“The high torque, the silence, the cleanliness; These are all great things that we really believe work very well with our brand,” a spokesperson said.
Luxury British car maker Rolls-Royce – famous for its fuel-guzzling V12 petrol engines – has confirmed plans to completely electrify its range by the end of the decade.
The all-new 2024 Rolls-Royce Spectre coupe – seemingly an indirect successor to the two-door Wraith – will be the brand’s first zero-emission production model (detailed in full here), with customer deliveries promised in the fourth quarter of 2023 (October to December inclusive).
Subsequent models are yet to be announced, however fully-electrified versions of (or successors to) the existing Cullinan SUV, and Phantom and Ghost sedans are all but guaranteed.
A spokesperson for the brand stopped short of confirming the vehicles, however noted: “We have very much engineering freedom, compared to the rest of the group … I couldn’t [confirm that] for sure, but we do have an adaptable space frame architecture that has worked so well for previous Rolls-Royce models.”
Drivetrain details are also yet to be revealed, however all-electric outputs are expected to exceed those of the existing 6.6- and 6.75-litre twin-turbo V12 petrol engines.
“The high torque, the silence, the cleanliness; These are all great things that we really believe work very well with our brand,” the spokesperson added.
The luxury brand previews its first electric production car, alongside plans to completely phase out petrol power by the end of the decade.
The 2024 Rolls-Royce Spectre has broken cover as the brand’s first ever all-electric model – and customer deliveries in Australia are just over two years away.
Alongside the reveal, the BMW-owned British luxury brand announced plans to entirely phase out the use of internal combustion engines – namely its 6.6-and 6.75-litre twin-turbo petrol V12s – by 2030. You can read more about that announcement by clicking here.
The teaser images for the all-new Spectre do not show the finalised vehicle, but rather a testing ‘mule’ hidden under thinly-disguised bodywork. However, Drive understands the production version will likely look very similar to the car pictured above.
Underpinned by Rolls-Royce’s now-ubiquitous modular aluminium platform (referred to by the brand as an “Architecture of Luxury”), the ‘fastback’ coupe features an aggressively-sloped rear, front-mounted door handles (for rear-hinged doors), and turbine-inspired 23-inch alloy wheels.
The vehicle’s proportions appear to be derived from the current Wraith coupe, though the test mule’s front overhang is longer than today’s car, and its body sits higher, likely to accommodate a battery pack in the floor.
While performance specifications are so far thin on the ground, a spokesperson for the brand told Drive: “Nothing is more Rolls-Royce than being at the pinnacle end of the market … class-leading”.
Therefore, a range in excess of 800km is likely. Power and torque outputs are also expected to increase over the current 6.6-litre V12 Wraith Black Badge’s 465kW/870Nm.
Drive understands some form of autonomous capabilities – as previously seen in the futuristic 103EX concept of 2016 – will be offered.
Approximately 2.5 million kilometres of testing is promised before the Spectre arrives in showrooms, however it’s unclear if prototypes will make it to Australia, with a spokesperson adding: “We do have simulations and conditions that can be equally recreated [overseas] … it wouldn’t necessarily need to, based on the past history of what we did with Phantom, Ghost, and Cullinan.”
The first consumer deliveries of the 2024 Rolls-Royce Spectre are promised in the fourth quarter of 2023 (October to December inclusive).
Pricing is yet to be announced, however high-margin prestige brands have generally managed to achieve near-parity between petrol and electric models. For reference, the existing Wraith coupe starts from $635,000 before on-road costs in Australia, rising to $735,000 before on-road costs for the Black Badge flagship.
An question from a reader who clearly loves a Hyundai.
Dear Drive… where we answer reader, viewer and listener questions. Something on your mind? Call in to the radio show or email us at contactus@drive.com.au.
Pail was listening to 3AW and asked James Ward:
I have a Hyundai i30 automatic and I have a Hyundai Excel as well. Is the i30 any good, or should I return it?
The Hyundai i30 is a great car. Not only it is one of Australia’s best-selling small cars, but it’s also one that drives well and offers great value too. In fact, the warmed-up SR version even won a Drive Car of the Year award back in 2017.
If you’re interested in reading about different models, our current and historical Hyundai i30 reviews can be found quite easily.
Managing editor Trent Nikolic recently scored the facelifted Hyundai i30 Elite Hatch 7.9/10, and comparisons editor Glenn Butler 8.8/10 for the N Performance model.
Common sentiment between both journalists was that both models featured safe and confident handling, but also used more fuel than what’s officially claimed. That’s despite the pair featuring different engines and transmissions.
