The tour of the Roller factories starts off in Unterhallerau, Germany where the frame and body are constructed and then shipped to Dingolfing for primer and paint and it's shipped again to the dedicated facility in Goodwood for final assembly and custom detailing. That Goodwood facility employs about 450 workers ranging regular assembly staff to experts in sewing and woodwork. Take a look for yourself

[National Geographic]

If Rolls-Royce does sue it'll be purely on principle. Intellectual property lawsuits over clones are rarely, if ever, successful in Chinese courts. This may explain why Chinese automakers released these copycat cars at the Shanghai show this week:

JAC A0 = Toyota Yaris
Lifan Motors 320 = Mini Cooper Clubman
Geely ET925 = Honda Ridgeline
BYD B8 = Mercedes SL/CLK

[UK Telegraph]

The throne-like rear seat sits on plush red carpet underneath a starry night sky - the latter ripped straight from the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe.

No word on what engine underpowers the big Geely, but expect it to make an official premiere at the Shanghai Auto Show on April 20. [via TheTycho]

Take this Rolls Royce Phantom for example, spotted in the UK with it's look-at-me paint scheme of black and gold. How's that for a smack in the face of the ailing global economy. Apparently owned by a day-trading young chav in south London, this black and gold Phantom is said to be the only one in the whuurld of its kind.

If you can start to re-chew your lunch from the sight of the Rolls, take a peak at his equally ostentatious Range Rover with bonus octo-exhaust. As if the obnoxious black and gold stripes and cheap chrome accents weren't enough, he's applied cheap playboy bunny stickers on the number plates. This man truly knows how to outfit his rides.

According to the old adage, money can't buy taste, but it can buy more Sam Sparro!

[via Pistonheads]

Adding to his un-posh day, the car was also ticketed while it sat there holding its own key hostage. Apparently the Rolls Phantom had enough Grey Poupon and decided to really poop on Fiddy, leaving him stranded for hours. How embarrassing.

[via The CarFanatic]

MATTE BLACK ROLLS ROYCE PHANTOM(Photo credit: Dilan Bandaranayake) [Streetfire]

10.) Mercury Marauder

Hearkening back to the good ol' days, the Mercury Marauder is one of the few modern cars to appeal to the dark side. Based on the same Panther platform that underpins countless Crown Vic police cars, the sight of one of these sends chills down the spine, and when you throw in the blacked-out windows, grille, headlights, taillights and pillars you end up with one spooky sled. There's a reason why the CIA and the Feds ordered up a bunch of Marauders.

9.) Plymouth Satellite

If, like the eponymous movie wants us to believe, cars have personalities, then the Plymouth Satellite is a scary zombie. At the very least, a ghost-white one with a little rust and a missing bumper is the perfect car for a zombie crew to jump in and use to terrorize the locals. Wait? Zombie drivers? We just came up with the best movie idea. Someone call Spielberg.

8.) Buick Roadmaster Station Wagon

In a decade defined by optimism, there was something deeply pessimistic about the nineties-era Buick Roadmaster. Built on the same b-body platform as a number of other GM wagons, the Roadmaster has an angry stature amplified by the long, mean nose and partially-covered rear wheels. Powered by a version of the 5.7-liter LT1 V8 used in the Corvette, a black Roadmaster wagon has the power to chase down lost souls and the room to store them. Paging the Grim Reaper. [Photo: StationWagon.com]

7.) Avanti II SportCoupe

We always thought a Studebaker Avanti coupe would have made a better batmobile than a Futura. With nary a straight line to be found, a tail end that abruptly comes to an end and a chrome bumper that looks like it has a pair of fangs we wonder if this isn't what Dracula drives when he turns into a bat. Combine that with those empty eyes and we doubt this spooky SportCoupe could see its own reflection in its shiny moon wheel covers.

6.) Lincoln Continental Mark III

Few vehicles bring the promise of misadventure and doom than a Lincoln Mark III. Squelch on a bet? A bookie in a Mark III is going to show up at your door and throw you onto the 16 acres of hood real estate. Drop a dime on a gangster? A dude named Tony and his friends Anthony and Anton will be happy to make room for you — in the trunk. Unlike the softer, luxurious luxury cars of the era, the Mark III clearly states that it means business. All black and chrome with those covered headlights, this Lincoln is prepared for stealthy mayhem. [Photo: SeriousWheels.com]

5.) Alfa Romeo Montreal

If Vader tools around in a GNX and the reaper has a Roadmaster wagon then Satan himself drives around in an Alfa Romeo Montreal. Don't let the name fool you: The greatest trick the devil ever played was convincing the world that he was a Canadian. As Dante will tell you, the Antichrist is clearly an Italian guy and we don't imagine that his unholiness would drive around in a Ferrari. There's no doubt the Montreal's evil-looking grimace, angry NACA duct and 1970s Italian dependability make it the perfect car for lapping the eighth circle of Hell.

4.) Plymouth Valiant V-200

For your classier demon there's not much better than a Plymouth Valiant V200. From its demonically styled grille to the creepy fender chrome, the Valiant V-200 is ghoulishly awesome. The creepiest feature on the car, and on nearly any car, is the trunk, which appears to include the door to the underworld. Though this feature is actually for the spare tire, it looks like a portable gate to Hell.

