GENEVA 2009: "Baby" Rolls-Royce 200EX Concept, Say What?
No, this is not a new Phantom, this is an entirely new Rolls-Royce car. Designed to sit below the Phantom in the product line-up, the 200EX is what you can call a "baby" Rolls-Royce, however oxymoronic that may sound. The 200EX is still 5.4 metres long, which only sounds baby when you consider that the Phantom is 5.8 metres. Essentially, this car will compete with Bentley's ageing Arnage, and offers a more youthful interpretation of the Rolls-Royce brand.
For example, the Rolls-Royce designers decided that they wanted to make the 200EX more streamlined than the Phantom. And it is almost noticeable - the 200EX looks softer, more sporting, and more subtle (slightly) than the Phantom, which tends to look a bit like a Kenworth truck. "Approachable" was a term bandied around quite a lot in Rolls-Royce's press release for the 200EX ahead of the Geneva unveiling, so that tells you quite a bit about how much they wanted to differentiate this car from the Phantom.
This is still unmistakeably a Roller - this new one boasts a rear door maximum opening angle of 83 degrees, which is an industry record, apparently. So you can be under no illusion as to what kind of social class considers to buy ths car. But inside, there are a few subtleties that indicate a different purpose for this car: the black-on-white-background instrumentation, chrome air vents, and convenience buttons on the steering wheel. It is, of course, as sumptuous as ever.
It is an awesome new car for a very bad time period - let's hope Rolls-Royce still get lots of buyers for their new 200EX, and don't plunge into debt.
PARIS MOTOR SHOW 2008: Mercedes-Benz S600 Guard Pullman
Maybach? Maybach?!?! Why have a Maybach, Mr. Burns, when you can have a limousine that is so terrorist-proof it can withstand anything up to a nuclear explosion!
Yes, okay, I'm exaggerating with the nuclear explosions, but this stretched S-Class has, primarily for heads of state and monarchy, what Mercedes call "Special Protection". Gotta love the Germans and their threatening-sounding euphemisms. The armour on this limousine can withstand the most powerful military rifles, and provides its passengers with complete protection from the hand grenades and other lethal sounding explosives that Mr. Osama would revere.
