Rolls-Royce’s apprentices have been hard at work over the last few months restoring this pair of antique ‘gravity’ racers, which were the first two cars commissioned by the marque to commemorate its revival in the early 2000s under BMW stewardship.
Aptly named the RR0.01 and the RR0.02, the duo participated in Goodwood’s Soapbox Challenges where engineless cars are driven down the famous hill by nothing but...gravity. And guts, seemingly.
OTHER STORIES YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED:
The Ferrari Roma Spider is now in PH with a P29.5-M starting price
The facelifted Toyota Corolla Cross could land in PH soon with a P1.498-M starting price
The RR0.01 previewed the design of the Phantom VII, and mated a carbon and fiberglass body with a composite of honeycomb plates and aluminum. The huge vertical grille also makes the 01 look like an early 20th century comic book villain’s car, while 874-spoke alloys proved a nice touch.
The RR0.02, on the other hand, looks much more serious about racing. This one was inspired by the original Silver Ghost (which won the 1913 Alpine trial, among other accomplishments), and like the first, was built for much speed. As such, there’s a sculpted body for improved air channeling, and closed carbon alloys and tubular tires to limit rolling resistance. As a result, the 02 crossed the 2013 Soapbox event’s finish line at a whopping 116kph. That’s impressive for something with no engine.
Both cars have effectively been retired in the 11 years since, but following a full-body and mechanical restoration, they could return to racing duties soon. Perhaps dropping them from the side of the Gangkhar Puensum, the world’s steepest mountain, would be the ideal way to set a new gravity racer world speed record?
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
