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Rolls-Royce restores a pair of soapbox racers it built in the 2000s

Rolls-Royce inaugurated its current headquarters in Goodwood, England, in 2003, but it started making cars there before the plant was officially opened. It built a soapbox racer called RR-0.01 in 2001 and manufactured a second example named RR-0.02 the following year. These one-offs were raced at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and largely forgotten about until they were given a full restoration in 2024. Building a soapbox racer might sound odd for a brand that develops some of the world's most luxurious cars. Rolls-Royce explains that entering the Goodwood Festival of Speed's Soapbox Challenge was a way to preview what was then a new chapter in its history. In just a few short years, it had been sold to Volkswagen by a company named Vickers and sold again to BMW after an intense round of negotiations. It had split from Bentley, its longtime sister company, and it was forced to build a new plant, a new headquarters, and develop a new range. The soapbox racers were made by some of the same workers that later manufactured models like the Phantom, and they featured a Rolls-Royce-esque design thanks largely to a bright grille with vertical slats. It should come as no surprise that these weren't your typical home-brewed racers built on a gutted riding lawnmower chassis. Rolls-Royce used carbon fiber, fiberglass, and aluminum to keep the 0.01's weight in check, for example, while the 0.02 featured a formula racing-style steering rack, wood trim, as well as leather upholstery. The two racers also stood out with several unusual design cues: 0.01 wore a hare-shaped hood ornament while 0.02 got a "??" logo above the grille. Rolls-Royce notes that its soapbox racers last competed in 2013; during the event, 0.02 reached 72 mph, which is remarkable (and a little scary) considering it's powered solely by gravity. They were stored in as-raced condition until the company asked a team of apprentices to fully restore them. The work performed included repairing parts damaged during racing, including 0.01's grille and 0.02's wood cowl. Both freshly-restored racers will be displayed at the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts' Club's headquarters in Northamptonshire, England. Featured Gallery Rolls-Royce's RR-0.01 and RR-0.02 soapbox racers Design/Style Rolls-Royce

Rolls-Royce sets sales record in 2021, despite ongoing pandemic

LONDON — Luxury carmaker Rolls-Royce, a unit of Germany's BMW, said on Monday its sales soared 49% to a record high in 2021 despite the global coronavirus pandemic, as demand worldwide for luxury vehicles surged. In an online presentation, Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Muller-Otvos said the carmaker sold 5,586 vehicles to customers in more than 50 countries, the largest number in its 117-year history despite all the volatility wrought by the pandemic. "In the luxury sector as a whole, the struggle was not so much focused on attempting to find customers, but rather producing enough product to satisfy huge customer demand," Muller-Otvos said. He said sales hit all-time records in most regions, including China and the Americas. Premium and luxury car sales have been growing more broadly in key global markets such as China and the United States as pandemic travel restrictions have left wealthy consumers with more disposable income. "Covid forced many people to ground, not to travel anymore and for that reason there is quite a lot of wealth accumulated and that is spent on luxury goods," Muller-Otvos told Reuters. "We profited from that development." He said the carmaker's British plant in Goodwood was running at close to maximum capacity and its order books were full well into the third quarter of 2022. "If you order a Rolls-Royce today, you will expect to take delivery of it about a year from now," he said. Luxury British carmaker Bentley, a unit of Volkswagen AG said last week that it had cruised to a record year in 2021 as global sales jumped 31% amid strong demand for high-end vehicles. Last week BMW said it had achieved record sales of over 2.2 million vehicles from its BMW brand in 2021, outstripping 2019 sales despite a global shortage of semiconductor chips. Muller-Otvos said that while the chip shortage was cause for concern, Rolls-Royce's parent BMW had "assured that we could take delivery of all the chips we need to build our cars, so we haven't seen any shortages." Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Rolls-Royce Digital Dawn Launch | Autoblog Minute

Rolls-Royce unveils its newest vehicle in grand modern fashion.he four seater was revealed with a multi-platform global digital event. The British automaker originally teased Dawn using social media, with the grand reveal coming via a live web feed. Rolls-Royce Autoblog Minute Videos Original Video rolls-royce dawn