Rolls Royce Phantom – Driven To Write

Geneva 2019 Reflections – What’s That Coming Over the Hill?

Today, our Geneva correspondent casts a horrified gaze over some of the more polarising Palexpo fare on offer. [Text amended and additional images added – March 8. 13.40 GMT]

For centuries, monsters and myths have been for the most part, indivisible in our consciousness. We console ourselves that it’s the latter rather than the former which represents the true state of affairs, but in this, as with so many fondly-held assumptions we are mistaken. Ogres truly walk amongst us, and as alarming as that prospect may be to those of us of a more sensitive nature, we are fortunate that our Hamburg correspondent is on hand to Continue reading “Geneva 2019 Reflections – What’s That Coming Over the Hill?”

Wings of Desire

Driven to Write profiles the black sheep of Crewe.

Even the most aristocratic families have their outcasts. Whether it’s cousin Geoffrey the bounder, serial adulterer and spendthrift, or aunt Gertrude with the secret laudanum habit, a noble bloodline is no barometer of respectability.

This is as much a truism at the House of Crewe as anywhere else, and while the halls of Pyms Lane may shimmer with any number of Wriaths, Clouds, Shadows or Spirits, within a secluded chamber in a little-visited wing of the facility lies the Seraph, brooding in gloomy seclusion. Continue reading “Wings of Desire”

Anniversary Waltz 2008 – Higgs Boson Blues

As 2018 leaches away, we begin our annual run-down of cars we couldn’t write about this year, beginning with 2008.

The largest machine ever built, the Large Hadron Collider at CERN was created with the modest aim of testing particle physics theory and possibly uncovering the secrets of existence itself. Situated 175 meters underground, with a circumference of 17 miles, the LHC was completed and inaugurated ten years ago. And while some critics expressed concern that it would Continue reading “Anniversary Waltz 2008 – Higgs Boson Blues”

Iceberg Right Ahead

Rolls Royce’s Cullinan SUV has landed. Is this the price of luxury?

The sheer face of ultimate luxury. Image credit: (c) BMW Blog

Flawed diamond

In 1971, the unthinkable occurred. The once impregnable Rolls Royce entered receivership, owing to costs incurred developing the RB211 turbojet engine programme. Many viewed it as a watershed – after all, if RR could go under, who was safe? In the years that followed, Rolls Royce Motors stayed afloat, if only by the skin of their teeth. By the time Vickers bailed in 1988, it was clear the Silver Lady had lost more than her spirit.

Today, there are no such dangers. Not only is Rolls Royce well-funded and protected within the BMW mothership, but the market for ultra-luxury vehicles has never Continue reading “Iceberg Right Ahead”

Theme : Wheels – Keeping Them Covered

Driven to Write asks which manufacturers keep their nuts hidden

Rolls Royce Wraith C — 1938 Wraith Photo : Ruairidh MacVeigh

The hubcap was originally a device for keeping road muck away from the centre of your wheel. The wheel cover was an expansion of the hubcap to cover the entire outer face of the wheel, thus both lessening the chance of bearings being contaminated and keeping your chauffeur from getting his uniform too dirty when changing wheels. However, I’ll generally use the term hubcap to cover any size of wheel covering. Continue reading “Theme : Wheels – Keeping Them Covered”