Luxury automakers tend to love to roll out new special editions - after all, what better way to make your exclusive car even more exclusive than with a limited-run model? Rolls-Royce, which has never been shy of producing special edition models, just unveiled its latest. Dubbed the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe Waterspeed Collection, this Drophead Coupe is inspired by the Rolls-Royce-powered Bluebird K3 speedboat.
The Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe is a fitting vehicle to pay tribute to a world-record-setting speedboat, especially consideringits teak rear deck is inspired by the decks of luxury yachts. As you'd expect in a special edition Rolls, the automaker has pulled out all the stops on the Phantom Drophead Coupe Waterspeed Collection. The exterior is finished in nine coats of Maggiore Blue paint, and finished with a hand-painted "coach line" (a fancy pinstripe, if you will) that mimics the design of the Bluebird K3 speedboat. Other exterior changes include a hand-formed brushed steel rear deck (replacing the teak), and bespoke 11-spoke wheels.
The interior of the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe Waterspeed Collection is finished in grey leather with blue accents, as well as a hand-engraved armrest, featuring the Bluebird motif. Other interior touches include a new interpretation of the "power reserve" dial, with the dial moving backwards towards yellow and blue ranges - mimicking its namesake speedboat. The interior is finished off with Abachi wood trim, and the Bluebird's records engraved on the glove box.
The Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe Waterspeed is powered by 6.7-liter V-12 making 453 hp and 531 lb-ft of torque, mated to an eight-speed automatic. It made its debut today at London, England's famed Bluebird restaurant, before heading to the Concorso D'Elegenza at Villa D'Este in Italy.
Source: Rolls-Royce
I generally like writing—especially when it’s about cars—but I hate writing about myself. So instead of blathering on about where I was born (New York City, in case you were wondering) or what type of cars I like (all of ’em, as long as it has a certain sense of soul or purpose), I’ll answer the one question I probably get most, right after what’s your favorite car (see above): How’d you get that job? Luck. Well, mostly. Hard work, too. Lots of it. I sort of fell into my major of journalism/mass communication at St. Bonaventure University and generally liked it a lot. In order to complete my degree senior year, we had to spend our last two semesters on some sort of project. Seeing as I loved cars and already spent a good portion of my time reading about cars on sites such as Motor Trend, I opted to create a car blog. I started a Tumblr, came up with a car-related name (The Stig’s American Cousin), signed up for media access on a bunch of manufacturer’s websites, and started writing. I did everything from cover new trim levels to reviewing my friends’ cars. I even wrote a really bad April Fool’s Day post about the next Subaru Impreza WRX being Toyota-Corolla-based. It was fun, and because it was fun, it never felt like work. Sometime after my blog had gotten off the ground, I noticed that Motor Trend was hiring for what’s now our Daily News Team. I sent in my résumé and a link to my blog. I got the job, and two weeks after graduation I made the move from New York to California. I’ve been happily plugging away at a keyboard—and driving some seriously awesome hardware—ever since.
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