Audio Technology

Metallica, Radiohead help Rolls-Royce take bespoke to new decibel levels

Eileen Falkenberg-Hull
Oct 30, 2019, 12:22 pm

Rolls-Royce customizes the Phantom's audio system using components from premium sound equipment brands, but prefers not to name them.

Photo courtesy of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

Rolls-Royce cars are the epitome of bespoke luxury automobiles. They can be completely custom crated or, for the more pedestrian buyer, they can simply be customized.

Before buyers place hands on the their new Rolls-Royce Phantom, the company has already tailored its audio system to create an encompassing audio experience for driver and passengers.

Unlike premium automakers who tout available systems from JBL, Bose, Harman Kardon, and B&O, Rolls-Royce prefers not to name its sound system suppliers, letting the system's engineering speak for itself.

It all starts with the car's frame. The Architecture of Luxury is made of aluminum, which was selected, in part, because it has a higher acoustic impedance than steel. This reduces the amount of noise that is passed on to the cabin. Engineers also gave the model a double-skinned bulkhead and floor sections to help keep road and tire noise permeation at bay.

Rolls-Royce Phantom body in white The Phantom is crafted at the company's Goodwood manufacturing facility in England. Photo courtesy of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

Designers took note of the car's bass speaker size and let it define a resonance chamber in the car's sill section resulting in the car's materials working to turn the entire Phantom into, basically, a subwoofer.

The windows of the Phantom feature 6mm of double-pane acoustically dampened glass. It also has 130 kg of sound insulation throughout the car with a special focus on the headliner, designed to minimize reverberation.

Engineers even went so far as to work with their tire partner to invent "Silent-Seal" tires, which feature a layer of foam inside the rubber that reduces tire noise by 9 decibels compared to a standard tire.

Rolls-Royce audio experts drove thousands of miles in the Phantom before releasing it for public consumption. To determine the parameters in which to tune the system. Here's what they listened to:

  • Wish You Were Here – Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here [1975]
  • From Here to Eternity – Giorgio Moroder, From Here to Eternity [1977]
  • Across the Lines – Tracy Chapman, self-titled [1988]
  • Sad But True – Metallica, self-titled [1991]
  • Bembe / Abakwa – Terry Bozzio, Solo Drum Music II [1992]
  • Klangfarben Melodie – Terry Bozzio, Solo Drum Music II [1992]
  • Know Your Enemy – Rage Against the Machine, self-titled [1992]
  • Fistful of Steel – Rage Against the Machine, self-titled [1992]
  • Passion - Gat Décor (Naked Edit) [1992]
  • Where Did You Sleep Last Night? – Nirvana, MTV Unplugged in New York (Live) [1993]
  • Stimela (The Coal Train) – Hugh Masekela, Hope (Live) [1994]
  • Hotel California – The Eagles, Hell Freezes Over (Live) [1994]
  • Paranoid Android – Radiohead, OK Computer [1997]
  • Lyric Lickin – Del The Funky Homosapien, Future Development [1997]
  • Insomnia – Faithless, Insomnia [1995]
  • Raining in Baltimore – Counting Crows, Across a Wire: Live in New York City (Live) [1998]
  • Safe in New York City – AC/DC, Stiff Upper Lip [Deluxe Edition] [2000]
  • Scrappy – Wookie, Wookie (Deluxe Edition) [2000]
  • Marionette – Matthew Jonson [2004]
  • Intro – Nemesea, Pure: Live @ P3 (Remixed & Remastered) [2012]
  • Bass Solo – Nemesea, Pure: Live @ P3 (Remixed & Remastered) [2012]
  • Drum Solo – Nemesea, Pure: Live @ P3 (Remixed & Remastered) [2012]

The Rolls-Royce Phantom is handcrafted upon order in England and on sale now.

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2022 Lincoln Navigator Black Label gets new themes

The Navigator gets several updates for 2022, including new styling and tech.

