Rolls Royce is the name which makes us all go like whoa! The company has been out in the market for so long and is considered as one of the pioneers. However, we all usually forget how big the domain of expertise is for Rolls Royce. The company has not restricted itself to just automobile industry and has been working to provide jet engines and even nuclear reactors. Recently, the company has also noticed how the masses generally associate the name with just luxury cars and has therefore, given a hint on Tuesday regarding the new Bespoke Water-speed Collection and has released a sketch of Phantom Drophead Coupé. The car has been designed to honor the memory and achievements of a racing legend, both on water and land, Sir Malcolm Campbell.
Back in the 1920’s, Rolls Royce was busy in manufacturing engines that would be used in some of the most famous speed competitions of air, land and water. The company came up with the engine for Supermarine S.6B seaplane, the same plane which earned the Schneider Trophy and eventually evolved into a legend; Spitfire. Apart from that, the company also holds the honor of manufacturing the R-Type V-12 engine. This is the same engine which was employed by Sir Malcolm Campbell for his Campbell-Railton Blue Bird which back in 1935 at Dayton Beach, was able to set a new land speed record.
The engine’s journey didn’t just end there; it was incorporated into the Sir Malcolm’s boat, Blue Bird K3, which was able to set record for top speed in water as well. The boat was designed by Fred Cooper and created by Saunders Roe Ltd. Blue Bird K3 can be classified as a single-step hydroplane hull which was created by employing plywood and doped aircraft canvas. The name came from Lloyds K3 unlimited rating. Back in 1937, on September 1st, Sir Malcolm was seen driving the boat on Lake Maggiore, challenging the USA’s 5 year title for the water speed and he was able to set a new record which was reportedly, 203.29 km/hr. However, Sir Malcolm wasn’t quite satisfied, so he had another go the next day and was able to maintain a speed of 208.41 km/hr.
Rolls Royce has stated the Phantom Drophead Coupé is going to be a limited edition and will be employing the same technology as was used for the original Blue Bird K3, However, you may definitely expect some innovation there. The design cues have been, as per Rolls Royce, kept more or less the same. The car’s design incorporates open-top design, comes with brushed-steel or Maggiore Blue finish. The wood has been hand crafted while the trim are white coloured. With the information that is available to us, it can be seen quite well that Rolls Royce has definitely come with an iconic car to display the achievements of the company.
We will know more details on this car soon, as of now what we know for sure; there will be only 35 units made of this model. Check out the video below:
