American artist Richard Phillips and Porsche have collaborated on the new Porsche Taycan 4S “Artcar” that will be auctioned for charity.

A new artistic Porsche Taycan 4S created in collaboration with American artist Richard Phillips will be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s to raise funds for Swiss non-profit Suisseculter Sociale, helping to support artists affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Based on Phillips’s 2010 large-scale painting “Queen of the Night” inspired by Swiss landscape artist Adolf Dietrich’s work, the art wrap features large three-dimensional elements of the floral blooms, blue skies, and butterflies across the body of the Taycan 4S.

 “The Queen of the Night livery culminates at the rear of the car with its namesake blossom wrapping completely around the bumper while being dramatically lit up by the Taycan’s signature horizontal light bar,” explains Phillips. “Conceptually, my Queen of the Night livery takes into consideration that the design of the Taycan is an instant icon of electric mobility and speed.

“Its lines and form are that of the artists and designers at Porsche who strove to communicate this feeling at first sight. I greatly respect this objective. The choice to work with my Dietrich-inspired painting was to reference the natural environment with its beauty and composition reimagined in concert with the sweeping gestures of the Taycan. Dietrich’s intimate relationship to the landscape was more than mere representation of the environment around him. It was to communicate the soul of Switzerland and Lake Constance. His art is universally recognized for this, and is something that I have been deeply moved by.”

Created at a live event at Porsche partner pop-up restaurant “Leuehof” in Zurich, the electric Porsche Taycan 4S Artcar was initially displayed in the culinary art space of the restaurant until COVID-19 regulations forced the closure of the restaurant in December 2020.

With the restaurant remaining closed due to the pandemic, the Porsche Taycan 4S Artcar will now make a series of appearances at various Porsche Centers in Switzerland before the online auction at www.rmsothebys.com that will run from April 6 – 13, 2021.

To ensure the full amount of the auction proceeds will go to charity, artist Richard Phillips, auction house RM Sotheby’s, and Porsche Schweiz AG have all agreed to forgo fees and commissions so that Suisseculture Sociale can distribute funds to hardship cases who would not be otherwise eligible for assistance.

The Rolls-Royce Phantom Tempus Collection is inspired by the universe’s infinite reach and is limited to 20 vehicles worldwide.

The new Rolls-Royce Phantom “Tempus” is limited to 20 vehicles and is inspired by the concept of time and the infinite universe, with a special focus on a rare astronomical phenomenon known as a “pulsar.”

Unknown and undiscovered until 1967, pulsars are found in the deepest reaches of space (the closest is still 1,680 trillion miles from Earth) and are dense, white-hot stars that emit electromagnetic radiation in regular pulses – making them some of the most accurate clocks in the universe.

In the Rolls-Royce Phantom Tempus, the pulsar features as a hand-painted and embroidered artwork across the Starlight Headliner, complete with twinkling fiber-optic lights to reflect the white-hot stars.

Another design element made to represent time is the “Frozen Flow of Time” gallery – a unique artwork built into the dashboard fascia and made of a single billet of aluminum milled to form 100 individual columns, representing the 100-million years it takes for a rotational spin of a pulsar star.

Rolls-Royce has also deliberately removed the clock from this edition in the hope that from within the space they have created, “the outside world and all its pressures and demands are forgotten.”

“The events of the past year have caused many people, not least our clients, to re-evaluate their sense of, and relationship with time. At a moment in history when so much in life seems ephemeral, our patrons are seeking solace in the unique timelessness, longevity and permanence offered by a Rolls-Royce motor car,” says Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.

“As we all know, time never stands still, waits for no one. Hence, we manage it, guard it, account for it, weigh and measure it to its smallest fraction. With Phantom Tempus, we have created a space in which those structures no longer apply – as illustrated by the deliberate absence of a clock. Rolls-Royce clients are not bound by time; the outside world with all its pressures and demands are forgotten.”

For the exterior of the new Rolls-Royce Phantom Tempus, a new bespoke paint color known as “Kairos Blue” has been created especially for this model and includes mica flakes to make a slight sparkling effect that mimics the stars of the night sky.

Owners can also choose to personalize their vehicles one step further with a unique engraving on the Spirit of Ecstasy, choosing to remember a special date and location of significance to the client, a marriage, or a birthday.

Californian-based Gunther Werks has unveiled the open-top edition of its Porsche 993 Speedster Remastered built on the 400R platform.

Californian-based Gunther Werks are known for some of the world’s most refined 993 air-cooled restomod’s and have now turned their attention to the open-top 993 Speedster Remastered Edition.

To create the open-top version of their coupe design, Gunther Werks removed the rear seat and, in doing so, had to significantly re-design and stiffen the 993 chassis with a new roll cage and roll hoop system to mitigate common side effects often associated with the removal of vehicle roofs. Now in place of the rear seats is a new carbon-fiber top Speedster top and tonneau cover.

Some of the extensive exterior modifications of the 993 Speedster include a lower rake glass windscreen (which owners can opt to remove entirely, much like the McLaren Elva or Ferrari Monza SP1/SP2), billet aluminum side view mirrors, additional carbon fiber aerodynamic elements and a revised ducktail spoiler with ram air scoop.

Under the hood, performance upgrades include revised suspension to improve handling, and a remapped 4.0 liter flat-six engine rebuilt by Rothsport Racing to slightly boost the 435 hp and 335 lb-ft of torque already achieved in the Remastered coupe edition.

Owners will also have the option to upgrade to 5 spoke Fuch wheels with center locking mechanisms if several of the forged Gunther Werks wheel options don’t already catch their eye.

Gunther Werks will only be producing 25 models of the 993 Speedster Remastered editions to match production of 25 coupe models already underway and is expected to begin production in 2022.