Lincoln

The Lincoln Navigator was one of the first ultra-luxury SUVs when it launched over two decades ago, which helped kickstart the big-vehicle craze that still rages on today. Lincoln has continued improving the Navigator over the years to the point that it's now a rolling showcase of the latest and most impressive tech, staggering luxury features, and actual utility vehicle functionality. The vehicle was last fully overhauled in 2018, but the 2022 model picks up revised style, even more premium features, and new themes for the range-topping Navigator Black Label model.


2022 Lincoln Navigator Black Label is Lincoln's top trim offering, and is available in several of its vehicles. Lincoln


Lincoln introduced two new themes as part of the Navigator's Black Label offering for 2022. The Central Park theme features dark walnut open-pore wood trim, luxury leather in an exclusive Urban Green color, and an available Black Label-exclusive Manhattan Green Metallic paint color. The Invitation theme brings open-pore Khaya wood, Venetian luxury black leather, special interior lighting elements, and brandy-colored stitching. Both themes feature laser etching and other intricate detail work inside the vheicle.


2022 Lincoln Navigator The Navigator Black Label is offered with two new themes: Central Park and Invitation.Lincoln


Black Label launched in 2014 and is Lincoln's top-end end model offering. It's available in the Nautilus, Aviator, and Navigator, and brings several vehicle features and auxiliary services to Lincoln owners. Black Label vehicle features and services include:

  • Concierge access: The Lincoln concierge can schedule service or cleaning, answer vehicle questions, and help schedule dinners or other experiences. Black Label owners also get a complimentary dinner for two, which can be scheduled through the concierge.
  • Special airport and rental car services: Lincoln partnered with Avis to provide guaranteed rental car access, an exclusive and dedicated phone line for Black Label owners, and free rentals at select airports. Owners also get a membership to CLEAR, which offers expedited airport security passage and other perks.
  • Extended complimentary maintenance plan: Black Label owners receive four years of free maintenance. If the owner lives within 50 miles of a dealer, they will pick up and deliver the vehicle so that the owner does not need to leave home. Free car washes and annual detailing are also part of the deal.

We don't have pricing details for the 2022 Navigator yet, but we expect its price tag to be similar to that of the 2021 Black Label model, which started at around $100,000 after destination. Lincoln says that it will release more information closer to the Navigator's expected on-sale date early in 2022.


2022 Lincoln Navigator Black Label models feature a staggering level of attention to detail.Lincoln

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2016 Chevrolet Corvette transformed into the ultimate military tribute car

The engine bay is decorated with images of the American flag.

Photo courtesy of Karl Kustoms

A new customized 2016 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 pays tribute to members of the U.S. military. Karl Kustoms, a Chevrolet Performance retailer and custom shop, recently completed the build in partnership with Bad Boy Vettes. Nearly every panel of the Corvette has been modified to honor a military branch. Even the underside of the hood and engine bay have been artistically sprayed.

"It is a privilege to take on a custom project like this and use our skills to honor our nation's military," Clint Quesinberry, Digital Marketing Specialist. "This Memorial Day, we are proud to recognize those who served."

Karl Kustons US military 2016 Chevrolet Corvette The model started its life as a 2016 Chevy Corvette.Photo courtesy of Karl Kustoms

Unique features include detailed lettering of the words "Honor, Duty, Country", three words given an important place in military history after they were uttered by General Douglas MacArthur in 1962 at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point as part of his farewell address. There's also imagery of a U.S. Army helicopter firing at a Russian helicopter, a serviceman with a German Shepard, the U.S.S. Iowa battleship, and Arlington Cemetery stones with Medal of Honor recipients from each major conflict.

Karl Kustons US military 2016 Chevrolet Corvette Military imagery features throughout the body work.Photo courtesy of Karl Kustoms

The car was created as a full-time show car and is currently on display at the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It will remain there through the end of 2021 before traveling throughout the country at a variety of car events throughout 2022.

The customized Corvette is also a contender for the 2021 International Show Car Association (ISCA) Car of the Year.

Karl Kustons US military 2016 Chevrolet Corvette Imagery is featured on the body and under the hood.Photo courtesy of Karl Kustoms

"We did what we could to take this thing over the top," said Ed Birmingham, Karl Kustoms Painter. "I sat there for hours doing the detail work. I spent more time than I would normally spend on a hood, but it all paid off."

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