Steve Cropley: If this is 'post-opulence', I'll take it
Our man enjoys a socially distanced visit to Rolls Royce HQ this week, and says hello to a new long-term test car
One of the few upsides of the pandemic is that when you visit a car firm’s headquarters, you’re now usually part of a small group.
At Rolls-Royce in Goodwood for the unveiling of the new Ghost, the group comprised one person – me – which made the walk-around, the assembly plant visit and the prototype ride especially enjoyable. My hosts were designer Henry Cloke and project chief Jon Simms, who added evidence to my previous recent impressions that Rolls-Royce is nowadays populated by young people, not the venerable set you might once have expected.
There’s plenty to tell about this all-encompassing Ghost project, but I was especially fascinated by the way the acoustics team has “tuned” every important Ghost component so that all of the natural resonances add up to a sound the occupants hear as an unobtrusive, unified whisper. We proved the matter on the move, too. The latest Phantom is still a shade quieter than the Ghost, they say, but there’s now very little in it. If this is ‘post-opulence’, I’ll take it.
*Saturday*
On the way home from Rolls-Royce, I collected my new long-termer, a BMW M235i Gran Coupé xDrive, complete with a 302bhp 2.0-litre turbo engine, an eight-speed paddle-shift gearbox, a slippery diff and front drive most of the time.
In our initial review, this car wasn’t given an excessively good time for its styling (I don’t mind it), its somewhat aggressive ride quality (true, but I like strong body control) and especially its lack of six in-line cylinders and rear drive. It has a British-built transverse four that drives the rear wheels only in times of extreme slippage.
On the evidence of 100 miles, I completely agree with our bottom-line description of this hot four-door 2 Series: effective. And although I’m not a naturally quick driver, I’m enjoying having a car with 4.9sec 0-62mph potential that naturally does its best when pressing on a bit. Everyone needs a bit of this in their lives.
*Sunday*
I was messing about at my local airfield when a bloke I hadn’t seen for years pitched up in a fit-looking, rubber-bumpered MG B. We had a cheery, socially distanced chat, during which he explained that the car had been bought via eBay by his wife. He had spent so long dithering on the laptop that, in exasperation, she reached over his shoulder and clicked ‘buy’.
We borrowed some disinfectant from the aero club to spruce the car and I had a little drive on one of the taxiways, confirming what we both already knew: that a 1970s B feels somewhat baggy next to my Mazda MX-5 but is still a surprisingly worthy machine.
I was really surprised how good the bumpers looked; they’re proper period pieces now. So many have been converted to chrome front ends that a bounce-back B now looks special. Who’d have thought it, back when we all despaired over the antics of British Leyland’s tin-eared bosses?
*Monday*
Thinking of buying a Porsche or a McLaren? Friends in the trade suggest that you watch the market for three-year-old cars closely from now on, as PCP deals end on cars that might normally have been bought by their owners post-lease and they come onto the market. The choice is already pretty good, they say, and it will only get better.
*Tuesday*
I’m off work this week, which means it’s time for a busman’s holiday. The Steering Committee and I have so missed the Festival of Speed and Revival events that have come to play such a large parts in all our lives that we’ve booked a short stay at the Goodwood Hotel, just to wander about and reminisce. It’s our first trip since the last Revival, almost exactly 12 months ago. It seems longer.
*And another thing...*
I’m amused to hear that new Aston Martin chief Tobias Moers, to whom I wrote an open letter suggesting a number of earlyaction priorities, has been sent a published copy by colleagues he left behind at Daimler. It’s interesting to know they’re watching…
*READ MORE*
*New Rolls-Royce Ghost to gain bespoke illuminated fascia*
*BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe M235i 2020 UK review*
*MG: celebrating the birthday of a British legend*