Elite Traveler July-August 2017

INSPIRE TOP CARS

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars ENGLAND, 1904 Sometimes the best of things start over a good meal, and that was the case in May 1904, when a car dealer by the name of Charles Rolls and an engineer called Henry Royce met for lunch. Later, the pair formed Rolls-Royce Limited and began a company that would go on to be regarded as the epitome of automotive style and luxury, with its products finding appeal with royalty and rock stars alike. The company survived hard times in the 1970s, and today Rolls-Royce Motor Cars flourishes under BMW ownership, producing four models at its state-of-the-art headquarters at Goodwood, England. In 1913 Henry Royce was no doubt delighted to have the company’s Silver Ghost model hailed as ‘The Best Car in theWorld.’ Critics were won over by the superb comfort and faultless reliability demonstrated by the Silver Ghost on the 1913 Alpine Trial, which as the name suggests, subjected competitors to exceptionally demanding mountain terrain. Sadly, Charles Rolls never received the accolades, having perished in a flying accident in 1910. The Silver Ghost remained in production in various guises for 20 years. Even the communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin succumbed to its bourgeoisie charms, and had one fitted with tank-style tracks to deal with the Russian winter. Dawn MODERN Here’s a car that is certainly worth setting your alarm clock early for on a summer’s morning so that you can enjoy being behind the wheel on empty roads. Critics have been almost as gushing about the Rolls-Royce Dawn as they were about its illustrious Silver Ghost predecessor. The seductively styled four-door drophead coupe, as Rolls-Royce refers to it, is powered by a silky smooth but enormously responsive 6.6-liter, twin-turbocharged V12. Advanced air suspension smooths out every bump in the road, yet the chassis also serves up a fun and engaging drive. Recently an even more stunning AndalusianWhite Dawn Inspired by Fashion edition has been added to the range. rolls-roycemotorcars.com Silver Ghost CLASSIC

Rolls-Royce Dawn

Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost

Tesla USA, 2003

Serbian-American Nikola Tesla was an inventor, engineer and futurologist who passed away in New York in 1943. Sixty-five years after his death, a group of engineers in Silicon Valley named their new company Tesla as they set out to prove that electric cars could provide superior performance to petrol cars. The Tesla Roadster debuted in 2008, followed in 2012 by the Model S, the world’s first premium electric sedan. If anyone in the mainstream automotive industry didn’t take the Californian start-up car company seriously at first, they certainly do now. Capable of producing 2,000 cars a week, Tesla has truly reinvented the industry with its innovative approach. tesla.com Roadster CLASSIC Although not without its teething problems, Tesla’s first car, the Roadster, had the ability to blast, albeit silently, from rest to 62mph in a very rapid 3.7 seconds, a pace that left many traditional-fueled sports cars lagging a long way behind it. But it wasn’t just the Roadster’s rapid performance that made the industry sit up and take notice; it was also its real-world usability. It was capable of achieving a driving range of up to 245 miles before its lithium ion batteries needed replenishing. More than 2,400 Roadsters were sold before production ceased in 2012, and it is now on the road in 30 countries around the world. Model X MODERN With its distinctive Falcon Wing doors, Tesla’s Model X SUV proves that you don’t have to give up driving a performance car just because you now have a large family. Offered with the option of seating for seven and full self-driving hardware, the Model X can accelerate to 62mph in a supercar-rivaling 2.9 seconds. Prices start at $85,500 for the five-seat version. All models offer excellent safety, and Tesla also claims that the car’s medical grade HEPA filter strips outside air of pollen, bacteria, viruses and pollution before circulating in into the cabin to help you and your family breathe easy.

Tesla Roadster

Tesla Model X

THE MODEL X IN NUMBERS Seats 5 or 7 Price from $85,500 Range 351 miles 0-62mph 2.9 seconds