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A Deluxe Apartment On The Move

2011 Airstream Avenue

2011 Airstream Avenue – Click above for high-res image gallery

This is the time of year when you can’t help but realize that you’ve been tucked away in an office while the desk calendar has been the only one getting a workout. It’s time to look at a map and pack a bag. Coincidentally, my friend Tom had the same thing in mind. He’s about to have his first baby, doing work on his first home, and he’s getting a look in his eye that suggests it’s time for a breather. For me, the open road is always calling and, when a friend is ready to join in, it means the stars have aligned for a road trip.

Those two little words create all kinds of questions, the first of which centers upon what type of vehicle to use. We’re both 30, so we’d like a little luxury but… we’re both 30, so we’d like a little adventure too. Thankfully, a brief call from Airstream put my name on the keys of a 2011 Avenue slumbering in a Los Angeles parking lot.

Continue reading Review: 2011 Airstream Avenue…

Gallery: 2011 Airstream Avenue: Review

2011 Airstream Avenue

Continue reading Review: 2011 Airstream Avenue

Review: 2011 Airstream Avenue originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Concept Cars, Sedan, Geneva Motor Show, Technology, Rolls-Royce, Electric, Luxury

Rolls-Royce 102EX Concept

Rolls-Royce 102EX Concept – Click above for high-res image gallery

The electric car has come of age. How do we know? Well, see for yourself. Rolls-Royce, perhaps the most iconic of classic luxury marques, has stepped firmly into the EV waters with the 102EX Concept. According to CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös, this machine was created to help the company “[seek] clarity on which technology may be suitable to drive Rolls-Royce motor cars of the future.”

We’d imagine a nice big diesel engine (perhaps fueled with a biodiesel blend) would work just fine and dandy, but electric drive is certainly a workable option, as well. Apparently, the 102EX, which is apparently also known as the Phantom Experimental Electric, will be used throughout 2011 as a test bed to shuttle… well, whomever Rolls-Royce deems worthy of transport. It won’t, however, be made into a production vehicle.

The Phantom Experimental Electric started life as a run-of-the-mill Rolls-Royce Phantom from which the 6.75-liter engine and six-speed automatic gearbox were removed and replaced with a pair of electric motors putting out 145 kilowatts each. That thrust is sufficient to send the 6,000-pound EV to 60 miles per hour in “under eight seconds.”

More impressive is the battery pack, which is comprised of 96 individual cells assembled (on purpose, we gather) to resemble the shape of the original engine and transmission. Rolls-Royce believes its 338-volt, 71-kWh unit is the largest battery ever fitted to a road car. Also of note is the inductive charging technology that eschews an actual plug in favor of a charging mat on the ground and an inductive mat on the underside of the vehicle that wirelessly recharges the battery. A plug also exists where the fuel filler normally resides.

Naturally, there’s an exhaustive press release pasted after the break. Be sure to check out our high-res image gallery of live photos below, and pay special attention to the clear Spirit of Ecstasy that is illuminated in blue light.

Gallery: Rolls-Royce 102EX Concept: Geneva 2011

Continue reading Geneva 2011: Rolls-Royce 102EX Concept is going to rock down to Electric Avenue

Geneva 2011: Rolls-Royce 102EX Concept is going to rock down to Electric Avenue originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 02 Mar 2011 06:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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