurious as it is frugal. I hope that Rolls-Royce will be one of the first manufacturers to incorporate this technology, as soon as the fuel infrastructure is in place…

The world’s oldest Rolls-Royce sold at Bonhams on the 3rd of December 2007 for a record £3.2 million plus premium and tax (£3.5 million).

View details of the lot.

Sir Alan Sugar’s Bentley Continental S1, as owned by Sir Elton John fetched £130000 plus Premimum and tax.

View details of the lot.

The word “bespoke” could have been crafted especially for Rolls-Royce. By their very nature, cars from the Rolls-Royce stable are exclusive and tailor-made. As Rolls-Royce say, “You don’t just buy a Rolls-Royce: you commission it, like a piece of fine art or a super yacht.”

The Rolls-Royce Phantom Tungsten is a perfect example of what one can ‘commission’ from the Goodwood factory. With styling cues taken from the 101EX concept car, the Tungsten features a brushed aluminium bonnet, seven-spoke forged aluminium wheels, a visible stainless-steel exhaust and ‘Xirallic’ Darkest Tungsten paintwork. These exterior highlights are themselves not the star of the show though, as you take a peek inside you’ll see Smoke Grey leather and Navy blue hide along with a full width metal fascia and bespoke treadplates, but as your gaze lifts vertically you’ll witness the “Starlight” headliner. Using over 800 fibre optic lights the ceiling creates the impression of a star-filled night sky.

To be sold in strictly limited quantities the Tungsten is an exceptional version, of an exceptional car.

Learn more about the Rolls-Royce Phantom Tungsten.

It has just been announced that six Tungsten Phantoms are already destined for the Middle East.

Built in 1904, the year Rolls-Royce was founded, this 10hp Rolls-Royce, Car no. 20154, is the oldest surviving Rolls-Royce. The diminutive two seater, is expected to reach an excess of £1-million when it goes under the hammer at Bonhams’ annual Olympia Motoring Sale in London.

Also on sale at the auction is a 1956 S1 Continental Sports Saloon, once owned by Sir Elton John, and described by the artist as " the most beautiful-looking car that’s ever been designed". The car is now owned by Sir Alan Sugar, who bought the car in 2001.

One of only 19 Phantom II coupe’s, this 1935 Rolls Royce Phantom II is one of only two completed by Hooper & Company, and will be sold at No Reserve during the 37th Annual Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Event on Jan. 12-20, 2008, in Scottsdale, Ariz.

The black and Tudor Gray Phantom II was special-ordered in December 1934 through R.P. Collyer, Ltd., in Montreal, Canada’s lone Rolls Royce dealer. Specific design elements ordered by the new owner included sloping bonnet shutters, Dunlop Fort Silent Tread tires, front and rear Wilmot Breeden bumpers and an unusual request for no wheel carriers in the front wings of the vehicle, giving the bare side panels an extraordinary fluid shape. It is also lavishly equipped with Marchal headlamps and center light, a windscreen sun visor and matching pairs of Lucas trumpet and Alto horns.

Learn More from Barrett-Jackson.

Rolls-Royce Official Site

Rolls-Royce-Chauffeur is not affiliated with Rolls-Royce in anyway, we are just proud owners of this fine make of vehicle.

Please visit the Official Rolls-Royce Motor Car website.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars are based in the glorious Goodwood Estate in West Sussex. From their state of the art facility they make the best cars in the World.

There are many great chauffeur cars, but there is only one Rolls-Royce. A name that has become a byword for excellence since Charles Stewart Rolls and Frederick Henry Royce first started manufacturing cars in 1904. Almost a century later The Rolls-Royce Phantom wafts out of the Rolls-Royce factory in the Goodwood Estate. A state of the art facility born from BMW’s acquisition of the Rolls-Royce marque.

Beware silent cars

This is no ordinary factory. For a start it is designed to blend right into it’s luscious surroundings. With Europe’s largest “living roof” and lots of natural interior light it is a suitably inspiring and fitting place of work which I suspect is a little different from Henry Royce’s first Manchester workshop! The living roof is made from thousands of sedum plants which not only change colour with the seasons, but insulates to save energy in the winter months. I recently had the pleasure of being shown round the new Rolls-Royce plant. At the clinically spotless and impressive facility I witnessed the manufacture of some Phantoms, Phantom EWBs and the delicious new Phantom Drophead.The bodies and engines are manufactured in Germany. In England the body shells are painted before being joined together in a lifelong embrace with the engine, gearbox and the rest of the drive mechanism. The complete drive mechanism is assembled on a high tech frame. Ensuring that each component is in exactly the right place before the whole chassis is carefully aligned with the bodywork. Apparently I was lucky to see this marriage of automotive excellence. My chaperone explained that although he had been around the whole factory countless times he had never before witnessed this particular, but significant part of the Phantom build process.

Leather

The leather team select only the best hides from Bavarian bulls with which to dress the car. Bavarian bulls are chosen because their hides do not stretch from calf bearing like the cows, plus there are no barbed wire fences in Bavaria, which means there are no scars on the animals. The leather is dyed right through, so that even if scratched the colour will shine through.

Woodwork

The woodworkers who form and shape the finest wood veneers, first start with wood from the same tree. Carefully bookmarking them so they are a perfect mirror image across the car.

The church of excellence

Through out my tour each craftsperson I saw was totally engrossed in their job. In a dedicated and almost religious way, the workers laboured as if handling a new born baby or some-other equally precious being. We were not even allowed to touch the cars, and even our Rolls-Royce guides had to seek permission from the workers before we were allowed to get too close to these amazing machines. Each car I witnessed was unique. Some shared the same exterior colour, but all had different variations of leather and wood along with other differences. This helps make each Royce special. In no way does the manufacture resemble a traditional production line. Just like a finished Rolls-Royce doesn’t resemble a normal car.