As we come to the end of another week we look at some of the Motoring news which you may have missed starting with the world’s first electric classic Rolls-Royce cars
Lunaz, the leading creator of electric classic cars, is delighted to announce the start of production of the world’s only electrified Rolls-Royce cars. The Rolls-Royce marque joins existing electrified classic cars from Jaguar and Bentley in the Lunaz portfolio.
A 1961 Rolls-Royce Phantom V has now completed the Lunaz reengineering process. This includes ground-up restoration and the incorporation of Lunaz’s proprietary electric powertrain and full suite of hardware and software upgrades. Production allocation for the first tranche of Rolls-Royce cars by Lunaz will be strictly limited to 30. Orders are already being taken from Lunaz’s existing client base and some of the most celebrated and influential institutions in the world.
Following demand for electrified Phantoms, Lunaz elected to begin creating Rolls-Royce Silver Clouds. From today, clients are invited to secure allocation for these cars in a range of body styles, including four-door limousine, two-door coupé and drop head coupé.
The start of production of the world’s first electric Rolls-Royce cars follows a surge in demand for the electrification of pinnacle classic cars. This is driven by a rebalancing of car collections for a clean air future. To meet this demand, Lunaz is doubling its workforce at its Technical HQ in Silverstone, England.
Electric Rolls-Royces by Lunaz will be available in every global market. Allocation can only be secured through direct relationship with the factory. Prices for a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud by Lunaz starts at £350,000 (not including local taxes). Pricing for a Rolls-Royce Phantom by Lunaz starts at £500,000 (not including local taxes).
New Bentley Fragrance Bottles
Bentley Fragrances, the international luxury brand, introduces Silverlake, an exciting new addition to its Bentley For Men range. Characterised by its distinctive and vibrant scent, Silverlake captures the energising air of the world outdoors.
Crafted from the highest-quality natural materials, this spirited new fragrance meets the same exacting standards as Bentley cars. In Bentley For Men Silverlake, the up-and-coming young perfumer Ane Ayo has developed layer upon layer of cool aromatic notes and is based on peerless, sustainable and natural ingredients.
The scent opens with a rush of ice-cool notes, as lemon and peppermint essences blend to create the effect of a gust of pure, invigorating mountain air.
As the heart of the fragrance unfolds, the green, moist-earth accents of violet leaf absolute evoke a majestic forest, touched by the frosty bite of pink pepper essence. The cool sheen of lavender hints at the silver water of a lake, reflecting the clear blue sky.
Boosting these bracing accords, a powerful blend of ambery woods carried by a breeze of pure white musk give the scent its crisp, modern, long-lasting trail.
An iconic bottle, reinvented in ice-cool silver, designed to reflect the lines and curves of a Bentley car, the rounded form of the For Men bottle takes on a sleek new elegance with Silverlake, reflecting the cool accords of the new fragrance.
Speeding incidents triple during lockdown
Motorists were speeding three times more frequently during lockdown compared to normal, according to new analysis by AX.
The study of telematics data by the vehicle protection and management technology provider suggests motorists were making the most of unusually low traffic levels, giving drivers the opportunity to speed in otherwise normally congested areas.
Serious speeding events – the most severe category of excessive speed* – occurred every 136 miles on average in April, compared to every 443 miles in February.
Major speeding events** were also significantly more frequent, taking place on average once every 32 miles in April, down from every 94 miles in February.
It wasn’t just a case of motorists covering shorter journeys either, with major speeding events occurring on average once every 4.3 trips in April compared to every 9.8 trips two months earlier.
Van drivers, who played a crucial role during lockdown, proved to be much more obedient than car drivers, with telematics devices detecting major incidents twice as often as normal compared to four times as frequently for car drivers.
In normal circumstances, data suggests van drivers tend to commit more major speeding events than cars, whereas the reverse is true for serious events, largely due to the majority of cars offering more potent performance than most vans.
As lockdown restrictions began to ease, speeding also started to return to normal levels, with all types of speeding incident occurring almost half as frequently in June compared to April, although still far from pre-lockdown levels.
Director of Investigative Services at AX, Neil Thomas, said: “It’s fascinating to see how driver behaviour has been influenced by the impacts of COVID-19.
“Whether it was simply down to reduced traffic levels during lockdown or perhaps drivers assuming police forces had bigger priorities, the data shows that given the opportunity, many drivers are clearly willing to speed and quite often significantly so.
Polestar confirms Westfiel London as its first UK space
Polestar has announced the location of its first UK Space, located in Westfield London. Also known as Westfield White City or Westfield Shepherds Bush, the largest shopping centre in Europe was an obvious choice of location for the growing Swedish electric performance brand.
Working with Endeavour Automotive, Polestar’s first UK Space will mirror the key attributes seen in the brand’s Spaces already open elsewhere in Europe and in China. The unique retail proposition within the sector combines innovative design, technology, location and a seamless digital-first retail model. Set to open to the public in October, the Westfield Space will showcase the brand’s Polestar 1 electric performance hybrid GT and the Polestar 2 fully-electric performance fastback.
Brits spend over five & a half million hours a year searching for their parked cars
Each year Brits spend over five and a half million hours searching for their parked cars*, according to new research by ŠKODA UK.
