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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.

The Aston Martin Rapide leads this month's list of discounts

Aston Martin was an early entrant into the coupe-shaped sedan battlefield with its rakish Rapide. It was first shown in concept form in 2006 at the Detroit Auto Show before finally going into production in 2010. Ten years have passed since then, and this could well be your last chance to drive a new Rapide off your neighborhood Aston Martin dealership's lot as the four-door is replaced by the DBX crossover. If you've got your eye on a new Rapide — and congratulations if so — you'll be pleased to know that you can snag a 2019 model for the low price of just $217,484. Sure, that's still a lot of money, but it's $24,341 off the car's average $241,825 sticker price. That's the largest monetary savings of August, 2020, and it represents a discount of a little over 10%. And even if the Rapide is getting a little long in the tooth, it's still a strikingly beautiful machine, particularly in its most recent AMR guise. Looking for something different but still extremely rapid? The 2019 Acura NSX is selling for an average transaction price of $142,141. That's an 11% savings off its sticker of $159,703. Or you could opt for a Maserati Quattroporte if you'd like the convenience of a luxury sedan but not the price of the Aston Martin – the four-door Trident-badged machine's average transaction price this month of $107,372 is a 12.4% discount. And if none of that is up your alley, you could go full baller with a Rolls-Royce Cullinan SUV for $320,085. That's a savings of $12,665 off the car's average retail price of $332,750. Just think of how much Grey Poupon you could afford with all that leftover cash. For a look at the best new car deals in America based on the percentage discount off their suggested asking prices, check out our monthly recap here. And when you're ready to buy, click here for the Autoblog Smart Buy program, which brings you a hassle-free buying experience with over 9,000 Certified Dealers nationwide. Related Video: Featured Gallery Aston Martin Rapide AMR View 10 Photos Acura Aston Martin Maserati Rolls-Royce Car Buying Convertible Coupe SUV Luxury Performance Sedan consumer best deals

Rolls-Royce planning plug-in hybrid

Rolls-Royce is not the first marque you'd think of when it comes to environmentally friendly transportation. Its cars are big - often the size of SUVs - and pack ginormous twelve-cylinder engines displacing over six and a half liters. Those upright Parthenon grilles can't be very aerodynamic, either. But the way the wind is blowing these days, Goodwood will have to get with the program sooner or later.
It developed an electric version of the Phantom a couple of years ago called the 102EX and showed it to customers around the world. But people weren't interested, so Rolls-Royce killed the program. Not to be deterred, however, Rolls is now said to be working on a plug-in hybrid that would countermand some of the shortcomings - like range and recharging times - that killed the 102EX.
The technology would apparently be borrowed from parent company BMW which is developing it for the X5 eDrive and allow Rolls-Royce to reduce its carbon footprint and offer a more environmentally friendly mode of transportation to those who don't want to skimp on the luxury and prestige.