Mini announced pricing for the exclusive model it has developed with luxury automotive brand Rolls-Royce on the first day of the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

The automaker confirmed June 30 that the ‘Mini Inspired by Goodwood‘ (also the home of the Rolls-Royce design studio) will start at £41,000 (€45,425), with deliveries beginning in March next year.

That price tag makes the Mini Inspired by Goodwood, a special edition run of just 1,000 models, nearly four times as expensive as the basic Mini First hatch model.

British fashion photographer John Rankin created a collection of 100 images to celebrate 100 years of Rolls-Royce, inspired by the Spirit of Ecstasy.

The two photos in this series which have been released, features Rankin’s wife Tuuli Shipster, a model.

He has photographed her in close-up as well as in full-length picture in sensual profile draped in fabric, reminiscent of the original Spirit of Ecstasy.

One of Rolls Royce boss Torsten Muller-Otvos’ most memorable auto show moments came last year in Beijing when a man walked through the crowd to the carmaker’s stand and set down a suitcase.

“Millions of renminbi,” the man said of the suitcase’s contents. “Really, that was amazing. He bought a Phantom,” Muller-Otvos said.

The Rolls Royce chief executive told AFP no cash buyers had come forward yet at the ongoing Shanghai auto show, but the exhibition has provided further proof for luxury carmakers that their future is in China.

Rolls-Royce unveiled its new Ghost long wheel base car for the first time at the 2011 Shanghai Motor Show.

The Ghost Extended Wheelbase is designed for users who require even more room from the luxury marque’s massive Ghost sedan and is expected to be popular with the ever-increasing number of wealthy buyers in China.

The addition of 170mm to the car’s wheelbase has significantly enhanced the legroom making it ideal for those looking to use it as a chauffeur vehicle.

Iconic compact car maker Mini has unveiled a collaboration with top luxury marque Rolls-Royce at the Auto Shanghai show, which opens this week.

Boasting “top-grade materials, the highest level of workmanship and stylish supremacy,” the ‘Mini Inspired by Goodwood’ special edition transfers some of the luxury trappings of a fully-fledged Rolls-Royce into a much smaller package.

It was conceived at Rolls-Royce‘s design division in Goodwood, UK and is finished with several touches which will be familiar to fans of the luxury brand.

The world’s largest Rolls-Royce dealership has opened in Abu Dhabi as the luxury brand continues its expansion in the Middle East.

Spanning a massive 9,687 square feet, the showroom includes just five Rolls-Royce cars, but also houses a coffee bar, “customer configuration lounge,” and is linked to a new on-site Rolls-Royce service facility.

To mark the opening of the new facility, Rolls-Royce launched a Spirit of Ecstasy Centenary Collection Phantom Drophead Coupé, which forms part of a collection of 100 highly bespoke Rolls-Royce Phantom models.