Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio News.
Speaker 2: I'm Matt Miller and I'm Hannah Elliott and this is
Speaker 2: Hot Pursuit.
Speaker 1: And we have a very special guest today who you booked.
Speaker 1: Thank you very much, the new CEO of Rolls Royce.
Speaker 2: I'm excited.
Speaker 1: I'm very excited. I'm really excited. I mean, the outgoing CEO,
Speaker 1: Tryst Mueller Otfest was one of my favorite CEOs, and
Speaker 1: I mean I drove my first ghost with him ten
Speaker 1: years ago and he.
Speaker 2: Was an iconic class for sure.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so it'll be interesting to see how Chris Brownridge
Speaker 1: is going to follow up in those gigantic footsteps. But also,
Speaker 1: you are in Zurich.
Speaker 2: I'm in I'm reporting live and in living color from Zurich, Switzerland.
Speaker 1: Tell us about the car that you're there to drive,
Speaker 1: can you tell?
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, I can't tell you about driving impressions because
Speaker 2: that's under embargo. But I came to Switzerland to drive
Speaker 2: the new Bentley Continental GT and that is the V
Speaker 2: eight hybrid version. It's the first hybrid Continental that they've made.
Speaker 2: So I spent Saturday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday in onder Mott,
Speaker 2: which is an hour and a half from Zurich up
Speaker 2: in the mountains, driving all of those great passes that
Speaker 2: we've seen in you know, the James Bond movies and
Speaker 2: all of those iconic shots. So I was driving that
Speaker 2: V eight hybrid. It's got about seven hundred and seventy horsepower,
Speaker 2: give or take two hundred and eight miles. How much
Speaker 2: horsepower seven and seventy one gps louise urhp PHP. Yeah,
Speaker 2: so do the conversion. I'm always really bad at the conversion.
Speaker 1: But I don't care. It's a gigantic number.
Speaker 2: I mean, it's a big stomper and the great thing
Speaker 2: about it without talking about how it drives yet, because
Speaker 2: I'm not allowed, you can't tell that it's different from
Speaker 2: the previous versions. Because the easiest way to tell is
Speaker 2: the headlights now have this like they're calling it an eyelash.
Speaker 2: It's like a straight line that goes through the front
Speaker 2: headlights of it's like a light band, and it does
Speaker 2: look like an eyelash. It's almost feeline. And I'm a fan.
Speaker 2: I think it looks cool. I always like when companies
Speaker 2: give us something new that we can sort of easily see,
Speaker 2: oh this is the new thing, and you know, yeah,
Speaker 2: it's cool. I'm excited. I drove the first edition. There's
Speaker 2: sort of signature first edition and like colate gray. It's
Speaker 2: like la a very cool not a darker than a
Speaker 2: battleship gray, but very cool stort of Matt gray color.
Speaker 1: So so just as an aside, it doesn't really matter,
Speaker 1: but BHP is break horsepower, and in order to convert
Speaker 1: break horse power to like American horsepower, you have to
Speaker 1: multiply break horse power by a zero point nine to
Speaker 1: eight six three. So basically it is ninety eight point
Speaker 1: sixty three percent. A break horse power is ninety eight
Speaker 1: point sixty three percent of a regular horse power.
Speaker 2: It's like almost one to one, but it's exactly.
Speaker 1: So seven hundred and seventy one break horse power is
Speaker 1: seven hundred and sixty horse power. Obviously, thank you.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's good. Well, I mean this is good. We
Speaker 2: want to be sure to get our facts correct, so
Speaker 2: that's great. Zero to sixty is three point one seconds.
Speaker 2: I can share that, and yeah, the review will be
Speaker 2: out first week in October.
Speaker 1: So the torque number is always for me more exciting
Speaker 1: because I like twist and in a car like this,
Speaker 1: because it's not only a big inch V eight but
Speaker 1: also has an electric component. It probably has massive amounts
Speaker 1: of torque.
Speaker 2: I think, if I'm remembering right, it's seven hundred and
Speaker 2: thirty eight pound feet of torks, so that that'll do it. Yeah.
Speaker 2: The other thing that's really interesting about this time right
Speaker 2: now at Bentley is Bentley also has a new CEO,
Speaker 2: Frank Wallacer. I think we've talked about this briefly before.
Speaker 2: Frank was the head of motorsports at Porsche for a
Speaker 2: long time, so you know they I think, really it's
Speaker 2: obvious that Bentley is bringing somebody in who can give
Speaker 2: a little shot of adrenaline to the brand. You know,
Speaker 2: someone who's been in motorsport, who's used to developing real sporty,
Speaker 2: sporty vehicles. So I think hopefully that's what we can
Speaker 2: expect more of, and.
