Category Archives: NEW CARS

NEW CARS

Rolls-Royce Phantom Centenary: 100 Years of the World’s Greatest Car

There are cars, and then there’s the car. For a century, the Rolls-Royce Phantom has been the four-wheeled equivalent of a crown jewel — a statement not of wealth, but of arrival. Kings, captains of industry, and the occasional movie star have all floated through history in one, cocooned by silence and surrounded by craftsmanship so obsessive it borders on spiritual.

Now, as Phantom celebrates its 100th birthday, Rolls-Royce has done what Rolls-Royce does best — created something quietly staggering. The Phantom Centenary Private Collection, limited to just 25 examples, isn’t merely a commemorative edition. It’s a 2.6-tonne work of art, built not to shout about its heritage, but to whisper it through the shimmer of gold leaf and the soft sigh of a perfectly weighted door.

The Gold Standard

From a distance, the Centenary could be any other Phantom VIII — which is to say, it looks like the road’s natural monarch. But step closer and the details begin to emerge like constellations under moonlight.

The two-tone finish, Super Champagne Crystal over Arctic White, glows with an iridescent depth achieved by blending crushed glass into the paint. Rolls-Royce doubled the usual amount of these particles, because of course they did. The result is a body that doesn’t just reflect light — it refracts it, as if the car itself remembers the golden age of cinema.

Then there’s the Spirit of Ecstasy, reborn in solid 18-carat gold, hallmarked by the London Assay Office and set upon a hand-poured enamel base. The famous “RR” badges gleam in white enamel and 24-carat gold — tiny touches, but when you’re building the world’s most revered luxury object, tiny is everything.

Each disc wheel wears 25 engraved lines, one for every car in the collection. Together, they form 100 — a numerological wink to the Phantom’s century of grace.

A Cabin Written in Thread and Light

Inside, the Centenary transcends the notion of interior design. It’s more like walking into a handcrafted time capsule — one stitched, etched, and marquetried with almost impossible precision.

The rear seats, inspired by the legendary Phantom of Love from 1926, tell Phantom’s story across three layers of textile artistry. The base layer features historic prints — from the marque’s original Conduit Street headquarters to Sir Henry Royce’s own paintings of Southern France. Over that float fine embroideries of past Phantoms and abstract sketches representing seven of its most iconic owners.

It took 12 months, 160,000 stitches, and the expertise of a haute couture atelier to complete — a partnership that blurs the line between fashion and automotive design. Rolls-Royce calls the process “sketching with thread.” In reality, it’s art disguised as upholstery.

Up front, the driver’s quarters are more restrained, but no less poetic. The laser-etched leather features hand-drawn motifs — a rabbit here (a nod to “Roger Rabbit,” the codename for the 2003 revival of Rolls-Royce), a seagull there (a reference to the 1923 Phantom prototype). Even the smallest symbols carry a century’s worth of storytelling.

A Symphony in Wood, Metal, and Gold

Open the rear doors, and you’re greeted by woodwork so complex it borders on madness. Each door tells a story — of Henry Royce’s winter retreat on the French Riviera, his English summer home in West Wittering, or the 4,500-mile Australian trek of the first Goodwood-era Phantom.

To create these panels, Rolls-Royce’s craftspeople combined 3D marquetry, laser etching, 3D ink layering, and 24-carat gold leaf. Roads glint across the surface like strands of sunlight, maps shimmer beneath glassy veneers, and landscapes emerge with topographical accuracy. Some etched details measure just 0.13 millimetres high — small enough to make your jeweller weep.

The story continues across the Anthology Gallery, a sculptural centrepiece of 50 brushed aluminium fins, each engraved with quotes from a century of Phantom’s press acclaim. Light ripples across the fins like champagne fizz — ephemeral, fleeting, perfect.

