Rolls-Royce recently opened its new showroom in Hyderabad, taking its total dealers to three in India. Hyderabad has high significance for the British automaker as the Nizam of Hyderabad had bought close to 50 Rolls-Royce cars in his lifetime. The company plans to appoint two more dealers by the end of this fiscal, which will take its dealers to five. The two new dealers will be appointed in northern region and central/southern region of the country. Currently Rolls-Royce has dealers in Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad. Rolls-Royce sells six models in the country, including the Phantom and Ghost.

“We just came to Hyderabad. We are in talks with a dealer in north and will soon close the deal. So, the first dealer will be in north, and the other one will be in central or south. Since 2005 as many as 200 Rolls Royce have been sold in India and the country stands third in Asia Pacific region as far as Rolls Royce sales are concerned,” Herfried Hasenoehrl, Head of Business Development (India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh), Rolls-Royce, said.

All the global OEMs seem to be caught up in the unfortunate fate of their product recall at some point of time or the other. Now, of the global iconic super luxury car maker, Rolls Royce is also caught up in this. Rolls Royce recently announced a global recall of its model, the Ghost from all the countries which includes India. The reason for the recall is a possible “fire hazard”. The company however refrained from divulging any details about the number of units to be recalled stating that it was against the company policy.

“It affects cars in India. We cannot give the numbers as we do not share as a company policy. We are already in touch with the customers here and the process is in progress. The process to rectify the problem would take just about one and a half hours,” Paul Harris, Regional Director, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, said.

Earlier this month, Rolls Royce had recalled 589 models of their Ghost model manufactured between September 2009 and September 2010 sighting the reason as a faulty circuit board that could lead to overheating of the water pump and thus the vehicle catching fire possibly. The Ghost is sold in India at a price tag of Rs. 2.07 crores. The extended wheelbase version of the Ghost sells for Rs. 3.04 crores. Apart from the Ghost, the company also sells its Phantom product in India. They have two dealerships, one in Delhi and the other in Mumbai. Last year, the company had sold 2711 units globally. Mr. Harris also said that the company has a target of selling around 100 units a year in India after considering the kind of economic growth the country has witnessed.

Rolls Royce has launched the Ghost Long Wheel Base version in India. This new version of the Ghost offers more legroom and is priced at Rs. 3.05 crore (ex-showroom, New Delhi). The Ghost is powered by a 6.6-liter V12 motor which produces 563 BHP of power and 780 Nm of torque, the Ghost LWB reaches 100 kmph in 5 seconds and is limited to a top speed of 250 kmph. Mated to a 8-speed ZF automatic gearbox, the Ghost is very quick for a car of its size. With a length of 17.7 feet, the Ghost LWB now has 6 more inches of legroom, which will appeal to businessmen looking to usher in comfort from their office to their home and vice versa.

“Demand for luxury cars is growing in India and we want to tap the market with the launch of the new Ghost model. India is one of the major markets for us in Asia. Therefore, we are looking at enhancing our distribution. I cannot say how many dealerships we are going to add, but we will increase our dealership network soon.” Herfried Hasenoehrl, Rolls-Royce India Business Development Head, said.

Rolls-Royce currently has two dealerships in India. One in Mumbai and the other in New Delhi. The luxury automaker is now planning to add a third to its list but is undecided on the location. The third Rolls-Royce dealer in the country can come up in Chandigarh, but which ever city they decide on, its going to be in Punjab. This is surely good news for the state, which also accounts for a large chunk of luxury car sales in the country.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars proudly presents 102EX, a car that represents one of the most significant initiatives taken by the company in recent years. It is the world’s first battery electric vehicle for the ultra-luxury segment and continues a tradition of experimental cars running through the model generations. With 102EX, also to be known as the Phantom Experimental Electric (EE), it is the company’s intention to carefully test the opinions and reactions to alternative drive-train options of a range of stakeholders including owners, enthusiasts, members of the public and the media.

Throughout 2011 Phantom EE will serve as a working test bed, giving owners, VIPs, the media and enthusiasts the opportunity to experience an established alternative drive-train technology and to feed back their experiences, thoughts and concerns directly. The bank of research gathered from a global drive programme that will include Europe, the Middle East, Asia and North America will be crucial to decisions affecting alternative drive-trains for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. There are no plans to build a production version of this car. Phantom EE’s role is as a test bed, designed to explore established BEV technologies, to pose as well as to answer questions.

