Tag: HR Owen

Rolls-Royce Spectre in London

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date June 5, 2023

Finally, we are introduced to the epitome of luxury electric vehicles, the Rolls Royce Spectre. The Spectre gracefully replaces the aging Wraith with its all-wheel drive electric powertrain. I recently had the extraordinary opportunity to witness the Spectre’s presence at HR Owen Rolls Royce dealer.

Upon my first encounter, one thing was undeniable – its sheer size! The Spectre stands even larger than the Wraith, showcasing the new modular platform that Rolls Royce has implemented in the Ghost, Cullinan, and Phantom. To put it honestly, the Spectre is a grand coupe with an impressive stature.

The Spectre boasts two BMW electric motors harmoniously connected to a 100 kWh battery, resulting in a remarkable power output of 585 horsepower and 900 Nm of torque. However, it’s important to note that the Spectre carries a weight of 2975 kg, making it quite a heavy coupe. Therefore, one shouldn’t expect Tesla-like acceleration figures. The Spectre takes a modest 4.5 seconds to reach 100 km/h, which is impressive for a vehicle weighing three tonnes.

It is my belief that none of the Spectre owners acquired this Rolls-Royce for its performance capabilities alone. The electric drivetrain epitomizes the pinnacle of Rolls-Royce innovation. This renowned brand focuses not on high power outputs or acceleration, but on providing serene and peaceful journeys. The electric power of the Spectre will undoubtedly enhance the tranquility associated with Rolls-Royce.

Now, let’s discuss the range. The Spectre boasts a range of 519 km (323 miles) based on WLTP ratings. However, it is essential to consider that the urban driving range will be considerably lower. Given the substantial weight of this three-tonne vehicle, a significant amount of energy is required to for stop-and-go traffic.

One interesting fact is that the Spirit of Ecstasy, the iconic little statue on the radiator, has been redesigned to improve aerodynamics. This enhancement has contributed to the Spectre achieving an impressive aerodynamic coefficient of 0.25 cw.

Overall, the Spectre is an awe-inspiring car. If you have the means, it is a truly remarkable choice worth considering.

Tags HR Owen, Rolls Royce, Rolls Royce Spectre

Cars

Salon Privé Chelsea, London 2023

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date May 7, 2023

I attended Salon Privé this year and was worried I would be late, but my timing was perfect – I arrived just after the rain. Although the show was a bit wet, it didn’t stop people from attending.

The most iconic cars of this year’s event were the Ferrari F40 and F50. I have to admit, I am a bit biased towards these cars because they are rare and very hard to come by. Not only are the F40 and F50 limited in numbers, but they are also difficult to drive.

Like the previous year, I visited Anna-Louise Felstead’s stand, and as always, she had amazing paintings.

Ferrari introduced the soft-top version of the Ferrari Roma by HR Owen, called the Roma Spider. The final version of the Aston Martin DBS 770 Ultimate was also on display, marking the end of an era for V12 Aston Martins (except for the SUV).

Anyway, there were so many cars at the event. Salon Privé is the best car show in London, and you shouldn’t miss it next year.

Tags Bentley, Classic Cars, Ferrari, HR Owen, Hyundai, Lamborghini, Maserati, Porsche, Rolls Royce, Salon Prive, Salon Prive 2023

Cars

Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ Grand Finale for The Internal Combustion Engine

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date January 27, 2022

The world’s fastest mass-production car, the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+, and Bugatti’s London dealer, HR Owen, has delivered three of them! Sadly, I can’t share my photos as the HR Owen Bugatti dealer is not open to the public. You can’t go into the dealer and take pictures. Once I had the chance, I guess that was all.

The Bugatti Chiron is the predecessor of the Veyron, and they share many features. Such as the engine! The W16 Bugatti engine is an engineering masterpiece from a different perspective. When the Bugatti’s W16 engine was announced at the beginning of the 2000s, the world was a different place. Massive engine displacement was somewhat part of Bugatti’s success and reaching 1001-HP was a fantastic benchmark. During those times, there was some rumour, that the W16 engine was based on two Audi V8 engines stuck together. This has never been confirmed or rejected. I guess that’s one of the automotive secrets.

