A Look Back At Rolls-Royce’s Phantom Coupé

Rolls Phantom exterior front34 roadIn these times of bad news, where we are constantly bombarded by the news media with negative ‘credit crunch’ reports, it’s a positive relief when a company such as Rolls-Royce continue to rolls out more of their finely crafted motor cars.

It’s nigh-on a tangible slap in the face for all those newspapers and TV reports spewing out a ridiculous amount of mind-numbingly depressing facts and figures on the worlds economy, for in the past few months from their Goodwood home in West Sussex, Rolls-Royce have unveiled the Phantom Drophead Coupé, the Phantom Coupé and very recently, the Ghost. All these cars are hugely expensive, immensely luxurious and each really do say ’screw the economy’. Jolly good, chaps, carry on.

Rolls Phantom Exterior rear 3/4 roadBy now all us petrolheads have come to know and dearly love the Phantom (read the review of it on this site in Part 1 and Part 2) for its over-the-top grandeur, expense and all round bullishness. The car is a legend already for goodness sake. In 2006 Rolls-Royce unveiled what was then the 101EX, and due to high demand in 2008, decided to release it to the world. Even though it’s been out a while, let’s take a closer look at that beautiful Phantom Coupé of theirs.

The Coupé is aimed right at the (possibly) younger new-moneys of this world. The whole car looks more hunched and speedy than its older brother. It is in fact around two inches lower than the Phantom saloon, and the roofline seems to make the side windows have a slightly narrower look to them. The grille is also raked back at more of angle too, giving the Coupé a streamlined and very GT-like appearance. In fact Rolls-Royce themselves state that it is ‘designed to cover great distances with the minimal amount of fuss…Rolls-Royce have all always been about pace, performance and style’.

Rolls Phantom Interior FrontLooks-wise the Phantom Coupé is a very cool car. The coolest feature, in my humble opinion, has to be the rear-hinged doors. Yes, they open out backwards, just as the rear doors do on the Phantom saloon. A nice touch and one that certainly makes it differ from any other Coupé. The grille, as stated earlier, is at more of an angle and is much like the Ghost’s, which is no bad thing at all. Another subtle but elegant detail is that the door handles follow onto the front wing of the car, making the contours of the Coupé flow together nicely.

On the interior, as expected, the Rolls again doesn’t disappointed. Some very beautiful and well thought-out design facets include a stunningly gorgeous piece of wood surrounding the inside of the C-pillar, opposite to where the passengers sit, an optional Starlight headlining made up of hundreds of fibre optics – the impression of which is to to look like the best starry night you’ve ever seen and is also shade adjustable (you really do need to get this, no other manufacturer does one). The ‘lounge seat’ or ‘curved sofa’ in the rear is described by Rolls-Royce’s interior designer Alan Sheppard as ‘intimate for two yet superbly comfortable on long journeys’, and it really does look inviting too.

Rolls Phantom Rear InteriorAs in the Phantom saloon, the front is a definite drivers heaven with all the heating, media system etc controls being easily to hand and extremely simplistic to look at and use. In a very Rolls-Royce classy way of course. The front seats are apparently ’slim line and closer fitting’ than the Phantoms but ’still offer outstanding comfort’.

Performance is certainly on the Coupé’s side. It has the same 6.75 litre V12 engine as in the saloon which has 453 bhp and 531 ft/lbs of torque at hand. Strangely enough, although the Coupé may look far more sporty than the saloon Phantom it weighs in at exactly the same weight of 3,050 kgs. However, according to Rolls-Royce the Coupé is more dynamic and the ride is firmer due to stiffer rear dampers and modified spring rates and body roll has been reduced by fitting a thicker rear anti-roll bar. Steering has been tuned to offer more feel ‘enhanced…by a slightly thicker steering wheel’.

Rolls Phantom Coupe EngineThis new Phantom Coupé will do the 0-62 mph (0-100 kph) run in only 5.8 seconds, which is incredible considering its size and weight, and carry on to a limited top speed of 155 mph (249 kph). Come on Rolls-Royce, what’s the real top speed of these cars? I’m guessing 170-180 mph?