Speaker 1: We can we can talk more about this when Chris
Speaker 1: gets here. But I've always been fascinated by the relationship
Speaker 1: between Rolls Royce and Bentley because for a long time
Speaker 1: they were under the same.
Speaker 2: Roof company basically. Yeah, and yeah.
Speaker 1: You know, today I saw a guy on Fifth Avenue,
Speaker 1: some banker type of dude, getting out of a Continental
Speaker 1: and he I was thinking, oh, that's a sporty your
Speaker 1: guy then with one with who would drive a Rolls Royce,
Speaker 1: and that's like the image they want to project, right, yeah.
Speaker 2: I think so. I mean, it'll be interesting to talk
Speaker 2: to Chris about that, but yeah, definitely to my mind.
Speaker 2: You know, Rolls Royce is ultimate luxury very They've got
Speaker 2: the magic carpet, right, it's all about smooth and silent,
Speaker 2: and Bentley does have more of the sporty background. Of course,
Speaker 2: remember the Bentley Blowers and the guy the Bentley Bentley
Speaker 2: Boys racing one hundred years ago. So yeah, that it
Speaker 2: seems like a natural fit at Bentley, and I think
Speaker 2: Bentley can really occupy that space. They don't have to
Speaker 2: fight Rolls Royce on trying to get superior luxury. Bentley
Speaker 2: is a luxury brand, of course, but they can chip
Speaker 2: away more I think in the sporty world, the aggressive world,
Speaker 2: the world that might go up against Portsie or Aston
Speaker 2: Martin or Ferrari.
Speaker 1: So well, we'll talk about that with Chris. And then
Speaker 1: speaking of Portia, I actually I wrote you a letter
Speaker 1: about my time in the boxter in the Cayman.
Speaker 2: Was Dear Hannah.
Speaker 1: Well, no, I actually wrote you a whole letter. I
Speaker 1: don't know why. The other day, I got home after
Speaker 1: I had been driving it and we had just spoken,
Speaker 1: and I thought, you know, I don't like, I don't
Speaker 1: really write car reviews per se, and but I want
Speaker 1: to tell Hannah all of this stuff. So I wrote
Speaker 1: like dear Hannah on my phone, and I like, by
Speaker 1: the time I was done, I was waiting in line
Speaker 1: for like the seafood guy at the grocery store, and
Speaker 1: I had written like a thousand words already, So I
Speaker 1: was thinking, maybe I'll just shant Hanah this letter. Anyway,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna definitely post that up somewhere because I have
Speaker 1: so many thoughts about the Cayman and what it's like
Speaker 1: now versus what it used to be.
Speaker 2: Now you had the GTS, correct, yes, not four leaders
Speaker 2: four which which might actually be the smarter buy for me.
Speaker 1: It is right, I'm not a racetrack guy.
Speaker 2: Yeah for most people.
Speaker 1: Right. Well, I don't know my neighbor. You know, my
Speaker 1: buddy Eric, who has the bmw M four GTS. He
Speaker 1: likes a race car. He likes harsh suspension. You know,
Speaker 1: he wants to feel every pebble on the.
Speaker 2: Road every day, well for every day I took.
Speaker 1: I took out his car over the weekend and drove
Speaker 1: it for you know, forty five minutes, and that thing,
Speaker 1: my pulse like doubled instantly. I was like sweating, but
Speaker 1: I was also I was pushing. I was on the
Speaker 1: edge all the time. I was trying to break the
Speaker 1: tires free in turns. I was definitely looking out for
Speaker 1: cops like it. That car, that M four GTS, which
Speaker 1: is now it's a thing of the past, but it's
Speaker 1: like a race car and it makes you want to
Speaker 1: drive super fast all the time, whereas the Cayman the
Speaker 1: GTS four point zero.
Speaker 2: It.
Speaker 1: I like the sound when I put the gas down,
Speaker 1: so I do go faster in it. But it's not
Speaker 1: like I'm ripping it around corners hard, you know, right.
Speaker 2: Right, It's it's livable, I guess is what you're you're saying.
Speaker 1: Anyway, I was thinking I'm going to start a website.
Speaker 1: I don't know if the domain is available Dearhannah dot com,
Speaker 1: and then I'm just gonna start writing letters open letters
Speaker 1: to you and put it on the website, which will be.
Speaker 2: That's a really good idea.