Chiron Super Sport 300+ promises one thing, reaching 309 miles per hour or 498 km per hour. That is 500 km/h! This is thanks to aerodynamic revisions, an extra 100-HP and many other upgrades. Every single piece of the SuperSport 300+ is revised or redesigned to withstand this speed. The engine produces 1600-HP and 1600nm of torque. The fuel consumption is insane. I am not talking about servicing this Chiron.

For me, Chiron Super Sport 300+ is a great car and show how much we can push the limits of physics. Is it a logical car? Of course not. Does it make sense? Absolutely not. But it is an excellent piece of engineering to see how far we can push the limits of an internal combustion engine. This is probably the last fastest Bugatti with an internal combustion engine.

There are, or there were, only 30 cars available, and they are gone. Will this car pollute the world? Yes, but most of the owners will not drive it that much. You also can’t reach the top speed that easily. This is a piece of engineering; that’s how I see it, and that’s why I wish I had one. Honestly, this is the only Bugatti I wish to own. Because we won’t be able to see these figures again. I guess Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ is the grand finale for the internal combustion engine.

Pictures // Krishan Parmer

Tags Bugatti, Bugatti Chiron, Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+, HR Owen

Cars

New Location of HR Owen Rolls-Royce London

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date May 21, 2021

HR Owen Rolls-Royce has a new home in Mayfair, which opened its doors a few weeks ago. If you’ve ever visited Berkeley Square, Mayfair, you surely wouldn’t have missed the HR Owen Rolls-Royce showroom. As a part of Mayfair, it’s been there for decades.

However, Rolls-Royce is not the old Rolls-Royce. The automobile maker now offers five different models: Phantom, Ghost, Cullinan, Dawn, and Wraith. When you add the extended wheelbases and the Black Badge version, there are seven other models.

Unfortunately, the Berkeley Square showroom isn’t suitable for showing all these cars at the same time. So, they had to find a new home, and they did it! The new showroom in Mayfair is only a 2-minute walk from the previous showroom on foot (wearing trainers), an 8-minute walk in high heels, a 30-second drive, and a 1-nanosecond trip by Star Trek Enterprise. That’s to say, the Mayfair showroom is very close!

Rolls-Royce’s new showroom in Mayfair is impressive; there are also lots of hidden gems. The best part is that you can see the whole Rolls-Royce range under the same roof. You name it, they have it!

The new showroom’s address is 50 Berkeley Street, W1J 8HD, London, United Kingdom.

Tags HR Owen, Rolls Royce

Cars

End of the Bentley Mulsanne

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date April 23, 2020

Around January this year, Bentley announced that they had ceased production of their Mulsanne model, and that a new model wouldn’t be replacing it. Sadly, everyone is now obsessed with SUVs and ignores sedan cars. As a result of this trend, Bentley sold only around 500 Mulsanne vehicles last year: higher than the Rolls-Royce Phantom but far less than the Arnage. The Arnage used to sell around 1,200 units per year.

Customer tastes have significantly changed over the years; to be honest, an SUV is a really good vehicle. Regardless of its brand, you will get lots of boot space, all-wheel drive, good handling, and the vehicles are spacious and comfortable to be in. SUVs are the most suitable vehicle for humankind, however, people like me still avoid them as much as possible. SUVs are nice but they are not as good in terms of handling as a sedan car. The Bentley Bentayga is an excellent SUV, but it is not like a Mulsanne.

The Mulsanne is meant to be ending production now, during spring 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic production has been postponed to the end of summer 2020.

Only 30 units of the final edition of the Bentley Mulsanne will be produced and they will be powered by the iconic 6.75-lt V8 engine, which produces 530 horsepower! This engine has been in production since 1959 and will be gone for good after the last Mulsanne.

Honestly, I love the Mulsanne! It was heavy and relatively slow, but it was like a living room on wheels. Despite its size and weight, it was a really good handling car. You won’t be able to chase a Porsche 911 with a Mulsanne, but you will enjoy a more engaging driving experience than even a Rolls-Royce Phantom can provide.

