1980 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow Ii Base Sedan 4-door 6.7l on 2040-cars

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Lucky ducks rescued, ride in a Rolls-Royce to their new Goodwood home

The phrase "put it on the bill" has taken on a new meaning at Rolls-Royce's Goodwood, England, factory. The firm now shares its headquarters with 15 ducks that were rescued earlier in 2020 and re-released as adults. Rolls-Royce explained that James Caffrey, one of its security guards, spotted a group of seven ducklings in a company parking lot in April 2020. He spent several hours observing the unexpected visitors from a distance before realizing that the mother duck wasn't coming back. Concerned, he captured the birds with the help of colleagues and sent them to the Brent Lodge Wildlife Hospital, which cares for sick, injured, and orphaned animals. Brent Lodge's goal is to release animals back into their natural habitat as soon as possible, not to keep them in captivity. The seven siblings were reared into adulthood and sent back to Rolls-Royce's headquarters, along with eight additional ducks that were also rescued locally. The group traveled to Goodwood in the back of a Cullinan, an honor that few humans — let alone birds — experience. They traveled in cages, letting ducks loose in an SUV would be disastrous, and Rolls-Royce joked its engineers are now looking into using ducks as a unit to measure trunk space. Rolls-Royce's new tenants live near the lakes that are next to its factory, so they're fully self-sufficient. There is enough food available to sustain the entire clan. We don't know whether they'll be asked to contribute something in exchange for living at Goodwood; the 250,000 bees the firm keeps make honey that's exclusively served to guests, like customers who fly in to pick up a car. If duck eggs come with your new Phantom, you'll know why. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

King Charles' electric I-Pace goes to auction next month

Never mind the Bentley State Limousines, the Aston Martin DB6 Volante that Queen Elizabeth II bought him on his 21st birthday, or the Rolls-Royce Phantom VI valued at more than $600,000. The car of the moment, if we’re talking about the garage of King Charles III of England, is a far more ordinary — and all-electric — Jaguar I-Pace purchased in 2018 by His Majesty “for his personal use." The royal Jag is set to be auctioned off March 2 at the famed Ascot Racecourse; estimated selling price is as high as $88,000. If you miss out on the auction of a president's former ride, here's one from a king. The SUV, notable as the first all-electric vehicle to be embraced by the royal family, is the range-topping I-Pace EV400 HSE all-wheel-drive luxury five-seater that the king — prince of Wales at the time — bought in September 2018 for $75,000. According to the auction site, the Jag was "purchased with his own money." Charles had Jaguar install a fast charger at Clarence House, his residence. The vehicle was returned to a Jaguar dealership after two years — itÂ’s not clear if it had been leased — with only 3,000 miles on the clock. Subsequently, the SUV was sold to one Karen French of Oxfordshire. She said in a statement offered by Historics Auctioneers, “This I-Pace was exactly what I was looking for and pretty much on my doorstep. It was only when I agreed to buy it that I discovered its extraordinary history — I was absolutely thrilled. Having driven it over 30,000 miles,” she added, ”I decided in the New Year that it was time for a change.” Noted by the auctioneers in typical British understatement, the high-specification car was uniquely finished in Loire Blue and remains the only I-Pace “to be painted in this colour, whilst those inside the car enjoyed a sumptuous, contrasting leather interior in, fittingly, Light Oyster Windsor.” A revised Jaguar I-Pace is scheduled to arrive next year. Regarding the KingÂ’s affection for automobiles — British automobiles — he reportedly overseas a fleet worth more than $17 million. And while heÂ’s fond of driving conventional vehicles, he told the BBC some years ago that “my old Aston Martin, which I've had for 51 years, runs on — can you believe this — surplus English white wine, and whey from the cheese process.” Essentially the classic had been converted to run on E85 bio-ethanol. "The engineers at Aston said, 'Oh, it'll ruin the whole thing,'" Charles shared with The Telegraph in 2018.

Rolls-Royce Spectre EV getting a 650-horsepower Black Badge variant?

The electric Rolls-Royce Spectre made its debut earlier in 2023, and the British brand is already looking at ways to expand the range. While nothing is official, leaked certification documents for the Australian market suggest that a Black Badge model with more power is on its way. Australian website Drive wrote that the Spectre Black Badge's unveiling is imminent. While it didn't publish the leaked documents, so we can't verify their authenticity, it noted that the Black Badge treatment will include a 650-horsepower evolution of the standard car's dual-motor drivetrain. For context, the standard variant of the Spectre is rated at 577 horsepower. If the leaked figure is accurate, the Spectre Black Badge will be the most powerful series-produced car in the Rolls-Royce range, eclipsing models like the 592-horse Cullinan Black Badge. The extra power shouldn't have a major effect on driving range. The aforementioned certification documents peg the coupe's range at up to 342 miles, compared to about 345 for the standard Spectre. Keep in mind those figures won't necessarily carry over to the American-market model, because Australia uses its own methods to obtain a range figure. In the United States, the Spectre has a range of up to 260 miles. Beyond the drivetrain, the Spectre Black Badge will receive the same basic tweaks as other Black Badge-branded members of the Rolls-Royce range, according to the same report. The list will include a suspension system revised for sportier handling, blacked-out design details, trim-specific wheels, and new-look interior trim. Of course, buyers will be able to customize nearly aspect of the Spectre Black Badge. Rolls-Royce hasn't commented on the report, and it hasn't confirmed plans to launch a Black Badge variant of the Spectre, let alone one with a 650-horsepower drivetrain. If the rumor is accurate, we should learn more about the big electric coupe in the not-too-distant future. Pricing hasn't been announced, but the Black Badge will cost more than the standard Spectre. Don't try to flip one: Rolls-Royce will blacklist you.