Unfazed by the economy, Rolls-Royce is going from strength to strength and has recently opened its largest showroom in the United States on Long Island, near New York.

The dealership is sufficiently sized that it can display over a dozen cars at a time and will also boast the world’s largest Rolls-Royce customer configuration lounge. Here, customers will be able to pore over the many different options available to them for personalising their car. There will also be a café, ultra modern meeting spaces and glass walls from floor to ceiling.

The Rolls-Royce Phantom Series II is to be launched in the US in September and will doubtless find a temporary home here, as well as at the other showroom opened by the firm this year.

David Archibald, president of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars North America, was optimistic about the new dealership.

“Mr Dominic has done a fine job in establishing this new Rolls-Royce showroom on Long Island. Given the size of the facility and services offered, as well as its prime location on Long Island and proximity to New York City, we are optimistic that Mr Dominic will enjoy many years of success here.”

Bentley have confirmed that a new model is to make its first appearance at the 2012 Goodwood Festival of Speed later this month. Combining performance with luxury, as you would hope from a Bentley, it will appear in the Supercar Run up Goodwood Hill and also on the Bentley stand.

The currently unnamed model will appear alongside the EXP 9 F SUV concept car and also the Mulsanne Mulliner Driving Specification. The latter car will feature a sports-tuned suspension and steering as well as diamond-quilted interior trim. This may sound unusual for a limousine, but the Mulsanne was always intended to be quick as well as refined. Doubtless the interior will be every bit as plush and comfortable as other versions of the car.

Goodwood visitors might also be interested in the Continental GT V8, a four-litre twin turbo car that can do 0-62mph in 4.8 seconds despite weighing 2.3 tonnes with a top speed of 188mph. On top of this, there will be two rather different racing cars. The Speed 8 won the 24 Hours in 2003, while Tim Birkin’s 1930 4.5 litre supercharged ‘Birkin Blower’ will also be there.

Bentley has displayed the Mulsanne Diamond Jubilee Edition at a new dealership in Beijing to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee year. 60 cars will be made – one for each year of her reign.

As you might expect, these cars feature exquisite, handcrafted features and gold features prominently. There is bespoke embroidery on all headrests with gold stitching, the veneered picnic tables in the rear are decorated with gold overlay which depicts a royal carriage and cushions feature the same design.

Richard Charlesworth, the director of royal and VIP relations at Bentley, explained why the car was first shown in China:

“The respect and genuine interest shown towards so many aspects of British life, and most especially The Royal Family, has made China a unique experience for our marque as well as many other UK businesses.

“This series of special cars, hand-built by our Mulliner Division, is our way of reciprocating the appreciation for British institutions, creativity and services we have been shown in China. And as proud holders of a Royal Warrant we also wanted to provide some memorable examples of British technology and craftsmanship.”

The Mulliner name first came to prominence way back in 1760 when the family built carriages for the Royal Mail, but the Bentley association really flourished in the fifties with the R-Type Continental. Bentley Mulliner is now a division of Bentley which produces limited edition cars.

The Victoria Beckham Range Rover Evoque recently made its debut in Beijing. The ex-singer, now designer, was appointed creative design executive at Range Rover a couple of years ago, shortly before her fashion label was named Brand of the Year 2011 at the British Fashion Awards.

However, Beckham is obviously not a car designer, so her influence on this special £80,000 model was largely limited to décor elements – a task which she nevertheless tackled with the utmost conviction.

“When I first started working with the team I did a lot of research, and created mood boards to show the team my love of timeless and classic design. I looked at yachts, luxury jets and classic cars.”

Interestingly, the car features mohair floor mats and Beckham says this is a nod to memories of her youth. When she was a child, her father owned a Rolls-Royce with similar carpeting and she remembers removing her footwear in order to bury her feet in it.

Other features include a hand-sewn leather wallet to hold the owner’s manual, rose-gold plated interior accents and a four-piece luggage set. Apparently, only 200 of these special edition cars will be made

Well, it’s invisible if you happen to look at it from the right angle. Mercedes engineers have exhibited a primitive form of cloaking, whereby a car can be made to appear all but invisible using optical camouflage technology.

The car in question was a zero emissions F-Cell Mercedes and photographs and video footage show how it can look like it isn’t even there. Scientists made use of LEDs and digital cameras so that the car was able to project an image of what was behind it to those looking from the other direction. This gives the illusion of invisibility.

In truth, the effect is not flawless, but it’s still very impressive. The wheels are particularly conspicuous, because they do not feature LEDs. Even so, the promotional video shows people moving around behind the car with the image immediately being projected on the other side.

The Mercedes-Benz F-Cell is a hydrogen powered vehicle – hence the zero emissions tag. It is capable of doing 250 miles via its electric engine, which generates 134 horsepower. At present, this technology is too expensive for commercial use. Needless to say, that used to generate the invisibility effect is also prohibitively dear.