I have shared some of my photos of Bentley Mulsanne from HR Owen Bentley dealer in Mayfair, London.

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Some of the photos credit // Bentley

Tags Bentley, HR Owen, Mulsanne

Cars

Ferrari SF90 Stradale was at HR Owen in London

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date July 18, 2019

I have negated to write about Ferrari for some time and so I thought now would be an appropriate time to re-visit Ferrari owing to the release of its remarkable new production vehicle. This launch sees the SF90 Stradale, Ferrari’s first front-wheel drive, with no reverse gear encapsulating the concept of track and performance car in one.

Specifically, it is a 1000-hp plug-in hybrid hyper car, powered by a 4 litre, twin turbo engine that produces 780-hp and it is coupled with a 162-kW electric motor with 220-hp. In total, it is 1000-hp. The front-wheel drive part accompanies the electric motor.

There are three electric motors inside the SF90 Stradale, two of which are placed in the front-axle; responsible for propelling the Ferrari backward as well as forward. The electric motors on the front axle are responsible for reversing the Ferrari and therefore, there is no reverse gear inside the gearbox and thus this saves weight! It must be acknowledged however that if the batteries run flat, a push back vehicle may be required or alternatively the engine can be run to re-charge the batteries. The final electric motor is placed at the rear, between the engine and the gearbox.

Another critical fact about this model; it is in fact, more powerful than the LaFerrari and is based upon the F8 Tribute, so; it is half supercar and half hyper car.

Regarding its design, aesthetically, I do not find its appearance as pleasing as some other models as I prefer a more minimalist design. Finally, since 2015, Ferrari is no longer under the subsidiary of Fiat anymore and is now, in fact, a public company. Therefore, if you have sufficient capital, you can purchase shares in the company.

Tags Ferrari, Ferrari SF90 Stradale, HR Owen

Cars

The New Bentley Continental GT at HR Owen, London

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date July 14, 2018

The new Bentley Continental GT is basically a mansion on wheels. Even though it shares the same modular platform with the Porsche Panamera, it is still 2.2-tonne! However, you are getting lots of luxury. You might be saying that a massage seat is available with the Renault Megane, but you get more than a massage seat in a Bentley.

You will get state-of-art attention to detail making for a luxury experience. The new Continental’s interior is a luxurious visual experience, and you love looking at the details.

Even though the S-Coupe offers better and more enhanced driving assistance systems and a little bit more comfort, you won’t get this visual experience with a Mercedes-Benz.

Long story short, the new Bentley looks stunning from the inside. It offers an average level of technology. However, the Bentley team told me that they will be transferring more technology directly from the Porsche. As they share the same platform, implementation will be easy.

The Bentley Continental GT is designed for long journeys. It is not a car to compete with or race a Ferrari.

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Tags Bentley, Bentley Continental GT, HR Owen

Cars

Rolls Royce Cullinan at HR Owen, London

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date May 28, 2018

I have been waiting for an SUV from Rolls Royce for a long time. The SUV market is a dream land for any car manufacturer. People from any segment love to buy SUVs with any style. For Rolls-Royce, it was a really bold decision to offer an SUV under the Rolls-Royce name. However, I don’t find it that awkward.

Nowadays, you can buy an enterprise level cloud service from a book store, Amazon Web Services. Your mobile phone operator basically acts as an internet service provider. You pay to watch TV-Series on Netflix, while they are free on BBC. So, the Rolls-Royce and SUV concepts are not that far away from one another.

Do I like the Cullinan? Yes, kind of. The only missing features are a long-range gearbox and proper differential locks. Without these toys, you can’t really do off-road. However, people don’t really care about this. They wish to own a Rolls-Royce SUV that can drive them to the Swiss Alps or in the untouched deserts of Dubai.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have a chance to view the interior of the finished vehicle. As I have vanished from the eye of the car industry, it is not that easy to see a vehicle before anyone else. Alternatively, I have to be an influencer (aka you have lots of followers, whether real or fake).

