2004 Rolls-royce Phantom Automatic 4-door Sedan on 2040-cars

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'Top Gear' episode 4 recap | A road trip through Borneo

Episode four of "Top Gear" season 27 is officially in the books, and if you like Freddie and Paddy, you probably enjoyed this one. The two went on a hell of an adventure through Borneo, but didn’t bring Chris Harris along for the ride. Maybe we were just getting accustomed to the three of them hanging out together, but the trip felt like it was missing something without Chris. Regardless, the feature film of this episode revolved around Freddie and Paddy driving the cheapest, rarest cars they could find. They bought them in Europe, then drove all throughout the island of Borneo, eventually reaching Brunei. Freddie got himself an Austin Allegro Estate, while Paddy made do with a Matra Bagheera S. If you had to look those cars up, we donÂ’t blame you. TheyÂ’re both rather obscure models, so itÂ’s safe to say they hit their mark on the rare requirement. Back at home base in England, Chris says he was reviewing a Rolls-Royce Cullinan. Funnily enough, Rolls wouldnÂ’t loan a Cullinan to "Top Gear" to test, so they had to go out and borrow one for the review. After listening to ChrisÂ’ thoughts on the SUV, it starts to become clear why Rolls may not have wanted the exposure. We wonÂ’t give it all away, but letÂ’s just say that the ultra-luxury ute didnÂ’t receive the most glowing of reviews. Bob Mortimer was the celebrity guest, so there were plenty of laughs to be had in his segment. He wasnÂ’t exactly fast in any of the car challenges, but the entertainment factor was certainly present with him cracking jokes. Even though the Borneo trip wasnÂ’t exactly the same without Chris, the other two managed quite well on their own. Freddie ate a live bug, and the mid-engine Matra made it to the end against all odds. Perhaps itÂ’s a testament to the companyÂ’s history of weathering tough conditions — Matra did win Le Mans three times throughout its history after all. At the very end of the episode, the boys made an admirable gesture by speaking out against the Sultan of BruneiÂ’s horrific laws against homosexual relations. They said that the filming for the episode occurred before the Sultan announced the new laws, and if "Top Gear" had known these rules would be enacted beforehand, they wouldnÂ’t have featured Borneo in their film. In response, Freddie and Paddy modified their Borneo rides with an epic paint job as a form of protesting the anti-gay laws. Good on ya, "Top Gear." Featured Gallery Top Gear episode 4 photos TV/Movies Rolls-Royce Top Gear

Rolls-Royce gets down to testing new aluminum architecture

Rolls-Royce is preparing to step – or serenely glide – into modernity. It has a new aluminum architecture under development that's set to underpin all its future products. And now it's giving us a taste of what's to come. Goodwood first announced the new platform in February when it revealed intentions to build its first SUV. Now it's saying the architecture won't just underpin the crossover known tentatively as Project Cullinan – it'll form the basis of every model it makes from 2018 onwards. Rolls is already testing the new platform with mules like the one pictured above. The vehicle would appear to be a Phantom behind a mask, but the way that Rolls has disguised the rear end of the prototype tells us it might be wearing a more wagon-like roofline, the likes of which we'd expect to see on the crossover when it arrives. The company's also been testing its first all-wheel drive system for the same project with another type of test mule entirely. Once Project Cullinan is complete, Goodwood's first SUV will launch into a market filled with high-end products. Porsche is firmly established in the sector, and Range Rover is making ever-more expensive models. Soon Bentley, Jaguar, Aston Martin, Maserati, and Lamborghini will also join the fray, but the Rolls-Royce will likely be the most expensive and most luxurious of them all. ROLLS-ROYCE MOTOR CARS ANNOUNCES FUTURE ENGINEERING DEVELOPMENTS In February 2015, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars announced the development of an all-new aluminium space-frame architecture that will underpin all future Rolls-Royce models arriving in market from early 2018. The company today announced that it has begun the testing phase of this new architecture, with early preparatory activity seeing new engineering mules tested in public around the world. The Architecture of Pure Luxury The future of pure luxury motoring is already taking shape as Rolls-Royce Motor Cars begins testing its new aluminium space-frame architecture which will underpin all future Rolls-Royce model lines. The architecture will arrive in market from early 2018. Engineering mules will be assessed on public roads in various locations around the world. The current testing phase aims to ensure that the new space-frame structure perfectly delivers Rolls-Royce's trademark 'magic-carpet ride' on a variety of surfaces and that it is resilient to extreme weather conditions.

Top Gear caught filming Best of British near Buckingham Palace

YouTuber and car-fan extraordinaire Shmee probably had very little trouble tracking down the Top Gear film crew recently, as the group was putting together an episode that could accurately be described as "excessive." With its flag-waving (literally) Best of British theme, the TG guys gathered a jaw-dropping array of British cars, and parked them all right in front of Buckingham Palace to make extra sure that the point was driven home.
Top Gear hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May were outfitted with a trio of Jaguar F-Types festooned with gigantic Union Jacks, with which to survey the landscape of British motoring glory. In the video below, you'll see that this includes any number of Mini, Aston Martin, Lotus, McLaren, Land Rover, Bentley and Rolls-Royce models (just to name a few), as well as a healthy dose of weird stuff that most people would never guess at being built in the UK. The lawnmowers and military vehicles are especially cool.