1996 Rolls-royce Silver Dawn on 2040-cars

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Rolls-Royce predicts it will set a delicious production record in 2020

Rolls-Royce suspended production at its Goodwood, England, factory in March 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic, but there's at least one part of its business that's not affected by the temporary shutdown. The 250,000 bees that live and work near its factory are on track to set another production record in 2020. The BeeMW-owned (sorry) firm opened its Bee Apiary in 2017. It currently consists of six hives named Phantom, Wraith, Ghost, Dawn, Cullinan, and Spirit of Ecstasy, respectively. Rolls-Royce announced the quarter-million bees that buzz around its premises emerged from winter in excellent health, and they're expected to make even more honey in 2020 than in 2019 (though Rolls-Royce didn't specify a quantity). Clearly, social distancing and work-from-home orders don't apply here. Rolls-Royce works with local beekeepers to process the honey when it's ready, but don't look for it in the breakfast aisle the next time you're out buying groceries. It's exclusively served to the company's guests, like the customers who travel to Goodwood to configure or take delivery of a car. Put another way, a taste of Rolls-Royce-branded honey will cost you at least $300,000 and a round-trip ticket to the British countryside. Surprisingly, the rivalry between Rolls-Royce and Bentley continues in the world of beekeeping. In 2019, Bentley built two giant hives for 120,000 bees near its headquarters in Crewe, England. It predicted they'd make about 33 pounds of honey annually, which amounts to about 50 jars. Ford keeps tens of thousands of bees, too; it's caring for at least 80,000 bees near the Rouge factory that currently manufactures the F-150. Bees are an often-overlooked part of the ecosystem. Plants depend on pollination to reproduce, and bees are nature's main pollinators; we'd ultimately have less food if bees were eradicated from the planet. They're endangered in many parts of the world, which is why some automakers are choosing to give them a home.  Related Video: Featured Gallery Rolls-Royce Bee Apiary Green Weird Car News Rolls-Royce

Aeroboat packs 1,100 seahorses of Rolls-Royce Merlin V12 power

We don't typically cover boats here - this is, after all, Autoblog and not Aquablog - but every so often something comes along that makes us want to dip our toes in the water, whether it's a Jaguar-designed speedboat, a Gulf-liveried megayacht or a Lamborghini-powered Riva Aquarama. This is another one of those occasions.
Set to be unveiled at the Salute to Style show in July at The Hurlingham Club in London, the Aeroboat is a motor yacht that seems to blend retro and furutistic lines in equal measure that would make Jules Verne proud without going Steampunk. Inspired by the Spitfire fighter plane, the Aeroboat packs aircraft-inspired switchgear and shock-mounted seats into a long, sleek form. But what really has our interests piqued is what lies beneath the stylish decks.
Each of the dozen Aeroboats to be built will pack a reconditioned, marinized, fuel-injected Rolls-Royce Merlin V12 engine - the same 27-liter powerplant that propelled the Spitfire. With 1,100 horsepower on tap, it's expected to propel the Aeroboat up to a top speed between 75 and 95 knots, or 86-109 miles per hour by landlubber standards, which is pretty damn fast on the open water.

Rolls-Royce Ghost Series II represents a host of subtle tweaks

It's not every day that an automaker admits in its own words that a new generation of one of its models is a "subtle redesign," but that's exactly how Rolls-Royce is describing the changes made to its Ghost Series II. Most of the bodywork has seen very light resculpting, including what the brand is calling a tapered "wake channel" that starts just behind the beloved Spirit of Ecstacy's wings evoking "the sight of a jet's vapour trail" and "hinting at the car's dynamism."
So much does Rolls-Royce want to emphasize the Ghost Series II's so-called dynamism that it uses the descriptor a total of eight times in the press release that you're welcome to read below. Looking past that all-too-current buzzword, what we see here is clearly a Rolls-Royce, clearly an ultra-luxury sedan and clearly desirable.
Rest assured, prospective buyers will see all the latest technology inside the new Ghost's interior, including a 10.25-inch high-definition screen and a Spirit of Ecstacy Rotary Controller so as not to "leave unsightly fingerprints at driver and passenger eye level." Of course, plenty of customization is available for the most discerning of buyers, and two new wood veneer options are available - Paldao and Walnut Burr Crossband.