1990 Hyundai Excel – a future classic?
2021 i30 Elite hatchback
2021 Hyundai i30N
However, we think the 22-year old Excel is a slice of motoring history. It’s the car that really started it for Hyundai in Australia, so we reckon it’s worth looking look after for future generations to see and enjoy.
We reckon you should keep both, as there’s no question how far safety has come since the 1990s.
It’s a reason enough alone to keep the newer Hyundai for daily driver duties, reserving the classic for the weekends!
Have a question about your next set of wheels, or just need some car advice? No query is too big, small or obscure! Call in to the radio show (Trent on 2GB Sydney 1:30pm Monday and 9pm Wednesday, 5AA South Australia 1:30pm Tuesday, and James on 3AW Melbourne 9pm each Thursday), or contact us by email here: contactus@drive.com.au.
The British tech icon helped to design some of the most recognisable gadgets of the 21st century. Now, he’s moved onto cars.
Sir Jony Ive – who formerly served as Chief Design Officer at Apple, and devised the brand’s original iMac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad products – has been drafted by Ferrari, however his exact role within the marque is not entirely clear at this stage.
The Brit’s design firm ‘LoveFrom’ – co-founded with Australian Marc Newson in 2019 – signed a multi-year partnership with the Italian supercar giant earlier this month, to “bring together Ferrari’s legendary performance and excellence with LoveFrom’s unrivalled experience and creativity.”
Online speculation suggests the companies will collaborate on an upcoming electric supercar project, destined for launch in 2025. Others have hypothesised he could work on the new Purosangue SUV, or simply head up the companies expansive merchandise operations.
“In building great companies, we also believe in building great partnerships – soon after LoveFrom was founded we began to talk with Jony and Marc about opportunities to combine their world-renowned creativity with ours, in complementary and incremental ways,” John Elkann, the Chairman of Ferrari, said.
“[The partnership] represents a first, exciting chance to do great things together as we build our future.
“I’m also delighted that Jony is joining our Partners Council where we look forward to benefitting from his uniquely valuable perspectives.”
While he has never previously worked for a car company, Jony Ive is known to be a passionate automotive enthusiast.
His personal car collection is believed to comprise an array of Bentleys, Ferraris, Land Rover, Aston Martins, and Rolls-Royces. He has also served as an honorary jury member at the annual Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Independent from Ives, Apple has long been rumoured to be developing its own electric car. In 2020 it was widely reported Korean manufacturer Hyundai was partnering with the tech company to mass-produce a zero-emission sedan, however earlier this year Drive reported those negotiations had stalled.
The incredible difference Outback Cleanups Australia is making to our local land- and sea-scape.
Boe and Kimberley from Outback Cleanups Australia
You might think 61,000 tonnes of rubbish removed from remote Australia would involve heavy machinery, teams of people and a big government budget.
That’s a fair assumption. But in this case, you’d be wrong. Boe and Kim, two young South Australians, have been hard at work since January 2019, and have managed to remove that incredible amount of rubbish from Australia’s most remote and stunning landscapes.
And there’s not a piece of heavy machinery in sight. Just four hands, an old Toyota LandCruiser, and a homemade trailer.
And with 61,000 tonnes of waste and 120,000km of driving logged, Outback Cleanups is making a real difference to the rubbished and remote parts of Australia.
Originally hailing from Mintabie – a tiny opal mining town in the remote northern reaches of South Australia – Boe Langford is the driving force behind Outback Cleanups.
Outback Cleanups Australia
A Good Idea
Over the years it has progressed from good idea to not-for-profit organisation, and will soon be registered officially as a charitable organisation. But like so many good ideas, it’s something that germinated over many years from experience as a kid.
The family left Mintabie when Boe was five, presumably because mum thought there might have been better places to raise kids. They moved 1160km to Sellicks Beach, south of Adelaide on the Fleurieu Peninsula.
And from that young age, he can remember the impact of rubbish on the area.
“There were schools of squid and garfish and that kind of thing. And you don’t see any of it now, but you might see a chip packet or a muesli bar wrapper or something blowing by,” Boe said.
Fast-forward some years, and Boe is working in the area as a carpenter. While not working, he was a keen dirt bike rider. Boe built himself a trailer, with the idea of travelling and working around Australia with his bikes in the trailer.
A workplace accident put Boe into a rehab course over 10 months. Every cloud has its silver lining, and Boe got plenty of time for contemplation.
“Because I was on [the beach] for hours every day, I really got to know how much rubbish was there, and where it was coming from,” he said.
Outback Cleanups Australia operate on the water as well, with their roof-mounted tinny
“You’d literally clean the same spot, and the next day you’d see how much would just come in overnight with the wind and the tide and people.”
