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2024 Rolls-Royce Spectre First Drive: Electric Rolls is still a Rolls

The introduction of a new EV model usually represents a revolutionary moment for a car brand. The car is typically a departure from the norm, not just in fuel source but design and overall character. They’re usually a break from tradition and/or a beacon pointing in a whole new direction. Then thereÂ’s the new 2024 Rolls-Royce Spectre. ThereÂ’s nothing about it that feels revolutionary, which largely speaks to what came before. WeÂ’re talking about a Rolls-Royce here. They were always whisper-quiet with a V12 engine judiciously doling out gobs of effortless torque without fanfare. You know, like electric motors do. Or rather, as electric motors can. Forget about sledgehammer-to-the-chest launches in the Spectre – Rolls-Royce specifically tuned the throttle to elegantly roll into its power, much as it did, partly by necessity, with a V12. You can imagine the torque curve looking more like an airplane taking off than a rocket. Once underway, speed builds rapidly and passes are made effortlessly. Again, like a V12. The Spectre also looks like a V12 could still be lurking beneath the vast bonnet even though it was 100% EV from the get-go. There was no effort to reimagine Rolls-Royce for the electric era with cab-forward proportions or “Blade Runner” styling cues. The front is sleeker to be sure, for the purposes of design and aerodynamics, with even the Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament being nipped and tucked to eliminate turbulence that occurred behind the most recent rendition. The overall drag coefficient of 0.25 is certainly commendable for something that retains a blunt front end complete with the must-have “Pantheon” grille that ensures no one will mistake this for anything other than a Rolls-Royce. That it's softly illuminated by 22 LEDs ensures identification at all hours. 2024 Rolls-Royce Spectre in Morganite pink action front three quarter View 32 Photos Once inside, you sit lower in the Spectre than past models, including the similarly two-door Wraith. The resulting view through the gun-slit windshield over the long, imposing hood and raised dashboard is reminiscent of pre-war, ultra-luxury cars from Rolls-Royce, Duesenberg and others. When I mentioned that observation to Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Muller-Otvos, his eyes lit up as if to say, “Eureka!” That was exactly what Rolls was going for – it had nothing to do with the powertrain.

Top Gear has an Extra Gear problem | Episode Review

When the BBC announced Extra Gear, I was excited. As an avid fan of show's like The Talking Dead – companion show to AMC's hit The Walking Dead – a behind-the-scenes look at my favorite motoring show sounded promising. But with the fifth episodes of each show, I'm worried that Top Gear is suffering to keep Extra Gear interesting. We'll start with Chris Evans, inarguably the most heavily criticized member of the new Top Gear team. Evans is progressively less shouty and more comfortable filming while driving in each episode – the fifth is no different. He's almost likable in the Zenos E10 video, like a ginger James May, and he delivers accurate and eloquent driving impressions. The review is entertaining, until Extra Gear shows the producers cut a huge element – an old-versus-new sprint around the Race of Champions circuit at the Olympic Stadium in London. Former Formula 1 ace David Coulthard would drive a Caterham 360, while current F1 pro Daniel Riccardo rocked the Zenos. If the entire premise of Evans review is that the Zenos E10 is the newest of the new for British super-lightweight track toys, why did the producers decide to leave a race against the segment's standard bearer for Extra Gear? It's a baffling move, cutting a segment of the film that reinforces Evans' excitement over the Zenos. Rory Reid's Jaguar F-Type SVR piece is excellent. Fifty five years to the day after Jaguar test driver Norman Dewis raced to the Geneva Motor Show in a second E-Type for display, Reid would attempt the same feat in an SVR. If he failed, Jaguar wouldn't have a car to display. Dewis made the 750-mile trip with 13 hours of notice, and Reid would need to do the same. It's a brilliant, simple premise that reminded me of Jeremy Clarkson's so-called "Race against God" in a Jaguar XJ, way back in season 16. The history of the challenge and Dewis' gravelly commentary add gravitas. But the entire film goes by so fast. It's longer than Evans' Zenos video or Harris' BMW M2 film, but at less than ten minutes, Reid and the SVR deserved more screen time. Extra Gear poured salt in that particular wound with a great segment featuring Norman Dewis that deserved to be in the main show. Reid takes the famed test driver for a spin around the Dunsfold track, then, instead of the comedian of the week, the hosts interview Dewis on Extra Gear's couch.

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.