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2014 Rolls-Royce Wraith

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.

Rolls-Royce builds one of its smallest cars ever

Kid-size versions of expensive cars are nothing new, and a handful have come out in the past year. McLaren released a tiny iteration of its P1, and Morgan did the same with its EV3. Rolls-Royce has joined the crowd with its new Rolls-Royce SRH. Unlike those other British automakers, though, Rolls only built one, and it went to a good home. The car was built for the St. Richard's Hospital Pediatric Day Surgery Unit, located in the same town as Rolls-Royce headquarters. The car also gets its SRH name from the hospital. It was provided to St. Richard's for patients to drive down to the operating theater. The hallway to the theater is decorated with road signs, too. Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Muller-Otvos said in a press release, "We hope that the Rolls-Royce SRH will serve to make the experience for young people during treatment a little less stressful." Also, just because the SRH is small doesn't mean less care was taken to build it. The same attention to detail Rolls-Royce brings to its large vehicles is on display here. For one thing, it was built by the Bespoke Manufacturing division, which builds specially customized models for clients. The car also features contemporary Rolls-Royce design features such as self-righting wheel centers, and an interior designed to precisely match the red coachline along the blue and silver body. Of course, there's also a small example of the Spirit of Ecstasy on the hood. Rolls even had a special unveiling for a couple of the hospital's patients at the factory, and allowed them to motor around the factory floor. Powering the little car is an electric motor coupled to a 24 volt battery. Speed is controlled via paddles behind the steering wheel, and it has a top speed of 10 mph, though that speed can be limited to 4 mph. After all, the car is going to a hospital, and there's no need to have inexperienced drivers causing additional injuries. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Featured Gallery Rolls-Royce SRH Image Credit: Rolls-Royce Toys/Games Rolls-Royce Electric Luxury

Recharge Wrap-up: Smart metals, OTA updates, Rolls-Royce LNG ship

"Smart" metals could help engines reduce emissions and invigorate US business. Metallurgist and University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee professor Pradeep Rohatgi combines known metal alloys with materials like ceramics, nanoparticles, and recycled waste to produce strong, lightweight composites with self-lubricating properties that help internal combustion engines run more efficiently. Rohatgi hopes his startup, Intelligent Composites, and its products can help US foundries compete with production outsourced overseas. See the video above, and read more at Phys.org. Almost 203 million cars will be capable of over-the-air (OTA) updates by 2022, according to ABI research. While Tesla has the OTA firmware updates nailed down, other automakers will focus on software update capability. This will take the place of dealer-installed updates and - like Chrysler did after the Jeep hacking incident - updates sent to owners via USB drives. OTA updates will enhance vehicle security and reduce recall rates. Read more at Green Car Congress. European bus manufacturers have agreed upon a standardized charging interface for their electric buses. Irizar, Solaris, VDL and Volvo will use pantograph charging for "opportunity charging" and CCS plugs as the base for overnight charging and network communication. The manufacturers hope other bus makers and charging providers to join them in cooperation over standardized charging. Read more at Green Car Congress. The second Audi Autonomous Driving Cup will take place from March 22 to 24, 2016 at the automaker's Museum Mobile in Ingolstadt, Germany. The competition involves eight university teams implementing basic Audi software in 1:8 scale electric Audi Q5 models, and putting them through the paces of simulated real-world driving situations. The teams develop software architecture to use the suite of sensor to have the cars drive, park, maneuver in traffic and perform emergency braking autonomously. Teams also perform a freestyle event where they put the car through an additional task of their choosing. The winning team gets ˆ10,000, with smaller prizes for second and third place. The competition also gives the students the opportunity to showcase their skills in front of a potential employer. Read more at Green Car Congress. Rolls-Royce will provide the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) propulsion for an NSK cargo ship carrying fish food. The ship will deliver 2,700 metric tons of fish food to fish farms along the Norwegian coast.