In amongst all the gloomy media hype of the economy, let’s hope we catch a glimpse of the Phantom Coupé on the road occasionally. It is, after all, good news.

For more information on and photographs of the Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupé click here.

Prices start from £255,500 (€371,600, $408,000)


Bookmark and Share

Rolls-Royce Ghost – Simplicity Reigns

Rolls-Ghost-building

Rolls-Royce are set to reveal their new Ghost at the Frankfurt motor show

Rolls-Ghost-Start-Engine

in September, and there’s no question at all that this is definitely one finely made car. According to Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ press release the Ghost will pass ‘through 60 pairs of hands, the production process involves more than 2,000 individual operations and takes at least 20 days to complete’.

In keeping with their tradition, the new Rolls-Royce will be classically simplistic on the interior, but they have some very cool gadgets to keep it bang up to date too. Some that are featured are voice control (for the audio menus and phone etc) and all-round cameras including a night vision camera placed in the front grille which has Pedestrian Recognition inbuilt. This means that the front camera reads the road up to 300 metres away,  which then sends infra-red signal of the pedestrians heat signature to the cars computer, which in turn works out the speed and direction the car is travelling in and if necessary, issues a warning to the driver of any imminent danger. Now that’s modern technology.

Rolls-Ghost-Interior-frontSome other cool features are a H.U.D (heads up display) for the driver and Lane Departure Warning-this is, of course useful, in case you drift off to sleep, nestled deep within the warm leather seat with no road or engine noise to intrude on your lovely nap. High Beam Assistance means that your lights automatically dip on approach to another oncoming car, which saves you all that hard effort of reaching the huge chasm up the button to switch it off yourself. Strangely enough, Cadillac’s Series 62, built in 1959, had this feature on it, which worked brilliantly well, so how come more cars don’t have it on now?

Rolls-Ghost-iDriveSomething very useful though, is the Active Cruise Control with Stop and Go. I say it’s useful because it bally well is. If you’re on cruise control going down the road and a car in front is going slower than yourself, the Ghost will slow the car down to the same speed as them. Once they move out of your way, dammit, the car will automatically take you back up to your original set speed again.

Out to the exterior of the Ghost and it does look very elegant. The doors, as on the Phantom, are rear-hinged or ’suicide’ style and seem to finish the classy look off very well. It doesn’t quite have that ‘out of my way peasants’ look as the Phantom does and is almost half a metre shorter, but still definitely commands attention on the road. From the front and rear it is unmistakably a Rolls-Royce, the front being adorned with the large grille and long, long bonnet, the rear having a ‘this is a hugely expensive car’ look to it. From the side you notice immediately that the car has no design lines running down it and it is beautifully smooth, almost like a yacht.

Rolls Ghost Triptych

The Ghost’s engine is a twin-turbo 6.6 litre V12 and, even though the car weights nearly 3 tons laden, will accelerate from 0-60 mph (0-96 kph) in just 4.8 seconds and go on to a top speed of 155 mph (249 kph), though we don’t know whether that is limited or not yet. The Ghost’s 8 speed automatic power plant produces a hefty amount of torque to the tune of 575 ft/lbs at just 1,500 rpm.  That’s some serious power from that amount of revs and put in this way, is nearly 175 ft/lbs more than a Lamborghini Gallardo 560-4. Horsepower is a staggering 563 hp which is an immense amount and 10 hp more than the Gallardo even.

Rolls-Ghost-Engine

Prices are looking to be around £190,000 including taxes and delivery. Will it be worth it? Well, the Phantom’s price was £265,000 and that was worth every penny you ever earned. We’re certain the Ghost will not disappoint its owners either.

Wealthy people of the world, get that deposit put down!

For more information on and photos of the Rolls-Royce Ghost click here.

Porsche’s Exclusive New 911 Sport Classic

Porsche 911 Sport Classic Rear 3/4Porsche have bought out yet another version of the 911. This time though, it’s limited to a run of just 250 cars and will be called the 911 Sport Classic. It’s been three years in development by Porsche’s Specialist Department, Porsche Exclusive.

The car boasts styling cues from past 911’s. The ‘Ducktail’ spoiler harks at one of the coolest Porsche’s ever built – the 1972 Carrera RS 2.7 Coupé. The 19 inch Fuchs-style wheel design on the 911 Sport Classic hail from the ‘72 Carrera RS too.