Joining groups like Sea Shepherd helped Boe make a difference, but he wanted to do more. He wanted to go big-time.
“I spent three months travelling down across the Nullarbor and south-western WA, and was just shocked at the amount of rubbish out there. I thought to myself ‘this is full on’. Like, there’s got to be someone that just travels around and just picks this shit up. It’s such a bad problem.
“I pulled into Esperance library and spent three days just to find a charity, or someone I could join. Someone I could notify about it, or just to do something about it. And there wasn’t one.
“So, I thought, well, my back’s buggered, what can I do about it?”
A lot, is the answer.
Outback Cleanups Australia – in earnest
From that point, the Outback Cleanups movement has gone from strength to strength.
Initially, Boe’s only companion was his beloved Toyota LandCruiser Troopcarrier: a 1993 HZJ75 RV with the stoutly reliable 4.2-litre 1HZ naturally aspirated diesel engine under the bonnet.
The Toyota has 480,000km on the clock, 120,000 of which have been clocked chasing rubbish across the country. It earned the nickname ‘Boomy’ after the gearbox made a loud boom as it blew up.
Boe has since been joined by his now partner Kim, who is an active member of the Outback Cleanups team.
Taking a well-earned break after collecting another load of rubbish
An example haul of rubbish from somewhere in the Australian bush
And while the idea of travelling the country and visiting beautiful areas while picking up rubbish might sound romantic and appealing, Boe explains that what they do is hard yakka.
“You’re out in the dust picking up people’s rubbish with flies. You’re covered in shit, you’re not going to have a shower for the next three days. It’s proper hard work.
“So, we’ve taken people out before and within half an hour they’re bent over panting in the heat and they just can’t cook it, you know? Can’t cope.”
It’s not just picking up the rubbish, either. Every load of rubbish gets weighed, sorted and logged as well, giving Outback Cleanups a unique and powerful database of trends across Australia.
Getting Stuck
And, of course, there are boggings. Something that comes with the territory when you’re spending so much time off-road. One of the worst was crossing the Victoria River in the Northern Territory, which included two days of winching and digging, a visit from a helicopter, and help from the locals.
“I spent the morning walking up the Victoria River looking for crocodiles,” Boe said.
Bogged on a saltpan in the northern territory, with one of two buried spare wheels visible in the shot
Outback Cleanups
Boe clarifies: “Not looking for crocodiles, but I was ready with an idling chainsaw and a hand spear. Then I cut down about 12 little trees. There are trees everywhere out there”.
The trees worked as traction boards to help get to the other side of the river, but he got stuck once again in his attempt to climb out.
“The Indigenous ended up coming out from Yarralin community, and they skull-dragged it out with two old petrol 75 Series utes chained together.
“I only had $100, so I gave them $100 and we called that a day. But that was a day and a half just trying to get across the river.”
Another notable bogging was near Dundee Beach, once again in the Northern Territory. Bogged down to the axles in the middle of a saltpan, they had no choice but to spend six hours burying both spare wheels to winch themselves out of the treeless salt plain.
“Lots of digging. Lots of digging in 40-degree heat, that was shit.”
The Rubbish
What about disposing of their haul? When they are full to the brim, the team will descend upon the closest local municipal tip or waste disposal centre, hat-in-hand. But often it’s Kim and Boe sticking their hands in their own pocket to properly dispose of the waste.
“So we just roll in and explain what we’re doing. If they want to waive the fee or discount it, brilliant. If not, we’ll just pay it. It sucks to pay to dump someone else’s rubbish, I won’t deny that. But it makes the organisation function.”
And when Outback Cleanups is largely self-funded, they are running a delicate balancing act of reducing costs as much as possible, while also removing as much rubbish as they can.
Amongst those 61,000 tonnes, Boe remembers a strange mix of rubbish: guns, sex toys, whale bones and outboard motors.
The team has managed to return four phones in the last 12 months, and returned a wallet that spent a month on a beach along the Nullarbor.
A Woolworths plastic bag – dated from 1976 – was pulled out of the sand of the Eyre Peninsula. It was still in good enough condition to be used; a scary reminder about plastic waste.
The Future
The future looks promising for Outback Cleanups. They will soon be a fully-fledged charitable organisation, which will reduce operating costs and allow additional support through companies and individuals.
For example, this would help reduce the fuel bill, which averages around $35,000 per year.
From this point, Boe and Kim are looking to grow their movement through increased awareness, and perhaps adding another vehicle for increased carrying capacity.