Speaker 1: Yeah. The other thing is you're in Zurich, and I
Speaker 1: love Zurich. I spent many, you know, a decade of
Speaker 1: my life living in German speaking countries, and I would
Speaker 1: often go there for one reason or another. It's a
Speaker 1: great town for shopping.
Speaker 2: I love it. Oh, I have been shopping. I have been,
Speaker 2: uh to the store that you recommended.
Speaker 1: Is it vp e vmc vmc CMC.
Speaker 2: So I went there this morning with my husband and
Speaker 2: we had a great time. We didn't buy anything. I
Speaker 2: actually saw I in a very weird I don't know,
Speaker 2: it must be something I've been drinking. But I saw
Speaker 2: some very cool men's lows loafers there that I really
Speaker 2: wanted to get.
Speaker 1: I know, they had a lot of engineering engineer's boots
Speaker 1: and jeans.
Speaker 2: I'm not into that. I want to I want this
Speaker 2: pair of like perfectly brown, crushed up men's loafers. They
Speaker 2: did not have my size, apparently they don't make women's sizes,
Speaker 2: And and we did see some other cool things that
Speaker 2: we didn't want to spend the money on. It's expensive.
Speaker 2: Zurich's an expensive city, true, but very cool store and
Speaker 2: very friendly. Uh. A lot of a lot of people
Speaker 2: working in the shop. It was one of those situations
Speaker 2: where you're you're kind of the only one in there,
Speaker 2: and they're about twenty staff who are just kind of
Speaker 2: watching you.
Speaker 1: And were they all dressed up in there, because it's
Speaker 1: kind of costume ish, you know, if they're wearing all
Speaker 1: that style.
Speaker 2: I mean, it's more American than American, which is it's
Speaker 2: really funny because you know, you're walking around this europe
Speaker 2: this amazing European city, and then you go to the
Speaker 2: store and it's like it's more American than American. It's
Speaker 2: like Rob Lauren meets you know, Philson meets red Wing
Speaker 2: meets car cool. Very cool. Yeah, but I did buy
Speaker 2: some boots at another shop, which was great, and a
Speaker 2: few other little things. I really like it here. It's cool.
Speaker 2: It's cool.
Speaker 1: I'm a big fan. Also, by the way, the top
Speaker 1: income tax rate is fifteen percent. That's the most the
Speaker 1: government will take from your income is fifteen percent, which
Speaker 1: to me, that seems like a very fair amount.
Speaker 2: You know, yeah, well that could actually work because I've
Speaker 2: been told that apartment prices are pretty high here, so
Speaker 2: you know, I if I know that the tax, the tax,
Speaker 2: I may save money on the tax side of things.
Speaker 1: No, you won't because you're American, So unlike other countries,
Speaker 1: we America will tax you no matter where you earn
Speaker 1: your money. So they're following you and they're going to
Speaker 1: get their share. So whatever, you know, whatever amount is
Speaker 1: above and beyond that fifteen percent that you owe to
Speaker 1: the US, you still have to pay to the US.
Speaker 2: Yeah really, yeah? Is that how it was when you
Speaker 2: lived over here?
Speaker 1: Well, I lived in Germany, so the German tax rate
Speaker 1: is even higher than the American tax rate, although you
Speaker 1: get services for it in Germany, and so I didn't
Speaker 1: have to end up paying any US income tax because
Speaker 1: of the double taxation treaty.
Speaker 2: But okay, well that's good.
Speaker 1: It's still to me, it seems it seems unfair to
Speaker 1: take forty percent of someone's income. But if you get
Speaker 1: free healthcare and you have great job security and you
Speaker 1: know childcare.
Speaker 2: Yeah, well everything's clean. Everything. I can't believe. You know,
Speaker 2: all of the shops leave the watches and the jewels
Speaker 2: in the window overnight, you know, no gates pulled down.
Speaker 2: It's unbelievad. You would never see this even on rodeo drive.
Speaker 2: You know, they pull things out of the window and
Speaker 2: they close the gates and it's there's none of that.
Speaker 2: It's it's unblo It's like this little paradise. Yes, I
Speaker 2: was already planning my escape, pulling the rip cord and
Speaker 2: relocating to Zurich. But we also went to this that
Speaker 2: very cool bar cronin Hall. Was it? Which awesome? Now
Speaker 2: I don't need to go again to the restaurant. We
Speaker 2: ate dinner there and the food was not great, but
Speaker 2: it's it's one hundred year old restaurant. Fun to see.
Speaker 2: But the bar's cool, quiet, tiny, lots of woods, lots
Speaker 2: of heavy green and leather, and it was cool. I
Speaker 2: like it my kind of place.