Not a bad look at all then. Only one colour is available which is the aptly-named Sport Classic Grey.

Porsche Classic Wheel

Also impressive to look at is the retro-modern interior which, as with the exterior, only available in one colour – ‘Espresso Nature’. Or Brown, as we’d call it. The seats look wonderfully comfortable and luxurious. They feature woven leather in the centres surrounded by very high quality-looking smooth leather. To add to the retro look they have white piping running around the seams.

.

Porsche Sport Classic Full InteriorThe engine, taken from the Carrera S, is the 3.8 naturally-aspirated ‘flat six’ unit but features a newly-developed air intake system, on top of which Porsche have also added new cylinder heads and an engine management upgrade. So okay this might not sound like a lot but it equates to a better mid-range power band and also increases the horsepower to 408 (an added  23 hp) and the torque to 310 lb-ft. Surprisingly, Porsche have managed to keep the CO2 emissions and fuel economy to the same specifications as the Carrera S. An achievement in itself.

Porsche 911 Sport Classic and the '72 Carrera RS This look to be a real drivers car, and Porsche have kept true to this and only sell the 911 Sport Classic with a six speed manual gear box. Big respect to them on that front.

Stats for the car are impressive, with a 0-62 mph (0-100 kph) time of only 4.6 seconds and top speed of  187 mph (302 kph) it’ll keep you happy, no doubt about that.

The Porsche 911 Sport Classic will be available to buy in January 2010 and will cost £140,000.

For more information on and pictures of the car click here.

Ferrari’s Stunning 202 mph Supercar – The 458 Italia

Ferrari 458 Italia InteriorFerrari’s New 458 Italia looks (and sounds) like it’s a real driver-orientated car. For a start, all the buttons, dials and basically everything the driver needs to get to while driving, is all easily at hand.

The F1-style gearbox paddle shifters are now longer to allow easier shifts from any angle, the Shock Absorber setting button is placed next to the Start button on the steering wheel and even the indicator buttons, high beam lights and windscreen wipers buttons are all on the steering wheel and easily to hand (or finger). In fact the cockpit is entirely driver focussed, where even the lower centre console buttons are angled so that they are easier push than conventional flat buttons.

Ferrari 458 Italia rear detail

Now onto the exterior styling which was deigned by Pininfarina. I’m definitely seeing styling cues from the one-off Ferrari P 4-5. The small rear light clusters are very similar as is the rear diffuser to a certain extent. Overall the styling is very much like the P 4-5 as the 458 Italia looks hunched and purposeful. The ‘hanging’ triple exhausts pipes (two real, one for show) at the rear make the car look extremely mean and fast. Typical Ferrari thinking this. ‘Two exhausts, that’s just boring! Four exhausts. Been there, done that. Three exhausts eh?. Bellissimo’. Also sculpted into the car’s rear are air outlets to release the heat from the engine.

The front has an almost aggressive look to it as the ‘eyebrows’ next to the front lights are slashed into an angry demeanour . In front of the radiator grille are two ‘winglets’ which move slightly as speed increases to improve aerodynamic performance. These are beautifully sculpted and really make the front look unlike any other Ferrari to date.

The new mid-rear 4499 cc V8 has 450 Nm of torque and 562 bhp which equates to a 0-62 mph (0-110 kph) time of just 3.4 seconds and a top speed of 202 mph (325 kph). The Ferrari’s extremely low weight of just 1380 kilograms no doubt has a part in those acceleration figures. The 458’s engine has been made to develop most of its torque at low revs meaning it’s easily capable of hitting its top speed.

Ferrari 458 Italia front endThanks to the new ABS braking system the car will do 62 mph (100 km)  - 0 mph in only 32.5 metres. Now lets have a look at our (UK) completely out of date highway code braking distances and have a laugh. According to their ‘typical stopping distances’, the average car (in what year again, eh Government?) will brake from these speeds in 73 metres (240 feet). Ha. The Ferrari will do it in under half that distance Mr Brown. Even the average family car will now trounce those outdated and pathetic Gov. issued figures. But that’s another article altogether .

