You expect to find all sorts of optional equipment on a Rolls-Royce. It could be pearl-inlayed veneers or a special paint job. But this example is something else entirely.

Crafted for Sahib Bahadur – also known as Umed Singh II, Maharaja of Kotah – this 1925 Rolls-Royce New Phantom was coachbuilt by Barker & Company of London and includes some rather unusual accessories. Namely, a mounted shotgun, rifle stand, Lantaka cannon, a pair of search lights and a machine gun fitted to a matching trailer.

The car was custom built for the Maharaja for the purpose of tiger hunting, and though requested by the Indian Consulate for donation to a museum, is now going up for auction at the hands of Bonhams at the Quail Lodge mid-August, where it’s expected to fetch between 0,000 and milllion.

Though the armaments aren’t depicted, you can check the car out in the high-resolution gallery and the press release after the jump for a closer look.

Continue reading Maharaja’s tiger-hunting Rolls-Royce brings the firepower to Quail auction

Maharaja’s tiger-hunting Rolls-Royce brings the firepower to Quail auction originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 28 Jul 2011 09:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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At the grand opening of the Rolls-Royce dealership in Chicago’s Gold Coast area, Kicking Tires got the chance to sit down with David Archibald, president of Rolls-Royce North America. On discussion was the general business strategy of the ultra luxury brand and how electrics play into that.

Since its debut at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, the 102EX Concept electric vehicle has been making the rounds at various events and dealerships. The automaker is even letting customers drive the concept back-to-back against the Phantom (on which it is based) to get an idea if it has market potential. According to Automotive News initial feedback has been a bit lackluster, with the 100-mile range being the biggest hurdle.

However, Archibald pointed out, “If you’d have come here 12 months ago and asked our customers, ‘What do you think about alternative fuels,’ they would have said, ‘What are you talking about.’” Now, that’s starting to change as new electric vehicles are pretty much popping up weekly.

Still, no decision has been made regarding a production electric or hybrid. With alternative fuels now on the minds of even a luxury car buyer, it sounds to us like it’s not a matter of if but when.

Rolls-Royce discusses its potential future in electric cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 12 Jul 2011 07:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Times change and so do trends. These days, everyone’s clamoring for more environmentally-friendly and fuel-efficient cars that even Rolls-Royce is tinkering with electric propulsion. The program is being carried out on the 102EX electric Phantom prototype. But go back nearly a century and speed was the cause célèbre du jour. And then just as now, Rolls-Royce was keen to prove its mettle. This was the car with which it did so.

As Rolls-Royce presented the first-generation Phantom to the world, it was eager to show what it could do, so the company’s managing director Claude Johnson had the crew at Crewe put this prototype together. Named in his honor, the “CJ Sports Car” featured a more aerodynamic “torpedo” coachwork by Barker. Although many experimental Phantoms followed (straight through to the aforementioned 102EX), this was the only one that the company held on to after it was done testing, and was even rumored to have been loaned out to Laurence of Arabia at one time.

10EX is expected to fetch around £400,000-£800,000 (0k-.3m) when it goes up for auction on June 23 at RM‘s inaugural Salon Privé auction at West London’s picturesque Syon Park estate. Joining it on the docket will be numerous other Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Jaguar, Aston Martin classics (among others) representing the finest of historic British motoring. Follow the jump for the full press release.

Continue reading 1926 Rolls-Royce Phantom 10EX prototype up for auction

1926 Rolls-Royce Phantom 10EX prototype up for auction originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 18 May 2011 19:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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