3.) Porsche 917

Though we think of Porsches as small and sleek sports cars, the Porsche 917 is something of an outlier. Though fast and wonderful, it looks like a giant scary monster come down from the hills to eat the villagers. The sloping wings, huge inlet and bulky styling are more Frankenstein than Frankfurt. The 917/20, a.k.a. the "Pink Pig", is perhaps the most frightening of them all. From most angles it looks like a stitched-together bird-pig-man hybrid. Run, run for your lives from the Trufflehunter of Züffenhausen!

2.) Buick GNX

When the Buick GNX debuted, Car And Driver ran a review of it with the headline "Vader, Your Car is Ready" and that connection has never left the car. Ignore the fact that nearly every part, down to the wheels, is black. Ignore the evil grimace on its face. Ignore even the Buick's blade-sharp lines that scream "I will cut you and not look back" standing still. The thing that makes the GNX truly scary looking is the site of this G-bodied two-door from the late 80s screaming down the street to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds and running a quarter-mile in 13.26. Evil incarnate.

1.) Rolls Royce Phantom Jonckheere

The single most frightening looking car in history also has one of the most spine-tingling names of any car. The Rolls Royce Phantom Jonckheere Coupe may be one of the finest automobiles built, but we fear the person who actually drives around in one of these. Built without concern for cost or common sense in the 1920s, the history of the car is somewhat murky but we wouldn't be surprised if it spent some time in Transylvania. From the rear three-quarter view it actually looks like Dracula's cape flowing in the wind. And on the inside? A blood red, entirely made of the finest materials. If you're ever invited inside make sure to bring a wooden stake with you.

To justify that price, it will use an engine, likely a V8, which will be unique to Rolls-Royce. Also expect Phantom-like interior accoutrements such as thick wool carpet and barbwire-pockmark-free leather. The company estimates that, while there are only about 100,000 people worldwide that can afford a Phantom, the market for the RR4 is one million strong, so expect to see plenty of these idling outside Harrods. [via Autocar]

Princess Margaret's Phantom IV was a gift from Queen Elizabeth II, who had just purchased herself a Rolls Royce Phantom IV Hooper landaulette; she wanted Margaret to have a Phantom IV H.J. Mulliner limousine, just like her first one. How sweet. No word on what kind of mileage the big Rolls limo gets, but with that back seat it sure would make a sweet summer road trip ride.
[Bentleyspotting.com]

Seriously, this thing is a monster. Every angle signals the power of the potentate behind the wheel. This car is less a piece of transportation than a giant pimp cane on wheels. Lear Jets are less conspicuous. We're in love.

The writing was on the wall early for the RUF RT12. Its early inception and lack of respectable progeny placed it high on the list of potential candidates for the ax. Apparently, prodigious power and fancy paint jobs do not an ongoing fantasy make.

Progeny, it seems, rang the death knell of the ultraluxe Rolls Royce Phantom, as well. Perhaps a bit too much Swabish blood flows through its once proud British heart to allow it to stay in the garage. Perhaps that whiff of aristocratic excess overcomes its elegant craftsmanship. Regardless, it suffers the same fate as its Germanic compatriot.

And so, we've winnowed it down to 39 of the rarest, or most beautiful, or most lovable cars on the planet. And we're working up a special Friday JFG treat to heal the wounds you've all inflicted on each other during the past week's melees.

The Jalopnik Fantasy Garage, As it Stands Today:
1978 Aston Martin V8 Vantage | Honda 1300 Coupe 9 | 1931 Daimler Double Six 50 Corsica Drophead Coupe | Ferrari 288 GTO | Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 | 1970 Buick GSX 455 | First Generation BMW M Coupe | Bugatti Veyron 16.4 | Ford GT | Citroen SM | Porsche 928 | Jensen FF | DeTomaso Vallelunga | Audi Quattro S1 | Buick GNX | Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R | Honorary Fantasy Garager: The LS1 Powered Rotus | Lamborghini LM002 | Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe | Ferrari 250 GTO | Bentley Speed Six | Talbot-Lago T150C SS Figoni et Falaschi Raindrop/Teardrop Coupe | Porsche 917 | Audi RS4 Avant | Lamborghini Miura | Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9 | BMW E39 M5 | Jaguar E-type | Mercedes-Benz 300 SL | Dodge Charger/Challenger R/T | Toyota 2000GT | Facel Vega HK500 | Voisin C28 Aerosport | Bugatti Type 41 Royale | McLaren F1 | Maserati Bora | Continental MK II | Tucker 48 | Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato | BMW 507

On the inside, Rolls Royce spares nothing, throwing in Smoke Grey seats with contrasting Navy Blue hide, straight-grained East Indian Rosewood veneer on the dash with micro engraved metal and the usual assortment of Rolls goodies. The piece d'resistance is the starlight headliner, which uses fiber-optics to create the illusion of a starry night, marking the first time that H2 limo tech has ended up in Royce. [Sybarites]