Under the Skin: The Eternal Heart

Beneath the bonnet, the 6.75-litre twin-turbo V12 remains unchanged — and rightly so. Rolls-Royce doesn’t do “performance upgrades”; it does effortless propulsion. The engine cover is finished in Arctic White with 24-carat gold detailing, because in this car, even the parts you’ll never see are treated like crown jewels.

When the Phantom moves, it does so with the serene authority of an ocean liner. The outside world ceases to exist; inside, you float in the company of 440,000 individual stitches forming a Starlight Headliner that charts Phantom’s history in constellations. Somewhere up there, a mulberry tree, a Bluebird, and a swarm of golden bees tell their own silent story.

Legacy, Distilled

It’s easy to be cynical about cars like this — the price, the opulence, the exclusivity. But to dismiss the Phantom Centenary as excess is to misunderstand what Rolls-Royce is celebrating. This isn’t a vehicle built for status. It’s a monument to human craftsmanship — 40,000 hours of work, distilled into something tactile, timeless, and utterly serene.

As Chris Brownridge, Rolls-Royce CEO, puts it: “This uncompromising work of art reaffirms Phantom’s status as a symbol of ambition, artistic possibility, and historical gravitas.”

That’s the Phantom in a sentence. A car that doesn’t chase trends or time — it simply is. And after 100 years, it remains the yardstick by which everything else is measured.

Rolls-Royce Phantom Centenary Private Collection

  • Production: 25 units worldwide
  • Powertrain: 6.75-litre twin-turbo V12
  • Output: 563 bhp / 900 Nm
  • Transmission: 8-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive
  • Price: If you have to ask, you weren’t on the list.

Source: Rolls-Royce

NEW CARS

Isuzu ERGA EV Autonomous Bus: The Future of Public Transport Has Just Clocked In

If you thought the future of mobility was all electric scooters and driverless taxis, think bigger. Much bigger. Try 10.7 meters long, 2.5 wide, and tall enough to make double-decker drivers nervous. Meet the Isuzu ERGA EV Autonomous Bus, Japan’s latest attempt to make your local bus driver redundant—politely, efficiently, and with zero tailpipe emissions.

Isuzu Motors Limited, known for its no-nonsense trucks and diesel stalwarts, has decided to reboot itself for the autonomous age. The company is lending its new ERGA EV Autonomous Bus to a real-world demonstration in Hiratsuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture, from October through January next year. In other words: the Japanese are about to let a bus drive itself—on public roads—while everyone else is still arguing about parking sensors.

Tech That Sees, Thinks, and Drives Itself

This isn’t some sci-fi prototype with flashy lights and vaporware promises. The ERGA EV Autonomous Bus is built on the bones of the ERGA EV, Japan’s first full-flat, all-electric route bus, and it’s loaded with more sensors than a fighter jet.

We’re talking 11 cameras, 8 LiDAR units, 6 millimeter-wave radars, and enough GNSS and IMU gear to make NASA nod approvingly. The system comes courtesy of Tier IV Inc., a Tokyo-based autonomous tech firm whose software is as cutting-edge as it sounds.

Powering this behemoth is a dual-motor AC induction setup, delivering 250 kW and a mountain-moving 960 Nm of torque, all fed by a 242 kWh lithium-ion battery pack. The bus can charge via CHAdeMO quick charging—a nod to Japan’s pragmatic infrastructure-first mindset.

Comfort Meets Code

The magic here isn’t just that it drives itself. It’s how it does it. Electric propulsion means smooth acceleration, silent cruising, and zero clutch judder—turning a mundane bus ride into something eerily serene. Picture gliding through a quiet Japanese city at night, no diesel clatter, no abrupt braking—just a futuristic hum and a sense that the vehicle knows what it’s doing better than most human drivers.

Speaking of night, the test program this year will include after-dark operations and cashless fare payments—because of course it will. If it’s going to be the bus of the future, it might as well let you board with your phone and your dignity intact.