Ferrari 458 Italia roadAccording to the official Ferrari blurb ‘the 458 Italia is designed for owners for whom the priority is uncompromising on-road performance with occasional track day capability, but who still demand a car that is useable in day-to-day driving like all Ferrari’s recent models’.

Keep an eye out on this website for an up-close and personal review of the 458 Italia when we get hold of one.

For more information on the Ferrari 458 Italia (including some great audio clips and videos) click here.

Bookmark and Share

Latest Porsche 911 GT3 RS

Porsche 911 GT3 RS interiorSo we all thought the last GT3 RS was insane, right? I mean, this really is a road going race car. For instance, when you look in the back of your own average car, there’s perhaps a dog on the back seats, plus a few empty crisp packets on the floor. Turn around in the GT3 RS, and there’s a load of metal welded together into what commonly know as a roll-cage. This alone gives you some idea of what sort of a car you’re dealing with.

However, Porsche, in their hugely contradictory insane-wisdom, have bought out a new version of that car. They’ve bored the naturally-aspirated engine out to 3.8 litres, which puts out a stonking 450 hp and that, my friends, equates to 118 hp per litre. Unbelievable.

Porsche 911 GT3 RS SideSomething that car maestro Jay Leno will like is that this newer model Porsche comes exclusively with a manual gearbox. Ah yes. A real gearbox, in other words. The car is now wider both front and rear, and also features something called PADM (Porsche Active Drivetrain Mounts) and this is the good part, as the driving conditions change, so the stiffness of the engine mounts change too, to resist movement of the drivetrain in the chassis.

Going the extra mile, Porsche have also put in a special lithium Ion battery which saves 10 kilograms (22 lbs) over a standard lead battery. To show its closeness to racing, other features of the Porsche include an extra-large carbon fibre rear spoiler with unique aluminium mounts, (extremely) low ride height, dual titanium exhausts and of course, the colours.

Porsche 911 GT3 RS Front34We here at TheIgnitionPoint.co.uk like the gunmetal grey and bright red colour scheme in the photos Porsche provided, but still think the black and orange paint job is one of the most awesome looks around. All in all, the new GT3 RS looks mad, lairy, and downright scary-and we’re loving it!

The new Porsche 911 GT3 RS will be available for sale in February 2010 and will be priced from £100,760 (€122, 400/$132,800).

Porsche 911 GT3 RS Rear34

Bentley’s Mulsanne Unveiled

BentleyMulsanne5_2

BentleyMulsanne6_2At the revealing of the car, Dr Franz-Josef Paefgen, Chairman of Bentley Motors stated “The challenge we set our engineers was to create a new grand Bentley that would stand as the pinnacle of British luxury motoring, offering the world’s most exclusive driving experience. They have responded to this challenge with real passion and the result is a luxury grand tourer that sets new standards in terms of comfort, effortless performance and hand-crafted refinement – the very qualities for which Bentley is renowned.”

The Mulsanne name, that of the famed corner at the end of the long straight at the Le Mans circuit, is synonymous with the Bentley marque and, according to Bentley ‘few places offer more emotive connection’.

BentleyMulsanne4_1Alongside the Mulsanne at Pebble beach was an Bentley 8-Litre from the 1930s of which 100 cars were originally built. Dr. Ulrich Eichhorn, Member of the Board Engineering said “The 8-litre’s breathtaking performance and quality was perhaps the finest example of a ‘pure’ grand Bentley. Every mechanical detail carried W.O. Bentley’s unique stamp and it was the clearest demonstration of a car built without compromise, the Mulsanne has been designed with exactly the same guiding principles, so it is entirely fitting that these Bentleys from different eras share the same stage.”

Bentley Mulsanne Rear 3/4So, how does it look? I love the way that it’s quite squat and muscular. The huge and very beautiful (possibly 20-22 inch) wheels almost fill the arches. From a side profile, the windows look really quite narrow as the swage line near the top of the door and arches is very defined, especially on the last few inches of the door which runs over the rear wheel arch. This line bulges up and where it runs over the arch and flows over the rear light cluster, flattens out, giving the impression that the Mulsanne is hugely wide. The boot stands proud from the rest of the bodywork, sort of like the rear of the latest Mercedes-Benz S class.