Speaker 1: That sounds awesome. What about cars? Have you seen any?
Speaker 2: No? Not, have not seen. That's the one thing have
Speaker 2: not seen. I saw one sort of late model Jag
Speaker 2: from like two thousand. That's the oldest car I've seen.
Speaker 2: I saw one SOB nine hundred and literally nothing else.
Speaker 2: Uh there I did see.
Speaker 1: That's weird.
Speaker 2: That's it.
Speaker 1: I feel like, if it's a banking it's a banking capital.
Speaker 1: Like Europeans, how they.
Speaker 2: Spend their money?
Speaker 1: Yeah, maybe they take a lot of public transportation.
Speaker 2: I also know some a lot of these European cities
Speaker 2: have regulations about bringing you know, historic cars into city
Speaker 2: limits because of the emissions. So it may be that
Speaker 2: they aren't allowed, which is too bad because there's there
Speaker 2: is nary a one I've I've walked around this town
Speaker 2: for three days and seen nothing.
Speaker 1: Maybe they keep them in Germany because the other thing
Speaker 1: that Switzerland has is a speed limit. I don't think
Speaker 1: you're allowed to go faster than one hundred and thirty
Speaker 1: kilometers an hour on any of their highways, and of
Speaker 1: course as soon as it cross the border to the audience,
Speaker 1: and you can do that.
Speaker 2: On the Bentley Drive, I was warned repeatedly to be
Speaker 2: careful about speeding and the speed cameras, and I mean
Speaker 2: really the road determined your speed anyway, because those roads
Speaker 2: are so tightly wound you never really end up going fast.
Speaker 2: But yeah, pretty cool.
Speaker 1: All right, Well, I see Chris Brownbridge and his entrun
Speaker 1: really sam approaching, Yes, ideal? So all right, I'll go
Speaker 1: bring them into the studio and then we'll interview Chris.
Speaker 1: Why don't we start with just your background? How did
Speaker 1: you get into this, how did you grow up? What
Speaker 1: drives you to be in this world?
Speaker 3: Well, if I think if you'd asked anyone who knows
Speaker 3: me from being a child, what would he do when
Speaker 3: he's older. I think the word car would have featured.
Speaker 3: I was always fascinated by things with four wheels. There
Speaker 3: are lots of photographs of me in my little Doune
Speaker 3: buggy or at car museums. And as a child, I
Speaker 3: grew up in Hong Kong and I remember just seeing
Speaker 3: the Rolls Royces there this is in the nineteen seventies
Speaker 3: and eighties, and just being completely amazed by them. So
Speaker 3: I was fascinated by all things automotive, and I remember
Speaker 3: reading every car magazine because of course in those days
Speaker 3: there was no internet, so you got that week's magazine,
Speaker 3: a motor or autocar or car magazine to find out
Speaker 3: about what was happening. And I loved it. I always
Speaker 3: excited me. But I went to college and I studied economics,
Speaker 3: and when I left, I worked on a grad scheme
Speaker 3: for Rover Landrover Group, and I was based in Oxford,
Speaker 3: and it kind of that's where it started. So it's
Speaker 3: been an amazing journey.
Speaker 1: You went to Oxford, now I was.
Speaker 3: I went to Exeter at university, but my first job
Speaker 3: was in Oxford where the where the mini is built today,
Speaker 3: and that was in the early nineties and I remember
Speaker 3: walking through the plant and just loving it. I've always
Speaker 3: had a fascination with manufacturing and seeing how cars are
Speaker 3: built because it's like ballet. It's like mechanical ballet, and
Speaker 3: I find the whole logistics side of it fascinating. So
Speaker 3: for me to do what I'm doing now is really
Speaker 3: it's a great responsibility, but it's also a fascination for me.
Speaker 3: It's a genuine thrill.
Speaker 2: That's really cool to hear you describe something in the
Speaker 2: car world or the car world as mechanical ballet. I
Speaker 2: have never heard that expression, but it does make sense.
Speaker 2: I can see that, Yeah, it's.
Speaker 3: And this is looking at manufacturing in Oxford and so
Speaker 3: I've been in automotive now for thirty years and when
Speaker 3: I came to Goodwood, where the home of Rolls Rice is,
Speaker 3: it's completely different how they make the Moto cast there.
Speaker 3: It's a different sort of ballet.
Speaker 1: It's more dance.
Speaker 3: It's a different sort of dance. It's real craftsmanship. I
Speaker 3: was genuinely surprised in a very positive way about how
Speaker 3: much artistry and craftsmanship there is there, and that is
Speaker 3: one of my missions at Rolls Rice is to really
Speaker 3: show the talent of our people and the story of
Speaker 3: what really happens. I mean, many of our clients understand it,
Speaker 3: but I think there are many clients who may have
Speaker 3: seen it, and I think that's a real shame.
