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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.

Rolls-Royce to auction first Dawn in America for charity

Want to get your hands on the first new Rolls-Royce Dawn to reach North America? The automaker will auction off the first of its new convertibles in the US at the Naples Winter Wine Festival in January. All proceeds will go to charity. The Dawn is the new drophead counterpart to the Ghost and Wraith. The four-seat convertible features a 6.6-liter twin-turbo V12 good for 563 horsepower and 575 pound-feet of torque, channeled to the rear wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission for a 0-62 time of under five seconds. It's a suitable foil to the likes of the Bentley Continental GTC and Mercedes-Benz S-Class convertible. Rolls-Royce introduced the Dawn at the Frankfurt Motor Show just a couple of months ago, and will begin arriving at dealers in April. The example pictured here will be the first to arrive in North America. It'll be outfitted by the Bespoke division in Arctic White with a Deep Red roof and a corresponding interior with Indian Rosewood trim and unique treadplates. It's valued at over $400,000, but bidding will start at $335,000 at the wine fest scheduled for January 29-31 at the Ritz-Carlton in Naples, FL. Proceeds from the auction will go towards the Naples Children & Education Foundation. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Offers Once-In-A-Generation Opportunity To Own The Sexiest Rolls-Royce Ever Built Bidder at the 2016 Naples Winter Wine Festival will become the first North American customer to receive the new Rolls-Royce Dawn WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J., Nov. 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Bidders at the 2016 Naples Winter Wine Festival will have a truly exclusive opportunity to become the first North American customer to receive the sexiest Rolls-Royce ever built. The all-new Rolls-Royce Dawn marks a new horizon in the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars' lineup of pinnacle motor cars, and the brand has offered the very first delivery in North America to benefit Naples' charities. This Dawn will be offered at the Naples Winter Wine Festival to be held from January 29-31 2016 at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort in Naples, Florida with proceeds benefiting the Festival's founding organization, the Naples Children & Education Foundation. A true four-seater, Dawn is the most social of super-luxury drophead motor cars. Its effortless elegance and luxurious, yet approachable demeanor fits seamlessly into the backdrop of the 16th annual Naples Winter Wine Festival.

Rolls-Royce to decide on SUV by year's end

The market for high-end luxury SUVs continues to climb, but Rolls-Royce is in no huge rush to jump on the leather-clad, high-riding bandwagon. The company has just announced a new sales record for the fifth year running, with over 4,000 units delivered in 2014. But it recognizes that SUVs are where the market is going, so it's going to carefully weigh its options, and make a decision on how to proceed by the end of 2015. This according to Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Muller-Otvos in speaking with Auto Express. "There is not yet a final decision, because we still need to answer a couple of questions ourselves," said Muller-Otvos in regard to a potential SUV, admitting, "You need to move the brand from time to time, you need to go with the flow. We might even see in a few years that the classical sedan segments are shrinking due to the fact that SUV type vehicles are growing. So if you don't change your product portfolio to something that is up to date then at some point in time you might even die." If the storied Goodwood-based marque does proceed with an SUV, it would be following former sister-company Bentley into the segment. But they're not the only ones. Mercedes is said to be preparing a Maybach version of the next GL-Class, Jaguar Land Rover keeps making increasingly expensive and luxurious Range Rovers, and Maserati is preparing to launch its Levante crossover. The prospect of an SUV isn't the only project Rolls-Royce has in the works, though. It's got a convertible version of the Wraith coming soon, and sooner or later there will be a replacement for the thirteen-year-old Phantom saloon, potentially to include some carbon fiber in its construction to help trim weight. A hybrid powertrain could be in the mix as well, though customers have shunned the idea of a pure electric model. Just don't expect a Rolls-Royce more accessible than the Ghost: the company is glad to be growing its sales, but is not chasing any specific sales targets that would press it to cheapen the brand by going down-market.