79 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow 67193 Miles New Paint Rebuilt Brakes & Carbs Luxury on 2040-cars

Auto blog

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.

Rolls-Royce SUV depends on fortunes of BMW X7

The on-again, off-again discussion regarding the rumored Rolls-Royce SUV seems to be back in the "maybe" camp now. In February, we heard that Rolls-Royce was considering adding an SUV, but then in April, another report said that these rumors had been shot down. Automobile is now saying that this ultra-luxury SUV could be determined by the success of the equally uncertain BMW X7 (on which the R-R SUV would be based), which we've heard little on since 2011.
Although the article is based solely on speculation, there are some interesting details about such a potential Rolls-Royce, including a plug-in hybrid drivetrain using a twin-turbo V8 (not a V12) and a chassis and body built in South Carolina with final assembly taking place in Goodwood - where all Rolls-Royce cars are built. We could also assume that a green light for a Rolls-Royce SUV would be based on the success of rival SUVs like the Bentley Falcon and Maserati Levante.

Rolls-Royce delivers 6,000 cars in '23, the most ever in one year

It's good to be Rolls-Royce: In the year just passed, the British automaker sold more cars than ever. Rolls delivered 6,032 cars around the world — the most in its 119-year history — "despite continuing economic uncertainties and market volatility," the company said in a statement. The manufacturerÂ’s largest market last year was the United States, followed by China. The biggest-selling model was the Cullinan SUV, followed by the Ghost, the smaller of Rolls-RoyceÂ’s two saloons. In 2023, affluent buyers began taking possession of Rolls' first all-electric Spectre model in the autumn. Production of Spectre followed the expected demise of the brandÂ’s Wraith and Dawn models. Rolls-Royce cars are produced in Goodwood, southern England. The high-level brand became part of BMW in 1998. It has lately been emphasizing its custom Bespoke division, which generally accounts for higher profits builds. Treatments offered at extra cost to dress up a Rolls include special paint, styling cues and interior "scents." Current Chief Executive Chris Brownridge, who took on the role last autumn, said: ‘ItÂ’s especially encouraging to see the enormous interest in and demand for Spectre, supporting the decision to adopt a bold, all-electric strategy for future model development and production. The record level of Bespoke commissions, both by volume and value, also underlines our position within the luxury sector.” His predecessor, Torsten Muller-Otvos, departed the company in November, having led the group since 2010 and overseen record-setting performances. RollsÂ’s North American division recently announced that it would drop the prices of some “aging” units in dealer inventories by $15,000 for cars sold by the end of March. The deal, unusual for Rolls-Royce, stipulates that the models that could benefit are the $375,000 Cullinan and Black Badge Cullinan, as well as the $350,000 Ghost, Ghost Extended and Black Badge Ghost. Every little bit helps, we suppose.