At least it is different. I have no preference of this one compared to the original http://up.autotitre.com/forum/up/e67c8a3974.jpg
No official facelift, the kit cost about $51,000. http://www.autoblog.com/2007/03/28/rolls-royce-phantom-gaines-wood-better-than-the-original/
Whatta ripoff price! BTW this other car looks cool too : http://up.autotitre.com/forum/up/47ebd37654.jpg
i'm not a fan of where rolls royce styling has gone. up to the phantom's launch in 03, rollers were more subtle, not so in-your-face. however, after i've seen a couple up close and sat in one, the interior is nice, but a little overdone imo. they need to redesign and soon, so that way people don't mistake you for pulling up in a ups truck.
Rolls are supposed to have round lights. It may not be as bling bling, but that's not the point anyway.
Looks like a Bentley to me. I think its good to distinguish the two and that has been difficult to do until recently imo.
here is a comparison of both an 01 arnage and an 01 seraph, basically the grille is the main difference externally. pics aren't mine. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
ever since the two companies split, with bmw taking one and vw the other, the engineering has been redone quite a bit as well as the styling. it will be nice to see rolls come into its own again, with the droptop coming soon, and i wouldn't mind seeing one other model be unveiled. who knows, the phantom's been out for 4 years now, i would think within the next year or 2 we'll start hearing about a replacement.
There's been plenty of rumours on this side of the pond of a smaller saloon priced around £150,000 (for comparison Phantom starts at £252,500 here).
WOW, I can't believe how much the 01 RR looks like the bentley. Are they the same on the interior as well? Have to say the bentley with the grill aged much better, and I'm not just saying that because i have an arnage. I wonder what the price difference, on the two were back then.
an '01 seraph would have run you 214,500 at msrp, while the arnage would have run you 198,400 at msrp for the green label and 204,500 for the red label. just out of curiosity, what year and model is your arnage? i believe they were different interiors, but shared the same lines. i'm sure that if you were to go to a rolls and bentley dealership, and told them you wanted a matching set of an arnage and a seraph, they could have done it.
the kit makes the car look very arnage-y. esp. like the arnages outfitted w/ the chrome bezeled grille.
The basic design of both cars was made by BMW using the old 7 series (E38/1995-01) platform as a base/starting point. The drivetrains were right out of the 7 series too, with the M73 5.4L SOHC V12 powering the Rolls, and a turboed M62 4.4L DOHC V8 powering Bentleys (Yes, the same V8 found in old BMW 540is, 740is, X5s, and early MIV Range rovers with a turbo slapped on). When VW took over they started changing the car (starting with a new engine of the classic 6.+L displacement instead of the BMW 4.4L), but the basic body has remained since 1999 until now. On earlier cars the interiors are more similar then they are now, for reasons stated above. That said, the RR never had a 'floor' shifter in it, only Bentleys. Personally, I like the BMW era cars...better steering feel and driving dynamics. Later cars became more straight-line beasts.
Like I just said, late 90s/early 2000s...the first of the current big body Arnages. In 2001, VW reverted from the turbo BMW 4.4L M62 V8 with 5spd ZF (5HP30) trany back to the old Cosworth 6.75L V8 with the GM sourced 4 spd trany. VW bought the old Cosworth plant in the UK just for this reason, as BMW was charging them an arm and leg per engine. Here, even Bentley admits it on their own website (second to last paragraph): http://www.bentleymotors.com/Corporate/display.aspx?websiteid=2&langid=2&cpflgs=1111&infid=367