In a survey of 2,000 drivers, it revealed that 52 per cent of all motorists were temporarily unable to find their parked car, ‘losing’ it at least once every year. A further 25 per cent of Brits admitted to doing so twice in the last 12 months, with 14 per cent confessing they had suffered a similar fate three or more times during the year.
Men and women are very similar when it comes to ‘losing’ their car on multiple occasions. Just over one in ten male drivers (12 per cent) stated they had ‘lost’ their car three or more times in the past year, compared to 16 per cent of females. When it comes to finding their misplaced cars, male drivers took an average of 6.4 minutes as opposed to 5.6 minutes for female motorists.
Overall, drivers aged 18-25 admitted to ‘losing’ their cars 2.5 times per year, with 5 per cent of these drivers confessing to doing so more than 10 times in the last 12 months. In contrast, drivers aged over 66 ‘lost’ their car less than once (0.82 times each year).
The places where motorists most commonly ‘lost’ their cars were shopping centre car parks (58 per cent) and supermarkets (36 per cent). Closely followed by the airport (21 per cent) or after an event or festival (12 per cent).
New Mclaren Senna ‘Ride – on’ the ultimate Toy
McLaren Automotive is pleased to announce a new, track-focused electrified model for the junior racing driver – the McLaren Senna ‘Ride-On’.
Hot on the heels of the McLaren 720S ‘Ride-On’ launched last year, the new McLaren Senna ‘Ride-On’ is the ultimate accessory for younger performance enthusiasts. It is modelled on McLaren’s most extreme track car, the unparalleled abilities of which are reflected in it bearing the name of three-time McLaren Formula 1 World Champion, Ayrton Senna.
The McLaren Senna Ride-On is available in five authentic and eye-catching McLaren paint colours: black, white, Mira orange, Vega blue and Memphis red. A sixth, special edition colour – exclusive to McLaren retailers – of yellow with green accents echoes the colours of Ayrton’s race helmet for the most serious of budding racing drivers.
The McLaren Senna Ride-On is aimed at 3 to 6-year-olds, although McLaren’s own Formula 1 driver Lando Norris did manage to squeeze in the car and take it for a test drive, just to check he was happy with the way it drove.
The McLaren Senna ‘Ride-On’ features all the functions of last year’s popular 720S ‘Ride-On’, including working dihedral doors to allow easy access. Once inside, the young owner can begin their drive using an authentic push-button start which activates McLaren Senna engine sounds. Junior journeys can also be accompanied by music, played via an infotainment system that can access files from a USB device or SD card.
For precision handling, the model also features a working brake with brake light function. And while performance is understandably restricted compared to the real thing, the McLaren Senna ‘Ride-On’ is set to become one of the most coveted automotive toys of 2020 and beyond. Priced at £375 in the UK market, the McLaren Senna ‘Ride-On’ is available to order now at McLaren Retailers and selected toy retailers.
Jaguar Land Rover upcycles aluminium to cut carbon emissions by a quarter
Research by Jaguar Land Rover has revealed how an innovative recycling process could upcycle aluminium waste from drinks cans, bottle tops and end-of-life vehicles into the premium cars of the future and reduce production CO2 emissions by up to 26 per cent.
The REALITY aluminium project is a key part of Jaguar Land Rover’s Destination Zero mission to reduce carbon emissions and its ambition to make societies safer and environments cleaner through relentless innovation. Engineers were able to use the recycled aluminium parts and mix it with a lower amount of primary aluminium to form a new and tested prototype alloy, comparable to the existing Jaguar Land Rover grade and quality.
Analysis of the recycling and manufacturing process revealed it has the potential to reduce alloy production CO2 emissions by up to 26 per cent compared to the current automotive grade, helping Jaguar Land Rover further close the loop on its manufacturing and use of raw materials.
Aluminium is one of the most widely recycled materials in the world and can be melted down and reformed repeatedly without losing quality. Post-consumer recycled aluminium appears in everyday goods such as drinks cans, aerosols, foil food trays and bottle tops but is not widely used for high-end applications such as automotive manufacturing. Nearly 75 per cent of all aluminium produced in the USA and EU is still in use today while the creation of recycled aluminium uses around 90 per cent less energy than raw material production*.
By recovering the high-quality automotive-grade aluminium used to manufacture vehicles, Jaguar Land Rover can re-use the premium properties as part of a blend, reducing the need for virgin aluminium in vehicle production. Typically, end-of-life vehicle scrap is exported overseas where it can be re-used for low-end applications, but new advanced separation technology has enabled it to be upcycled back into the automotive process, helping close the loop and reduce the environmental impact.
Gaëlle Guillaume, Lead Project Manager for REALITY at Jaguar Land Rover, said: “This project has allowed us, for the first time, to recover premium automotive-grade aluminium from scrapped vehicles and re-use its unique properties. The potential of this on the production process is a reduction in CO2 impact as well as helping us re-use even more aluminium.
“As we move into an autonomous, connected and electrified future, with the potential of shared fleets being de-commissioned en masse, it could allow Jaguar Land Rover to engineer this closed loop recycling alloy into tight production schedules to further improve efficiency and environmental benefits.”
