rolls-royce

Gentlemen, start your Lego jet engine. Created by Rolls-Royce and unveiled at the Farnborough International Airshow in England yesterday, the engine uses 152,455 bricks and reaches an overall size of 4.9 feet long and 6.5 feet wide. All of those Legos together stack up to an astounding 676 pounds. … Read more

I went to the New York International Auto Show with just one thing on my mind: car audio. Like many New Yorkers, I don't own a car, so this was my chance to sample a wide range of premium car audio systems in everything from Smart cars to Rolls-Royces. For the most part, generic car audio or famous name-brand systems like Bose and Mark Levinson sounded thick and muddy. Not one was up to the standards of a decent home hi-fi system. They played loud and had lots of bass, but even the most expensive car systems at the … Read more

In celebration of the 50th year of James Bond films, a new exhibit of James Bond vehicles is opening Jan. 17, 2012 at the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu, Brockenhurst, Hampshire, U.K.

The exhibit include 50 vehicles--both Bond- and villain-driven. Several of the vehicles, such as the Ford Mustang Mach 1 from "Diamonds Are Forever," villain Zukovsky's Rolls Royce Silver Shadow II from "The World Is Not Enough," and the vintage 1962 Rolls Royce, pushed into a lake by May Day and Zorin with Bond still inside, in "A View to a Kill,&… Read more

LOS ANGELES--CNET takes Rolls-Royce's experimental electric car for a cruise here at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

Earlier this year in Geneva I got to look at the Rolls-Royce 102EX, an experimental electric car based on the Phantom. At the Los Angeles Auto Show, I actually got to drive it.

When Rolls-Royce first mentioned it had built this electric car those many months ago, I believe I said something like, "Wha?" The Phantom is a massive vehicle devoted to excessive luxury. It weighs 5,800 pounds and is powered by a 6.7-liter V-12. It seemed like it would take all the batteries in the world to move one with an electric power train.

But in Geneva, Rolls-Royce showed off the 102EX, and insisted it could drive under its own power. As it was confined to the show floor, I had to take Rolls-Royce's word for it.

Now I have proof.… Read more

James Bond has his Aston Martin, and Johnny English has his Rolls-Royce. At least he does in the latest super spy parody movie from English comic actor Rowan Atkinson. During the International Motor Show in Frankfurt, Atkinson showed up for the Rolls-Royce press conference to talk about the role played by a Phantom Coupe in the movie "Johnny English Reborn."

Atkinson, who gained fame playing characters such as Blackadder and Mr. Bean, stars in "Johnny English Reborn" as a spy who, in Atkinson's words, "thinks he is better than he really is." In … Read more

This raises "bling" to a whole new level: an armor-plated, gold-trimmed Rolls-Royce Phantom.

The eye-catching vehicle was made by special request for an anonymous Middle Eastern businessman. The unique features of the Phantom include 120kg of 18-carat gold interior and exterior trim.

Armor reinforcement allows the Phantom to withstand automatic gun fire, sniper rifle assaults, and even the blast from a hand grenade.

The entire process of adding the gold and armor reinforcement took about 18 months, according to Stuart Hughes, which now features the Phantom on its Web site.

Liverpool-Based Stuart Hughes collaborated with Swiss company Eurocash AG to create the lavish vehicle, the company states. Eurocash AG offers the Phantom for rent, but for not sale.… Read more

If you dream of riding around in a Rolls-Royce Phantom, but can only afford a rusted old beast with the fender hanging off, take heart. Rolls-Royce has released a free app for enthusiasts wanting to create a virtual customized version of the luxury car.

Using the Phantom app, users can apply any mix of trims to their car from a choice of 44,000 colors. If that's not enough variety for you, you can use an iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch camera to capture a new color from any surface (even nail polish--ever seen a Rolls in Miss Bossy Pants?) to create a completely unique version of the luxury car.

Users can experience interior ambiance interactively through features like a starlight headliner, where hundreds of illuminated optical fibers are woven into the roof lining of a virtual vehicle. The app even has the ability to turn up or down the degree of illumination.

The Rolls-Royce Phantom app features 360-degree exterior views and three interior angles from the front, side and rear seat. It can be used to create a virtual Phantom, Phantom Coupe, or Phantom Drophead Coupe.

Or users can recreate the Royal Wedding bride ride. Kate, you may have heard, was transported to Westminster Abbey in a 1977 Rolls Royce Phantom VI.

A similar app for the Ghost came out in March of last year.… Read more

The most high-tech Rolls-Royce since FAB1 has hit the road, with a prototype of the Rolls-Royce 102EX Phantom Experimental Electric road-tested for the first time.

The 102EX Phantom is Roll-Royce's first crack at making an electric car, and it's probably the most luxurious 'leccy jalopy yet to draw charge. The BBC has taken the Phantom out for a spin and it lives up to its ghostly name, drifting along in "spine-tingling" silence.

The Phantom sports a socket for charging the car from the mains, but it also comes with an induction plate. The plate sits on the floor of your garage, and you park the car over it. The battery then draws power from the plate via the magic of induction charging.

Read more of "Rolls-Royce 102EX Phantom Experimental Electric in first road test" at Crave UK.

… Read more

It's almost hard to take this one seriously: An electric version of the Rolls Royce Phantom. Really? But it's fascinating to walk around if only because it stretches the idea of what we think an electric car is/can be. Brian Cooley decides he would just as soon live in the thing as drive it.

(CNET's full coverage of the 2011 Geneva auto show)