“I suppose our underlying mission is to bridge a gap between your hardcore petrol GQ bogans on 35s, and then your vegan latte-sipping, Sea Shepherd, full on left-wing people,” Boe said.
‘Boomy’ the Troopy and Kimberley from Outback Cleanups Australia
What about individuals who might want to help Outback Cleanups? Boe is quick to answer:
“The eco-friendly way: buy an OCA Sack off our website and go and pick some rubbish up.
“They’re made from recycled shade cloth that goes to landfill normally. So, just by manufacturing and selling our sacks every year, we reduce about half a tonne from landfill just doing that.
“But financially supporting us, if people don’t want to pick up rubbish or don’t have a cleanup, we’ve got a whole heap of sustainable made hemp T-shirts online.”
To find out more about Outback Cleanups Australia, or stay up to date, follow them on social media:
The ultimate 007 car for kids includes hidden machine guns, revolving number plates, and and a smoke screen.
Do you want to be the coolest mum or dad in the world? Put this under the Christmas tree for your kids and you’ll be the talk of the neighbourhood and schoolyard!
With the latest James Bond thriller, No Time to Die, premiering this week ahead of cinema release in November, the film’s producers have partnered with Aston Martin and The Little Car Company (TLCC) to give pint-sized Bond fans the ultimate collectable.
This two-thirds scale replica of Bond’s iconic Aston Martin DB5 – the seminal Bond car – pays homage to the rich history linking James Bond and Aston Martin.
It’s the result of months of collaborative development between Aston Martin and TLCC, and only 125 will be produced.
As for the price? It’s an absolute bargain at just £90,000 ($AU170,000), which is a lot less than the million dollars plus you can expect to pay for a full-size DB5. And none of those come with Bond-spec secret weapons and bad-guy deterrents that can be activated through a secret panel inside the cabin.
Much like the original, the DB5 Junior’s arsenal includes mini-guns behind retractable headlights, and while they don’t have bullets, the barrels do flash and sound like they’re firing. There’s also a smokescreen emitted from the exhaust that has an hour of smoke stored in a customised tank.
If all of those don’t work, you could activate the changeable digital number plates at both ends in the hopes that the baddies mistake you for the wrong DB5 Junior.
To top it all off, the DB5 Junior has a ‘Skid Mode’ so that budding Bonds can channel their inner Ken Block.
The creators 3D-scanned a full-size Aston Martin DB5 to ensure the DB5 Junior is as faithful as possible to the car on which it’s based. Most elements have been replicated accurately, right down to the wire wheels and Aston Martin grille and badging.
Some things have been added, such as 007 badging and the hidden panel for controlling the Bond gadgets, and other elements have been ‘reimagined’ for the modern era, such as the fuel gauge which instead shows a battery meter – a hint that this car is battery-powered.
In fact, the Aston Martin DB5 Junior is a running replica capable of speeds up to 72km/h thanks to a 16kW motor powered by four 1.8kWh batteries.
To make sure you can enjoy the DB5 Junior as much as your spoiled offspring, the replica is designed with a full-size adult passenger seat next to the pint-sized driver’s seat. Before you jump in, we strongly recommend double-checking that it’s not an ejector seat. For more information go to www.thelittlecar.com.
Customer deliveries for the world’s longest-range electric car will begin next month in the USA.
The 2022 Lucid Air luxury electric sedan has gone into production at the brand’s Arizona factory – however, it’s unlikely to appear in Australian showrooms anytime soon.
The initial manufacturing batch comprises 520 examples of the Dream Edition Performance and Range launch variants, which are priced from $US169,000 ($AU240,000). Buyers in the USA are expected to receive their vehicles towards the end of October 2021.
Once production of the limited editions is complete, deliveries of regular models – the entry-level ‘Pure,’ mid-spec ‘Touring,’ and range-topping ‘Grand Touring’ – are expected to follow from late 2021 or early 2022.
Earlier this month, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the Lucid Air Dream Edition Range could travel 837km between charges (according to its existing testing protocols), unseating the Tesla Model S as the world’s longest-range electric car.
While Lucid has previously suggested it plans to engineer its line-up for right-hand-drive markets, an Australian launch appears unlikely anytime soon.
The brand has no marketing, sales, or public relations presence Down Under, and appears to be wholly focused on delivering on current orders in the USA.
Drive has contacted the manufacturer on several occasions throughout 2021 for information on local plans, and is yet to receive a response. This story will be updated if more information becomes available.
According to Lucid, it has already received 13,000 reservations for the Air in the USA, and the brand projects it will sell at least 20,000 new cars in 2022 – on par with Italian sports and luxury car maker Maserati’s global tally.