Can Phantom EE deliver an acceptable range for customers without frequent re-charging? Is there confidence in its ability to operate in extreme conditions? Will reliability and quality be consistent with expectations of the world’s pinnacle automotive brand? Phantom EE also poses more fundamental questions: Is an all-electric drive-train able to deliver an authentic Rolls-Royce experience for customers, an experience that truly befits the marque? Whether all-electric or another alternative drive-train option is right for Rolls-Royce will become clearer when the test programme is complete at the end of the year.

Phantom EE features the car’s ground-breaking aluminium spaceframe, so important to dynamic prowess, as well as the sense of calm and tranquillity enjoyed by occupants. However, the naturally aspirated 6.75-litre V12 petrol engine and 6-speed gearbox have been replaced by a lithium ion battery pack and two electric motors mounted on the rear sub-frame. These motors are connected to a single speed transmission with integrated differential.
This is the first application of the technology in a GKL++ segment (super luxury vehicles priced at more than €200,000) and the battery pack is thought to be the largest ever fitted to a road car.

Each motor is power rated to 145kW, giving Phantom EE a maximum power output of 290kW and torque of 800Nm available over a wide band. This compares with 338kW for standard Phantom with maximum torque of 720Nm, delivered at 3,500rpm. The Nickel Cobalt Manganese battery chemistry holds around 230Wh/kg,a high energy density which is important in achieving an acceptable range between re-charges. Pre-launch tests suggests Phantom EE should run to a range of up to 200km. Delivered on an effortless wave of torque, 0-60mph will be achieved in under eight seconds (5.7 seconds in standard Phantom), with top speed limited to 160kph.

Rolls-Royce is celebrating 100 years of the Spirit of Ecstasy (the flying lady mascot) in 2011. To mark a year of celebration every Ghost and Phantom produced at the home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood will bear a Spirit of Ecstasy with the inscription Spirit of Ecstasy Centenary 2011. This will be etched into the base of each statuette, in a specially selected font ITC Willow. On 6 February, the date on which Charles Sykes’ Spirit of Ecstasy design was first registered. Rolls-Royce hosted a drive through central London. One hundred contemporary and historic Rolls-Royce cars made their way through the capital’s streets taking in key landmarks en route, such as Berkeley Square and Conduit Street, the current and original homes of Rolls-Royce in London.

Rolls-Royce have seen their sales double this year to over 2000 units globally and much of this can be attributed to the recently launched Ghost. 75% of Rolls-Royce sales are of the Ghost, which is the cheapest Rolls-Royce in the British marques portfolio. In the U.S, Rolls-Royce has witnessed sales growth of 360%, whereas in Europe sales grew by 250%. Asia-pacific has seen the highest growth in sales by 8 times owing to splendid performance by the company in China and India. We can expect more models to come from the Ghost platform in a couple of years including a coupe.

Rolls Royce‘s third largest market in the Asia Pacific region is India, coming only after China and Japan. The super luxury car maker sold sold less than 10 units in the Indian market last year but will sell close to 70 units (50 units of the Ghost) in 2010. The company has two dealerships in the country, one at Delhi and the other at Mumbai In China it has eight dealerships whereas Japan also has two dealerships.

“We are running at full capacity and lot of cars are going into the Asia Pacific region, including India. It is the hottest market. India is one of the top three markets in Asia Pacific,” Rolls Royce Motor Cars, Asia Pacific Manager (Corporate Communications), Hal Serudin said.

Rolls-Royce is targeting sale of 50 units in India this year with majority of the sales coming from the recently launched Ghost. The Ghost costs Rs. 2.5 crore and commands a waiting period of 3 months. The company is getting overwhelming response for the car in the country. Rolls-Royce has already managed to sell 30 units this year.

Hamann Motorsports has tuned the Rolls Royce Phantom and the Phantom Drophead Coupe. The cars get massive 23-inch alloy wheels that are available in various designs, along with a three spoke steering wheel. The wheels quite resemble the HAMANN Volcano Mercedes SLR McLaren.

Hamann Motorsport’s Phantom package also includes an engine upgrade that boosts the 6.75-litre V12′s output from 460HP to 535HP and maximum torque from 720Nm to 835Nm. The speed limiter has been removed resulting in the Phantom’s top speed increasing to 300kmph.