BentleyMulsanne2_1Also noticeable are the exhausts, which have a flattened oval look to them. They are in themselves, almost pieces of art and fit in smoothly with the rest of the cars styling. Seen in photographs taken at the Crewe factory (without Bentley’s consent of course) before its official release, the front of the car was slated instantly and likened by some websites as looking like ‘a grinning idiot’, due to the shape of the lower grille and the pattern and position of the two front lights. However, to me the car looks great. Sure, the front isn’t exactly ever going to be called stunning, but from a side or three-quarter view the Mulsanne is very much like the Rolls-Royce Phantom, but with Bentley’s own styling flair.

BentleyMulsanne1_1As of yet there, no interior shots of the car have been released, but the car will be at the IAA Frankfurt Motor Show on the 15th-17th of September this year.

For more information on the new Bentley Mulsanne click here.

BentleyMuslanne7_2

Burning Rubber at Santa Pod’s MOPAR Euro Nationals 2009

Dodge Viper

Ah yes. Burnt tyre smoke in my eyes and lungs, the smell of un-burnt fuel wafting past. It’s back to the track again to watch some more seriously powerful and equally seriously cool US muscle cars racing down that quarter mile strip of tarmac.

I arrived on the last day, Sunday, of the three day event at the end of July at Santa Pod Raceway in the south of England. The July weather had been been terrible, with high winds and lashing rain every other day. Fortunately the bad weather held off and it was merely a horribly dull and cloudy day.

Since I attended this event last in 2007, the atmosphere seemed to have changed. There were considerably less cars racing, and the crowd was a lot smaller and frankly, not an enthusiastic one. The most excitement out of them was when the Santa Pod Jet Car posted a sub 7 second time. I put the lower number of cars down to the recession and the slightly dull atmosphere of the crowd down to the not-exactly-Californian-weather. Maybe people were expecting the worst.


All photos taken with a Nikon D90 DSLR

Whatever though, the track was dry and the cars were lining up, ready to be put through their paces. I’ve stated it time and again, but I’m still going to say it, there’s nothing quite like the sound of a tuned V8 muscle car with a straight through exhaust. Lovely. Slick tyres warmed up, they race off down the track, jumping their front wheels into the air, the roar of the engine making the ground shake underneath my feet.

There’s sometimes a bit of a misconception that the classic muscle cars (and pick-ups) can be slow of the mark, sloppy handling beasts that light up the tyres on every given occasion. Okay sure, their handling around corners is not exactly train-like, but for a start, this is not a race circuit, and another point is that most of these cars are fully set up primarily for drag racing. They fly off the start line with not even a hint of shredded tyre, and are arrow straight down the quarter mile.

If you love cars and especially US muscle cars, the day or weekend out is great. Sack off what the weather is like, forget your ‘reserved British’ type attitude and get enthusiastically applauding these guys for bringing their vehicle-from sometimes hundreds of miles away-to race their pride and joys to the limit.

Click here for more information on Santa Pod raceway and the other events held there.

Bookmark and Share

News: Lotus + Hertz Rental = Good Times

Lotus Hertz Elise Fleet

Lotus and rental company Hertz have announced a marketing co-operation agreement. However, for now at least, the cars will only be available in Italy. Well, they do have some nice twisting roads through the alps plus the right weather for the job. The Lotus cars will Continue reading “News: Lotus + Hertz Rental = Good Times”

Pagani’s 678 hp (Very) Limited Zonda Cinque

_dsc7146

Continue reading “Pagani’s 678 hp (Very) Limited Zonda Cinque”

Top Gear’s The Stig – Finally Revealed – Or Is He?

Well, it’s been a while now, and in that while many people’s names have been bandied about as to who The Stig really is. You’ll know him (or it) from the excellent TV programme Top Gear. It’s the driver that has astounded people time after time with his amazing skill at car control, speed and being able to wrestle any machine into doing his will.

The mystery surrounding his identity has always been a big debate amongst many a car enthusiast. Continue reading “Top Gear’s The Stig – Finally Revealed – Or Is He?”