It has been announced that several luxury car companies are to take advantage of government grants from a regional growth fund. The firms will include both Bentley and Lotus.

Bentley, which is now based in Crewe in Cheshire, already employs around 900 people in its engineering department, but the grant will mean more jobs as the firm has plans to work on a new engine. This is particularly good news for university leavers as Bentley’s graduate scheme will see an increased intake next year, as will its apprentice scheme.

The chairman and chief executive of Bentley, Wolfgang Durheimer, said:

“This is a real boost for Bentley. This grant will help safeguard our (engineering) operations as we look to develop new powertrains which appeal to new markets and new customers.”

This is a reference to the growing Chinese market and the new engine will certainly be designed with this in mind. The firm has sold well over a thousand cars in China already this year – four doors proving particularly popular – and wishes to exploit this further.

News of the grant was warmly received by Crewe and Nantwich MP Edward Timpson, who said the developments would be to the benefit of thousands of his constituents who were employed by Bentley or by related businesses.

Having recently gauged the public appetite for a high-end Range Rover via the Autobiography Ultimate Edition, Land Rover have decided that they would indeed be able to compete in the super-luxury SUV market.

The new car – the Mk4 Range Rover – would likely have a £125,000 price tag, much like the Autobiography Ultimate Edition. The firm’s brand director, John Edwards, explained the reasoning:

“The Ultimate Edition shows there’s an opportunity to go up a notch in price. We tested the market for a reason. We always learn for future models.”

Previously, the most expensive Range Rover had clocked in at £90,000, but sales went well and the market in China, Russia and the Middle East justified the offering, not to mention the fact that UK sales outstripped expectations. Edwards said his initial nervousness quickly fell away.

The super-luxury SUV market is increasingly competitive, however. Bentley recently displayed their new offering at the Geneva Motor Show and Lamborghini are due to show their vehicle in Beijing very soon. Aston Martin are also due to enter the market but Edwards feels that Range Rover will still find success.

Bentley have said that a plug-in hybrid engine could make an appearance in one of their vehicles by 2015. According to Bentley chief executive, Wolfgang Durheimer, a petrol-electric hybrid would have to deliver the performance for which the marque is known and also offer greatly improved fuel efficiency.

Durheimer said:

“Mid-term we are also going to integrate plug-in hybrid technology. This is what we are working on at present. I can see an opportunity – probably 2015 – to introduce this technology in Bentley.”

As with many hybrids, the car would have the ability to run on electric power only for short distances and petrol for longer trips. The latter running mode would see batteries recharging to extend the car’s range. The Bentley SUV that is on the cards could also benefit from a plug-in hybrid system.

In related news, Bentley recently displayed its latest V8 engine; one that will be used in two-door GT and GTC cars. It is said that the twin-turbocharged engine could offer efficiency that is 40 per cent better than the 12-cyclinder engine. Although not hugely powerful, the engine should mean a two-door can clock a 0-62mph time of less than five seconds.

When Lady Gaga’s UK chauffeur revealed to her that he was about to become a father, he probably wasn’t angling for a gift. Nevertheless, the singer felt she wanted to get him something and went above and beyond what you might expect from an employer. As well as buying him a year’s supply of nappies, she also asked her interior design team to turn his spare room into a nursery.

The Sun quotes a source as saying:

“Gaga is very generous with her presents and makes a huge effort for those who look after her. As soon as she found out her UK driver was going to be a dad, she was on the phone trying to sort out a gift. It had to be something quirky, too — it’s part of her nature.”

Lady Gaga has used the same driver on her visits to the UK for many years and it seems she has built a good relationship with him. This is hardly surprising when you consider the amount of time they must have spent together. After most of her concerts they have to drive through a horde of fans with the pop star often standing through the sunroof so as to wave to them.

Rodney and Joan Doel from Salisbury recently celebrated their golden wedding anniversary. Married at the Minister Church of St Denys on December 16th, 1961, they marked the occasion by taking a limousine tour around Wilton.

The trip was arranged by their son, Shaun, who joined them, along with his family.

Joan said:

“We had a brilliant day out. It was really unexpected and none of us had ever been in a limo before.”

Wedding anniversaries are the perfect reason for hiring a chauffeur driven car. You can do as the Doels did and take a tour of a local area, perhaps revisiting memorable locations from your past, or you can simply enjoy the ride on the way to dinner or a show. It very much depends on the couple in question and what they would like to do.

The Doels also took a holiday as part of their celebrations. Although they didn’t hire a limo to take them to the airport, this is another option. Travelling can seem like a hassle, but in this way, you can make it part of the experience and start your celebrations earlier as a consequence.