2013 Rolls Royce Phantom on 2040-cars

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Rolls-Royce debuts Phantom Drophead Coupe Waterspeed Collection

For the next act in its Bespoke Collection, Rolls-Royce has found one of its own to celebrate with the Phantom Drophead Coupé Waterspeed Collection, noting the achievements of British land and water record-holder Sir Malcolm Campbell. Like a few other racers of his era in the 1920s and 1930s, Campbell used his Bluebird Motor Company and Bluebird Garage to fund his interest in motorsports. He would break the waterspeed record in 1937 in his Bluebird K3 powered by a Rolls-Royce R engine, traveling 126.33 miles per hour on Italy's Lake Maggiore.
We've seen sketches of what Rolls-Royce intended with the Waterspeed Collection, and the real thing is just as handsome, and the new model includes a number of firsts for the marque. The Maggiore Blue exterior paint is also used for highlights on the engine, the polished wheels, two-tone steering wheel and the dashboard. The tonneau cover normally finished in teak is instead done in hand-finished brushed steel, a closer contrast to the Windchill Grey interior. The Abachi wood veneers have also been bookmatched so that their grain evokes the wake of a speeding boat.
The droptop will be shown first at the Bluebird Garage Cafe in London on the site of the original garage, after which it will get its first wider showing at the Concorso D'Eleganza at Villa D'Este later this month. The press release below has a lot more detail on the finer detailing of the Drophead Coupe Waterspeed, and the images above are worth at least 8,000 words.

Rolls-Royce electric airplane smashes record, hits 387.4 mph

Just two months after its maiden flight, Rolls-Royce's "Spirit of Innovation" has hit a top speed of 387.4 mph, tentatively smashing the speed record for electric airplanes, Gizmodo has reported. It also claimed the top speed of 345.4 MPH over a 3 kilometer (1.86 mile) course and lowest time to a 3,000 meter (9,843 feet) altitude (202 seconds). The records have yet to be certified, but if the 345.5 mph speed stands, it would beat the current record of 213 mph — held by a Siemens-powered Extra 330LE — by an impressive 132 mph.  Rolls-Royce (the aviation, not the car company), conducted the tests on November 16 as part of its ACCEL (accelerating electrification of flight) project. To have the records certified, it's submitting the trials to the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI), the body in charge of world aviation records. If confirmed, the speeds would be pretty impressive considering that the plane only made its maiden flight in September — suggesting that with more time, it could go even faster. 51690212450_7e8bcb3ad8_k View 12 Photos The Spirit of Innovation is an old-school "tail-dragger" airplane (steering at the rear) with the canopy pushed way back, and looks as fast as it goes. It's powered by a 400 kW (535 HP), 750 volt motor. Rolls-Royce said it uses the "most power-dense propulsion battery pack ever assembled in aerospace," with 6,480 cells.  As Engadget detailed in an explainer, electric airplanes aren't practical since current batteries are 50 times less energy dense than jet fuel. However, they do hold some promise for very short trips, like a 30 minute jaunt between Vancouver and Victoria in Canada. And unlike non-turbocharged ICE engines, electric motors retain full power as an airplane climbs, making them ideal for time-to-altitude record attempts — as the Spirit of Innovation has just shown.  Green Rolls-Royce

Rolls-Royce Phantom Oribe has a pottery theme and high-fashion interior

Rolls-Royce has developed quite a busy business with its Bespoke division. It creates specially customized one-off models for particularly wealthy clients. The latest is the Rolls-Royce Phantom Oribe, and it's one of the prettier and more interesting ones. The car was commissioned by a Japanese entrepreneur who collects old pottery from Japan called Oribe. That pottery often features green and white glazing, which provided the inspiration for the name and the color scheme of the Phantom. This particular Phantom was also a collaboration between Rolls-Royce and the French designer fashion brand Hermes, which provided all of the interior leather and canvas. That interior is really the highlight of the car. Most surfaces feature green and white leather to match the exterior. But the headliner and rear armrests receive a canvas fabric Hermes uses on some of its handbags. Walnut wood veneers decorate the doors, rear seat tables and dashboard. A unique touch is the lack of metal speaker grates. Instead, Rolls-Royce drilled out holes in the wood trim over the speakers. Additionally, the dashboard features an equine themed pattern that was hand painted. It was inspired by a particular style of scarves offered by Hermes. Both the car and fashion companies' logos appear on the glovebox door. This car is of course a one-off, so you won't see any more of them. Of course if you have the undoubtedly massive amounts of money to commission a Bespoke Rolls-Royce, you could probably request certain aspects of it on your own special car. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.