1999 Rolls Royce Silver Seraph Base Sedan 4-door 5.4l on 2040-cars

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Rolls-Royce Landspeed Collection honors record-breaking pioneer

The Rolls-Royce Wraith coupe and Dawn convertible might not be long for our market, but that doesn't mean they're being wholly ignored by their maker. In fact, Rolls-Royce just announced a new limited edition of the stylish pair: the Landspeed Collection. The Landspeed Collection cars honor 1930s speed record-holder Captain George Eyston, who achieved three land speed records, culminating in a run at 357.497 mph in 1938 at the Bonneville Salt Flats. The Rolls-Royce connection is that Eyston's car, the Thunderbolt, was powered by a pair of Rolls-Royce V12 aero engines. Each displaced 37 liters and produced more than 2,000 horsepower. Unlike the Thunderbolt, the Wraith and Dawn are powered by a single V12 engine, and its output is unchanged from stock. Nor do the Landspeed Collection Wraith and Dawn adopt the record-setting car's triple axles, eight wheels, and large triangular tailfin. More's the pity. Instead, the models are based on the Wraith and Dawn Black Badge. They're painted a two-tone Black Diamond Metallic and Bonneville Blue (a light silver-blue that's specific to this model). Among the unique details: dashboard engraving that mimics the fissured texture of the salt flats, an image of the Thunderbolt's silhouette embossed on the front tunnel, and a special clock that adopts some of the markings of the Thunderbolt. The Starlight Headliner is said to exactly match the night-sky appearance on the date when the final Thunderbolt speed record was set. Rolls-Royce will build 35 examples of the Wraith coupe and just 25 of the Dawn convertible. But even if you're as speedy as Captain George Eyston himself, you won't be quick enough to grab one — they're already sold out.

The Rolls-Royce of cocktails is a coddling ride for your tastebuds

In our last installment of the irregular and irreverent series on drinks loosely connected to – or named after – automobiles, we sipped a Speedway Cocktail, a drink that was as exciting (and dangerous) as the early Indy 500. This time, we're stirring a Rolls-Royce Cocktail with a silver spoon. And, as always, enjoy cocktails (and reading about them) while you're not behind the wheel. If the rumors we hear are correct, Rolls-Royce will be unveiling an all-new Phantom this summer. The arrival of a flagship Roller isn't quite as rare as the coronation of a new member of the British Royal Family, but is tres recherche nonetheless. Since the nameplate's founding nearly 100 years ago, this will be only the eighth generation of Phantom to be delivered into the greedy hands of the world's vilest oligarchs. If you're one of the .01 percent, this is cause for a drink, and what better cocktail to raise in toast than one named for the brand itself? (For us 99.99 percenters, the answer is easy: Molotov.) As you might expect, the Rolls-Royce cocktail is kind of a classied-up version of an upscale iteration of an already elegant drink, conjugated from the classic (gin) martini and it well-married brother, the Martinez. "It's basically a very wet martini," says Paul Hletko, founder of FEW Spirits, an Evanston, Illinois gin and whiskey distillery acronymically (and winkingly) named for local maven Frances Elizabeth Willard, who helped found the Women's Christian Temperance Union – one of the forces behind Prohibition. "Two-to-one is a fantastic ratio of gin to vermouth that really lets the vermouth shine, and then having that split between dry and sweet vermouths gives you fantastic and rich complexity, with that little bit of Benedictine being that really nice herbal add," Hletko told us. It all sounds intriguingly botanical, and the drink itself has a reputation as being a favorite among bartenders, a coupe brimming with insider insight. "In the history of drinking there are many cocktails made with vermouth and gin," says legendary mixologist Charles Schumann from Schumann's Gastronomie in Munich.

Rolls-Royce could go electric, if battery tech advances

After toying with the idea a few year ago, Rolls-Royce isn't ready to completely give up on the idea of an electric model quite yet. Still, a hyper-luxurious EV from the opulent brand might not happen any time soon. "Suppose we find a battery technology that can offer ranges that are acceptable to our customers," brand boss Torsten Muller-Otvos said, according to Automotive News. "I can definitely imagine a fully electric Rolls-Royce." Muller-Otvos was clear that no final decision on an EV or even a much-rumored plug-in hybrid has been made yet. Rumors of an EV from the brand go back years. At the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, Rolls-Royce showed that it wasn't completely against going electric. The 102EX concept (pictured above) was based on a Phantom but with two, 194-horsepower electric motors and a 71-kWh battery to power them. The company claimed the behemoth had an estimated range of 124 miles and could hit 60 miles per hour in under eight seconds. At least one journalist even got to drive it. However, the brand's wealthy customers reportedly weren't convinced, and the project was canned. In 2014, several reports began suggesting a plug-in hybrid Rolls under development that would answer concerns about range and charging time amongst the clientele. This powertrain could debut on the next-gen Phantom around 2017, and it's likely to be borrowed from parent company BMW.