The front grille of a Rolls-Royce car is seen at a showroom in London, Friday, Oct. 1, 2010. (AP Photo/Akira Suemori)
The Walpole Luxury Awards have presented BMW-owned Rolls-Royce with its 2016 “Best British Luxury Craftsmanship” award.
The award, accepted by CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös on behalf of the entire company, comes at a time when demand for premium automobiles, and competition within the luxury automotive segment has never been greater.
For proof look no further than McLaren deciding to offer a GT version of its 570S supercar dedicated to comfort rather than top speed, or Bentley launching its first long wheel-base six-seater Mulsanne flagship limousine.
Even at the comparatively mass-produced level, Jaguar, Land Rover and even Lotus now have dedicated divisions that exist solely to personalize their models to each client’s exacting specifications. But the most telling development is that of Mercedes-Benz’s decision to resurrect the Maybach brand and to once again go toe-to-toe with the current Rolls-Royce line-up. It will be bringing its answer to the Rolls-Royce Dawn drophead — the Mercedes-Maybach S 650 Cabriolet — to the LA Auto Show on November 18.
Based on the same underpinnings of the company’s flagship S Class Cabriolet, the car is expected to boast a turbocharged V12 engine, a bespoke interior and cutting-edge technology and be limited to just 300 individually numbered examples.
However, none of these competitor...