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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.

Rolls-Royce Phantom Limelight is opulence par excellence

Rolls-Royce never tires of putting out limited-edition versions of the company's plush models as a way to show off what its Bespoke team is capable of. The latest in a long line of ritzy Rolls is the new Phantom Limelight Collection, which takes inspiration from the theatrical stage. The luxurious sedan was technically unveiled at the recent Shanghai Motor Show, but detailed images and more info about the custom four-door was just released. Limited to 25 cars worldwide, the Limelight Collection marks the debut of Rolls' latest rear seats, and they are about as lavish as you would expect. The chair backs can recline up to 27 degrees, and a calf rest comes up a further 68 degrees to fully support wealthy passengers. There's also a power footrest hidden in the floor. Beyond the swanky seats, the Limelight also packs a dressers-worth of storage in the doors. Offered in both Ladies' or Gentleman's versions, they include custom places to store perfume, watches and jewelry. The rest of the interior is also available in two schemes that are dominated by either Seashell leather with Navy Blue as a contrast or vice-versa. To complete the theme, the exterior is painted in a shade called Gala Blue, and there's a Seashell and navy stripe painted down the side. Like the rest of Rolls' special cars, the Limelight amounts to some seriously upscale trim on an already high-class vehicle, but there's little doubt the company can sell all 25 of them. Related Video: ROLLS-ROYCE MOTOR CARS SHARES THE LIMELIGHT WITH PHANTOM CUSTOMERS 23 April 2015, Goodwood British engineering ingenuity and artistic creativity have proven to be the inspiration behind the naming and creation of the latest Bespoke Phantom Collection to emerge from the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, England. The Rolls-Royce Phantom Limelight Collection has been conceived for that select group of people who spend their lives in the public eye and on the world stage. Its name was inspired by the origin of a British invention which became synonymous with fame. The limelight effect was originally discovered in the 1820s by Sir Goldsworthy Gurney, a prototypical British gentleman scientist and inventor of the Victorian era. It was harnessed to revolutionise illumination in the theatres of London's Covent Garden, highlighting leading actors on the stage, thus leading to the phrase, 'in the limelight'.

Rolls-Royce gets Inspired by Film with latest Wraith special [w/video]

"You like me, you really like me!" If Rolls-Royce could tune its exhaust note to speak those words, (in Sally Field's voice, no less) we get the feeling it would. But since it can't it has done what it does best: launch a special edition. In this case, it's called the "Inspired by Film" edition, and it's based on the Wraith. Its creation was inspired by And the World Stood Still, a rather dramatic promotional video that accompanied the Wraith's launch two years ago. The film, which you can view below if you missed it the first time around, involved 100 DSLR cameras, 36 computers and nearly a mile of cabling, orchestrated in Barcelona to capture the spirit of the Rolls-Royce fastback. It was decorated with a Gold Award by the International Visual Communications Association and was recently admitted to the National Archive of the British Film Institute. So to mark the occasion, Rolls is rolling in to the New York Auto Show with this special edition. Taking the Silver Screen theme quite literally, it's decked out with two-tone silver paint, a solid silver Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament and grey leather with ebony and aluminum trim. The special edition will be available to order right after its debut in Manhattan, and of course comes with the 6.6-liter twin-turbo V12 churning out 624 horsepower to make the Wraith the fastest, most powerful production model in the company's history. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. ROLLS-ROYCE WRAITH 'INSPIRED BY FILM' DEBUTS AS LAUNCH FILM IS ACCEPTED INTO BFI NATIONAL ARCHIVE 31 March 2015, Goodwood The groundbreaking Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Wraith launch film, 'And the World Stood Still', has been accepted into the BFI (British Film Institute) National Archive, the world's most significant collection of film and TV. To celebrate the event, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has created Wraith 'Inspired by Film', which will debut at the 2015 New York Auto Show tomorrow, 1 April 2015. The film, which won a Gold Award at the 26th International Visual Communications Association (IVCA) Awards, caught the attention of the BFI's Senior Curator for Non-Fiction Films, Patrick Russell, who considered it a striking piece of contemporary cinematography and so decided to accept it into the archive. "We are delighted to see Rolls-Royce's Wraith launch film enter the BFI's collection," commented Russell.