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Wafting In The Fastest And Most Powerful Vehicle RR Has Ever Made
It is said that Rolls-Royce co-founder Sir Henry Royce once proclaimed: "Take the best that exists and make it better: When it does not exist, design it." The second part of that quote is most curious, as the century-old automaker recently introduced an all-new Ghost-based coupe with no apparent peers - a two-door boasting a 624-horsepower, twin-turbocharged V12 with rear-wheel drive and sleek fastback styling.
Yet despite its specifications, it was never planned to be a sports coupe. Rather, the British automaker tells us that it was thoroughly engineered to be, "a car where the sense of arrival and joy of the journey are as important as the canvas upon which it is drawn." Whatever that means.

Artists reinterpret Rolls-Royce scale models for charity

Everyone loves toy cars. Even artists, apparently. And even if they toys in question are higher-end "scale models" of high-end cars like Rolls-Royces. The British automaker recently assembled a dozen contemporary artists to render their individual creative interpretations based on 1:18 scale models of the Rolls-Royce Ghost. They'll be displayed at a showroom in the center of London before being auctioned off to raise funds for breast cancer. The resulting creations came out pretty interesting, ranging from a Rolls-based, Back to the Future-style time machine to another grown over with moss and mushrooms. One of the artists, Charming Baker, suspended his model in a resin block and drilled it through fourteen times to represent how breast cancer can affect us all. If you happen to wander by Berkeley Square in the British capital any time before the end of June, it may be worth stopping in to have a look. But if your plans won't be taking you to London this summer, you can check them out in the slideshow above. Maybe you'll see something you like a place a bid. It's all for a good cause. Related Video: ROLLS-ROYCE GHOST TRANSFORMED BY LEADING ARTISTS FOR BREAST CANCER CARE Twelve leading artists have created unique artworks, each featuring a 1:18 scale replica of the iconic Rolls-Royce Ghost, for a one-of-a-kind collection. These spectacular artworks, donated by some of the biggest names in contemporary art, will be on show from 20-25 May 2015 at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars London in Berkeley Square to raise valuable funds for Breast Cancer Care. The model motor car has been transformed to create an extraordinary collection of one-off art pieces, created by artists including: Maggi Hambling, Richard Wentworth, Gavin Turk, Mark Wallinger, JJ Adams, Sam Taylor-Johnson, Charming Baker, Natasha Law, Angela Palmer, Andrew Salgado, Stuart Semple and Yinka Shonibare. London artist Charming Baker, known for his emotionally charged work, explains the thinking behind his artwork, 'One in Eight'. "It is important to me that the work I produce for this brief is relevant to the subject matter we're dealing with. One in eight women in the UK will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. So I have set the car in a clear block of resin, suspended in the middle of the block – floating, pristine. The block has been drilled 16 times, in a very orderly and simple grid pattern.

Bloodhound hits 210 mph in test for land speed record run

It was actually 210 miles per hour, 10 mph faster than promised. The rest of the day went swimmingly, and on schedule, by the Bloodhound land speed record team. "The car ran for 20 minutes, and it did two full-power runs, with full power for 5 seconds, and 0 to 200 mph in just under 9 seconds," said Mark Chapman, Bloodhound's chief engineer. "So the exciting bits were about 18 seconds long, but people were here from dawn to dusk. The atmosphere was unbelievable." Bloodhound, which will travel at 70 mph simply on the idle of its EJ200 jet engine, had to be held back on the brakes before wing commander Andy Green floored it for 5 seconds. The jet flamed and roared on afterburner and then it was over. I might have given a little squeak; it was mightily impressive. "This is a really big engine," said Richard Noble, Bloodhound project director and former land speed record holder, "and when it runs, there's a flame and a crackle and boom, and people think, 'My goodness, that's really something.'" It was, and Green might well have thought so when he first came to apply the brakes in testing for the inaugural public run last week on the runway at RAF St Mawgan near Newquay in Cornwall. "We've had some interesting times working out how carbon brakes work, because they do take a while to warm up," said Chapman. "The cockpit footage online shows Andy's eyes looking like dinner plates when he puts his foot on the brake and nothing happens for a bit." Typically, Green took it all in his stride. He is one of just three people alive to have traveled at 600 mph on the ground (Richard Noble and Craig Breedlove are the others) and was hugely impressed with Bloodhound. "The car is absolutely fabulous," he said. "From day one, it felt right: crisp and precise, you can feel it on the road; it's super. There was only one slight surprise on the braking and that was more to do with the engine over-swing." This meant that the Rolls-Royce Eurofighter engine wouldn't shut off immediately when Green lifted from the throttle. "That delay was a real surprise to us," he said, "because all previous jet cars have had mechanical fuel-control systems where a rod closes a valve and a quarter of second later, all thrust has gone. The EJ200 engine, though, manages its own fuel supply based on what the digital throttle request is, and it takes quite a lot longer to stop.