Autonomy With Training Wheels

Don’t panic just yet—there’s still a driver on board. The ERGA EV Autonomous Bus is operating at Level 2 autonomy, which means it can handle acceleration, braking, and steering, but a human remains in charge for safety. Think of it as a trust exercise between human reflexes and machine logic.

This isn’t Isuzu’s first rodeo, either. Last winter, the company ran similar tests using a diesel-powered ERGA bus along the same route near Hiratsuka Station’s South Exit. Now, the team’s going electric and ramping up the complexity, with plans for public ride-alongs during the current test phase that runs until January 2026.

The Bigger Picture

Behind all the sensors and spreadsheets lies a serious purpose. Japan’s regional cities are grappling with shrinking populations and driver shortages, and autonomous public transport could be the lifeline they need. Isuzu, alongside Mitsubishi Corporation, Aisan Technology, A-Drive, and local transit operators, is betting that a mix of electric drive and AI smarts will keep people—and economies—moving.

Ultimately, Isuzu’s goal is Level 4 autonomy: fully self-driving trucks and buses that don’t need human babysitters. That’s not just a tech flex—it’s a social fix. Autonomous buses could one day serve rural towns where public transport is vanishing faster than you can say “diesel ban.”

Debut at the Japan Mobility Show 2025

If you want to see the ERGA EV Autonomous Bus in the metal (and silicon), it’ll make its world premiere at the Japan Mobility Show 2025, held at Tokyo Big Sight from October 30 to November 9. Expect it to draw crowds, cameras, and perhaps a few nervous bus operators wondering what their job description will look like in five years.

Isuzu’s ERGA EV Autonomous Bus isn’t just another EV—it’s the blueprint for how Japan plans to move people in the 2030s: quietly, efficiently, and without anyone touching the steering wheel. The only thing missing? A driver who remembers your stop.

Source: Isuzu

NEW CARS

BYD Atto 2 DM-i: China’s Tiny Hybrid Punches Into Europe

BYD isn’t slowing down — it’s just changing gears. Literally. The Chinese EV giant has decided that electrons alone aren’t enough for everyone, so it’s given its smallest crossover, the Atto 2, a petrol-powered helping hand. Meet the Atto 2 DM-i, a plug-in hybrid that’s about to become Europe’s dinkiest PHEV.

The move makes sense. Even BYD — the company that eats lithium for breakfast — knows that Europe’s charging infrastructure is about as reliable as a 1990s Alfa Romeo handbrake. So, while demand for full EVs wobbles, the firm’s sprinkling some unleaded into the mix. And it’s working: the Seal U PHEV is already BYD’s biggest European hit, recently joined by the Seal 6 PHEV estate. Clearly, hybrids are having a bit of a moment.

Now, the Atto 2 DM-i joins the lineup with a clever new powertrain that can run for 56 miles on electric power alone — that’s more than enough for your weekday commute and the occasional “forgot to charge it again” moment. BYD will offer two flavours of Atto 2 DM-i, mirroring the EV’s twin-trim setup, with different battery sizes and power outputs. The company’s keeping mum on engine details for now, but expect performance on par with the EV’s 174bhp or 201bhp options and a 0–62mph dash of 7.9 seconds. Nippy enough for the school run, then.

You’ll spot the hybrid thanks to a reworked front end — there’s now a larger grille to help the petrol bits breathe, plus a few badges so your neighbours know you’re not entirely electric. Oh, and BYD’s throwing in a Midnight Blue paint job exclusive to the PHEV, because every eco-warrior deserves a bit of drama.

At 4.3 metres long, the Atto 2 DM-i will officially become the smallest PHEV on sale in Europe — though that title may be short-lived, as the Jeep Renegade 4xe (currently smaller) is about to bow out. Deliveries are pencilled in for early next year, so expect to see these zipping silently — and occasionally not so silently — around European cities before long.

So, while BYD’s rivals are still arguing about whether EVs or hybrids are the future, the Chinese brand is simply doing both. Clever, isn’t it?

Source: Autocar