Reuters
LONDON, Jan 3 (Reuters) - German car-maker BMW <BMWG.F> sped elegantly into the super-luxury car market on Friday, unveiling a new Rolls-Royce limousine, fitted with umbrella stands and a cigar case, within days of taking over the prestigious marque.
BMW, which took control of the Rolls-Royce brand from Germany's Volkswagen <VOWG.F> effective January 1, unveiled its version of the classic Rolls-Royce Phantom at a new, dedicated car plant in the grounds of a country estate in southern England.
The limousine is cut from more modern, linear designs than its classic, curvy namesakes, the Phantom I, II and III which were hallmarks of aristocratic Britain between the two world wars, symbols of the country's imperial splendour.
But the new Phantom's price tag -- 320,000 euros ($332,000) -- and its fittings, which include a humidified cigar case and door-mounted umbrella holsters, are in keeping with tradition.
"It fulfils the combination of attributes that are unique to the Rolls-Royce motor car," Tim Leverton, BMW's chief engineer on the Rolls-Royce project, told BBC radio.
BMW has had more than four years to prepare for the launch, having agreed to acquire the brand from this year under a 1998 agreement with Volkswagen.
The 19-feet-long (5.8 metre) Phantom is at the vanguard of BMW's push into the super-luxury market, in which motoring marques such as Rolls-Royce, Bentley (Volkswagen) and the Maybach (DaimlerChrysler <DCXGn.DE>) compete with luxury yachts for the attention of millionaires and billionaires world-wide.
Car-makers feel they have barely made inroads into the super luxury market and aim to nearly triple total global output to around 20,000 cars a year, according to The Economist magazine.
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Wikipedia
BMW and VW arrived at a solution. For the period from 1998 to 2002, BMW would continue to supply engines for the cars, and would allow use of the names, but this would cease on January 1, 2003. On that date, only BMW would be able to name cars "Rolls-Royce", and VW's former Rolls-Royce/Bentley division would only build cars called "Bentley".
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Rolls-Royce cars from 2003
In January 2003 at the Detroit motor show, the Rolls-Royce Phantom was launched. This is the first model of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited, a BMW subsidiary having no technical or corporate connection with the original Rolls-Royce company, apart from the trademarks mentioned above. The car has a 6.75-litre V12 engine from BMW, but most other components are unique to the car. Most parts are made in Germany, but the assembly and finishing is in a new factory in Goodwood, Sussex. The price starts at around £250,000.
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