Waterspeed tribute to Bluebird
If the Phantom Drophead Coupe is not quite exclusive enough for you, maybe this one will do, suggests Dave Moore.
SUCH is the success of Rolls-Royce these days, with the BMW-owned concern having posted another record trading year, that they are even becoming a regular sight in New Zealand.
They’re not common, you understand, despite being uncommonly capable cars, to which we can attest after driving the Wraith model last year.
However, just to take the English company’s rare and lovely Phantom Drophead Coupe a little further away from the ordinary, RollsRoyce Motor Cars has revealed some sketches of the Bespoke Waterspeed Collection. This series of 35 Phantom Drophead Coupes celebrates the derring-do of British speed record adventurer from the 1920s and 30s, Sir Malcom Campbell – a seminal act of British daring and endeavour.
On the morning of September 1, 1937, at the apogee of the battle between the United States and Great Britain to be the fastest nation on water, Sir Malcolm, father of the equally famous Donald Campbell, headed out onto the calm blue waters of Lake Maggiore on the Swiss-Italian frontier.
At the helm of his Bluebird K3 hydroplane boat, powered by Rolls-Royce’s V12 R-Type engine, he established a water speed record of 126.32mph (203.29kmh).
The following day he went one better, piloting his craft to 129.5mph (208.41kmh) and in doing so emphatically broke the US’ five-year stranglehold on the world water speed record.
Campbell’s achievement captured the world’s attention and reaffirmed the RollsRoyce R-Type engines’ record-breaking superiority after triumphs on land and in the air.
In celebration of the man and the craft, by echoing the cutting-edge technology employed in the construction of these machines, only the finest contemporary materials furnish the Waterspeed Collection.
Brushed steel replaces the texture deck timber of the non-bespoke Phantom Drophead Coupe, and complements an exclusively developed ‘‘Maggiore blue’’ colour scheme, while handcrafted wood inlays evoke the sense of a boat effortlessly gliding through water at pace.
‘‘Sir Malcolm Campbell’s successful pursuit of world speed records on land and water were the result of his commitment to the most exacting standards of British design and engineering excellence,’’ says Rolls-Royce Motor Cars chief executive Torsten Muller-Otvos.
‘‘Such attributes are hallmarks of every RollsRoyce motor car, ensuring the marque’s position at the pinnacle of super-luxury manufacturing.
‘‘This special collection, and those to follow in 2014, serve to display the breadth of Bespoke personalisation available to every RollsRoyce customer.’’
Following the release of this design sketch, more details will be revealed in the coming months telling the story of the creation of the collection, and a show car is expected at next month’s Geneva Motor Show.
‘‘I am delighted that RollsRoyce Motor Cars has chosen our grandfather’s iconic Bluebird Waterspeed boats as inspiration for this special Collection,’’ said Donald Wales, grandson of Sir Malcolm Campbell.