21 Chromed Whls, Theater Config. Lounge Seat, Picnic Tables, Bespoke Leather!! on 2040-cars

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Rolls-Royce just unveiled the Rolls-Royce of picnic baskets

While automakers such as Cadillac and Koenigsegg have prepared debuts for full-size automobiles at Pebble Beach this week, Rolls-Royce has decided this will be the perfect occasion to unveil a picnic basket. That being said, this picnic basket is fully up to Rolls-Royce standards. And that's important because when you take your Rolls out for an al fresco lunch, a plain old blanket and an Igloo cooler simply won't do. There will only be 50 of these baskets made and they will accompany the final 50 Phantom Coupes and Drophead Coupes. Each is crafted from American walnut wood and leather that is coordinated with its accompanying car's exterior color. The basket also has milled aluminum hinges with the debut locations of the cars' concept predecessors. Because of course it does. View 11 Photos The basket is equipped with only the finest dining wares including a walnut cutting board, Rolls-Royce embroidered napkins, and stainless steel cutlery. Then there's the genuine lead crystal wine glasses and dishes with details in black paint and platinum. Obviously silver or gold wouldn't cut it. The basket will be shown at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance this weekend. So if you're there and are wondering why a picnic basket is being so prominently displayed, now you'll know. Related Video:

Recharge Wrap-up: Google Street View maps gas leaks, Rolls-Royce helps kids build electric racer

Google Street View is looking for gas leaks. Natural gas leaks are not only extremely dangerous, they're a terrible waste of resources and, as a greenhouse gas, a threat to the environment. Unfortunately, with the decaying infrastructure in many of America's older cities, they're pretty common, too. That's why Google is teaming up with the Environmental Defense Fund to map gas leaks. With sensors attached to the Street View cars, they are sniffing out methane leaks and documenting them. So far, they've covered Boston, Staten Island and Indianapolis, with Los Angeles and Syracuse up next. Read more over at Gizmodo. Consumer and environmental groups are calling on the Federal Trade Commission to change the way car advertisements disclose fuel economy. Nine groups, including Sierra Club, Union of Concerned Scientists and Consumers Union, want mpg figures to be clearer and more complete. They have requested that when mpg is advertised, that it includes the EPA's city, highway and combined ratings. They also, among other requests, want mile-per-gallon-equivalent ratings for electric cars to state that they are for comparative purposes only, and to include separate gas and electric ratings for plug-ins and range extended EVs. See what else the groups have requested at Kicking Tires. Rolls-Royce has a new electric car, and it's not the 102EX. The luxury automaker worked with a group of elementary school students in the UK to build an electric car for the IET Formula Goblin project, where students build and race their own electric "car." Rolls-Royce lent the 9, 10 and 11 year-olds a bit of engineering and manufacturing assistance to build the car, which they then raced at the Goodwood Motor Circuit. Read more at World Car Fans, or check out the press release, below. ROLLS-ROYCE SUPPORTS LOCAL PRIMARY SCHOOL'S RACING DEBUT A team of school children mentored and supported by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars successfully completed the Greenpower IET Formula Goblin race at the Goodwood Motor Circuit on Sunday. The group of 10 boys and girls from Years 5 and 6 built and piloted a specially developed electric car in a race against teams from schools across the UK. 'Team March', from the March CE Primary School adjacent to the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, finished well up the order and scooped the prize for 'Best Bodywork'.

Check out some of the coolest Rolls-Royce Bespoke projects of 2023

The vast majority of buyers who order a new Rolls-Royce customize the car to some extent — the sky is the limit, and we're not talking about the one embedded into the headliner. As 2023 draws to a close, the British brand is highlighting some of the coolest requests it received. Rolls-Royce notes its Bespoke department received several unprecedented requests in 2023; one customer even asked for a special scent, and engineers had to develop several new paint processes. One of the highlights is the Phantom Syntopia, which the company labels "the most technically complex Bespoke commission ever undertaken." Created jointly with Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen, it explores a theme called "Weaving Water" with custom details on the hood, the dashboard, and the headliner, which took nearly 700 hours to make. Travel inspired several Rolls-Royce customers in 2023. Three units of the Cullinan Black Badge Lucid Nights were built for the South Korean market and painted in Lime Green, Indy Red and Tucana Purple, respectively, as a tribute to the neon-lit streets of Seoul. Moving closer to the brand's headquarters, the one-off Phantom Cinque Terre features styling cues inspired by some of Italy's most touristic villages and the wine made in that region. The headliner notably incorporates a map of Italy embroidered with no less than 14,338 individual stitches. Limited to 25 units, the Ghost Black Badge Ekleipsis Private Collection features styling cues from the world of astrology. It's finished in a color combination inspired by a total solar eclipse, and its headliner gains an animation that mimics an eclipse and lasts for seven and a half minutes. The dashboard gets a clock whose bezel incorporates a brilliant-cut 0.5-carat diamond — the first in Rolls-Royce's history. Riding in the one-of-one Rose Blossom Phantom should feel like sitting in a summer garden, without the sunburn and the wasps trying to taste your drink. Rolls-Royce embroidered flowers into the dashboard and the headliner, and it added four species of butterfly (Swallowtail, Peacock, Common Blue and Duke of Burgundy) to bring the backdrop to life. The headliner in this car required over 200 hours of work. Some buyers take a more personal approach to customization.