Anyway, from what I have seen with my limited window, the Rolls-Royce Cullinan does look better than the Benteyga. The Phantom’s modular platform has been used for the Cullinan. The engine is still a BMW V12 with heavy modifications and a ZF automatic gearbox. I can’t ignore the know-how of BMW’s xDrive technology from the X-Series vehicles.

Never underestimate BMW’s xDrive technology. It is one of the most rapidly responding traction control systems on the market. The luxury of Rolls-Royce is the pinnacle, and Range Rover only has the SV Coupe to keep up the race. The personalisation is something I really don’t like, but many people love it, and that’s where Rolls-Royce takes over the game.

Overall, the Rolls-Royce Cullinan is a good-looking SUV and much smaller than the Phantom (hopefully). Will it change the SUV market? Yes, for the luxury segment, but the Toyota Land Cruiser will not be affected by the Cullinan. I am definitely sure that Rolls-Royce will increase their sales figures with the SUV. They have been losing customers to Land Rover and Bentley for a long time. Now it is time to take them back.

Would I buy it? Interestingly, I liked it. I am not a Rolls-Royce customer, not really into the personalisation drama, but the Cullinan is nice.

Tags HR Owen, Rolls Royce, Rolls Royce Cullinan

Cars

The New Rolls-Royce Phantom at HR Owen

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date March 4, 2018

The eight generation Rolls-Royce Phantom was released last summer. I spotted it at the HR Owen dealership in Mayfair, London. It is not very common to see a new Phantom. The previous generation was revealed in 2002 and it has taken 15 years to create the new generation. Unlike the last time, Rolls-Royce has designed its own modular platform that will be used in future Rolls-Royce models, starting with the Cullinan SUV.

Despite the in-house modular platform, the engine, the gearbox and the driving assistance systems are from BMW!

Although we don’t really associate Rolls-Royce with the word ‘light’, the new Phantom is lighter and stronger than past models. However, don’t expect a full carbon-fibre body. There are some cool features as well. The Magic Carpet Ride is something unique to the Phantom. Stereo cameras scan the road surface and adjust the suspension to correct for road imperfections up to 100 km/h. Bear in mind though, the Audi A8 and the Mercedes-Benz S-Class offer similar systems, and they keep working at higher speeds.

In case you are looking for an ultra-silent car, the new Phantom houses more than 130-kg of sound insulation. Even the tyres are designed with a ‘Silent Seal’ thanks to Continental, and they reduce tyre noise by 9db!

The Gallery on the dashboard is a great piece of design. However, only the front passenger can enjoy the view of The Gallery!

The interior is massive, I can’t even describe it in words. It is really really large. And this massive interior is combined with a massive exterior. This Phantom is really really tall. When you compare with other ‘large’ cars, they look like a MINI next to the new Phantom. If you wish to tell people that you have made it, the new Phantom is the answer.

Lastly, I really like the electrically-closing doors. Now you can just touch a button and the door closes.

Tags HR Owen, Rolls Royce, Rolls Royce Phantom

Cars

Pink Bentley Bentayga at Jack Barclay HR Owen, Mayfair London

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date February 7, 2018

Ettore Bugatti once said that a Bentley racing car is the world’s fastest truck. I think, when he made this statement, he would never have thought that Bentley would make an SUV one day!

A long time after Ettore Bugatti made this statement and Mattel introduced Barbie, Bentley introduced a pink SUV that is capable of doing 300 km/h!

Last month, Bentley’s iconic dealer, Jack Barclay HR Owen, opened its doors after refurbishment. The new interior should be crowned with something really special, and they have done it with a pink Bentley Bentayga.

Bentley had been thinking about making the Bentayga for a very long time, and introduced the first concept vehicle in 2012. I saw it at Goodwood! However, I really wondered how this particular shade of pink ended up in the colour scheme of the Bentley Bentayga.

This is because the Bentayga was really a question mark project for the Bentley, and they were really wondering if people were ready to pay £200,000 for an SUV.

Apparently, people are ready to pay £200,000 for an SUV and even if it is in pink.

At the moment, I am not sure if the pink Bentayga is still available at the HR Owen Mayfair dealership.