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Rolls-Royce's all-electric aircraft completes 15-minute maiden voyage

Rolls-Royce, best known in aviation for its jet engines, has taken an all-electric airplane on its maiden voyage. The "Spirit of Innovation" completed a 15 minute flight, marking "the beginning of an intensive flight-testing phase in which we will be collecting valuable performance data on the aircraft’s electrical power and propulsion system," the company announced.  Rolls-Royce said the one-seat airplane has "the most power-dense battery pack every assembled for an aircraft." The aircraft uses a 6,000 cell battery pack with a three-motor powertrain that currently delivers 400kW (500-plus horsepower), and Rolls-Royce said the aircraft will eventually achieve speeds of over 300 MPH.  This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The flight comes about a year after the originally scheduled takeoff and about six months after taxi trials. Rolls-Royce is also developing an air taxi with manufacturer Tecnam, with the aim of delivering an "all-electric passenger aircraft for the commuter market," according to the companies. It has previously teamed with Siemens and Airbus on another e-plane concept.  Aircraft companies have been exploring electric airplanes for a number of years, as air travel and cargo accounts for an increasing amount of greenhouse gases. The World Wildlife Foundation has called it "currently the most carbon intensive activity an individual can make."  Weight is a much bigger problem for airplanes that it is for cars, however. Ford's all-electric Lightning pickup weighs 1,800 pounds more than the gas-powered model, and offers a range that's slightly under half. However, if you added 1,800 pounds to to a Cessna 206 Turbo Stationair, you'd exceed its useful load by 500 pounds before you even loaded passengers (or the pilot) — so it wouldn't even get off the ground.  The project was half funded by the Aerospace Technology Institute and UK government, with the aim of eventually creating all-electric passenger planes. "This is not only about breaking a world record; the advanced battery and propulsion technology developed for this programme has exciting applications for the Urban Air Mobility market and can help make ‘jet zeroÂ’ a reality," said Rolls-Royce CEO Warren East. This article by S. Dent originally appeared on Engadget. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Rolls-Royce Wraith officially revealed in profile

Well here's a nice twofer. On the same day Rolls-Royce releases its first official teaser image showing the 2014 Wraith, we also get a look at the car undergoing some cold-weather testing courtesy of some new spy shots. As the coupe version of the Ghost, the 2014 Rolls-Royce Wraith will make its official debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March, and it's expected to go on sale during the fourth quarter of this year.
Rolls-Royce already confirmed plenty of information in a teaser it released last week, but the latest image shows us a clear shot of what the car's midsection will look like. Comparing this image and the spy shots, we can see that the Wraith will have a pretty sleek - (almost Bentley Continental GT-like) roofline, and, like the Phantom Coupe, it will have rear-hinged doors. We can also tell from the spy shots that it seems to be keeping the same face as the Ghost and taillights, too.
Be sure to check out the latest spy photos for the Wraith as well as a brief press release from Rolls-Royce by scrolling below.

Ugur Sahin returns with Rolls Royce Jonckheere Aerodynamic Coupe II design

The "Round Door" Rolls-Royce Phantom I Aerodynamic Coupe (inset) is a magnificent black beast of a car (and you can see it at the Petersen Automotive Museum for a limited time) as well as a mystery: designed by the Jonckheere Works in Belgium in 1935, all records for the one-of-a-kind coupe were destroyed in World War II, so no one knows who designed it or who commissioned it. What remains of the original coachbuilding company now makes bodies for cars and buses, and has asked designer Ugur Sahin to reinterpret the most fabulous car from its history.
We've written about Sahin often before, recently about his Corvette-based Anandi being shown at Top Marques Monaco and going into production. For a man who favors long hoods and short bodies, this particular Rolls-Royce couldn't be better. Sahin says the word "Respect" guided his lines for the 77-year-old car, the most apparent changes being the front fender treatment, the headlights dropping into the fenders, and the serious downsizing of the fin at the rear. Sahin says that there are talks with potential investors about building a one-off.
You can find out a little more about it in the press release below, and check out the gallery above of high-res images for every angle.