Speaker 1: I was actually just going over some video of you know,
Speaker 1: Rolls Royce production and he was like, oh, I want
Speaker 1: to do this, you know, piece of a woman who's
Speaker 1: stitching the Starry Night headliner, and I was thinking, that's
Speaker 1: something you don't You wouldn't see it any other auto manufacturer,
Speaker 1: even the high end ones just won't have that much
Speaker 1: hand work being done.
Speaker 3: No, I think what you see in Goodwood is special.
Speaker 3: There are genuine artists and crafts people at work. Just
Speaker 3: as a simple example, when you look at a manufacturing facility,
Speaker 3: the line would move every thirty seconds and the tasks
Speaker 3: performed are quite repetitive, and Rolls Rice it's more like
Speaker 3: thirty five minutes, and everyone who's working there has to
Speaker 3: be able to do thirty five minutes worth of work
Speaker 3: on everything that we make. So it takes such a
Speaker 3: long time to train people to stay at Rolls Rice
Speaker 3: and to be able to perform what they do but
Speaker 3: things like the Starlight headliner, which are handmade, are quite remarkable.
Speaker 3: But there are so many stories like that, and that
Speaker 3: was one of the great thrills or journey of discovery
Speaker 3: that I had when I started just finding out about
Speaker 3: what really happens.
Speaker 2: It's interesting to me because when we talk to you,
Speaker 2: and we talked to people at the factory, there really
Speaker 2: is a genuine sense of pride in the craftsmanship. And
Speaker 2: you know, there are multiple generations of people who have
Speaker 2: worked with the company doing these really old world trades
Speaker 2: and handcrafts, and in a way, it's there's a lot
Speaker 2: of humble dignity to it, which is different than the
Speaker 2: perception that people might have of Rolls Royce, which is,
Speaker 2: you know, very expensive, very ostentatious, very just to top
Speaker 2: of the line. You know, it's the Rolls Royce of whatever.
Speaker 2: So when you come into the company, obviously you've been
Speaker 2: at BMW for I think thirty years, how are you
Speaker 2: seeing that balance between what you know is true within
Speaker 2: the company of this very humble dignity and the perception
Speaker 2: which is that Rolls Royces are extremely expensive and unattainable.
Speaker 3: I think the people that work at Rolls Royce have
Speaker 3: a great passion because they love what they do. Many
Speaker 3: of their roles are unique and they are very passionate
Speaker 3: about Rolls Royce and it is a great opportunity to
Speaker 3: have a role. Whatever you do as part of Rolls Royce,
Speaker 3: your role is to deliver perfection and of course that's
Speaker 3: something you strive for every day. And I'll give you
Speaker 3: an example of how committed our employees are. The week
Speaker 3: before last I was really privileged to hand over awards
Speaker 3: to different employees for coming up with new ideas about
Speaker 3: how to make things better in our business. And last year,
Speaker 3: in the last twelve months, our employees of which we
Speaker 3: have twenty six hundred, came up with six thousand ideas
Speaker 3: about how we could improve how we produce our motor cars.
Speaker 3: And that's quite incredible. That shows that the one they're
Speaker 3: fascinated by it, passionate about it, and the ideas were
Speaker 3: so varied, but they all showed one thing in common,
Speaker 3: which is a passion to really excel at Rolls Royce.
Speaker 3: And one of the things that last night I was
Speaker 3: at an event with some of our clients and they
Speaker 3: often come to the home of Rolls Royce and they
Speaker 3: meet the people that make the motor cars, and that
Speaker 3: gives our team such a thrill because they love to
Speaker 3: see the appreciation of our clients. And I have to say,
Speaker 3: coming to Rolls Royce, one of the outstanding aspects of
Speaker 3: our business is that we strive to offer our clients
Speaker 3: the best possible experience and we interact with them daily,
Speaker 3: and that marks us out as real a house of
Speaker 3: luxury in terms of our clients talk to us, they
Speaker 3: talk directly to the people that make the cars, they
Speaker 3: talk to me, they talk to the design team, and
Speaker 3: that connection is something which our clients value greatly as well.
Speaker 3: So not only do our employees enjoy it, but also
Speaker 3: it's something that our clients get an awful lot of
Speaker 3: pleasure from. Two.
Speaker 1: It is just interesting though that I mean, it's another
Speaker 1: thing that separates I guess Rolls Royce employees from a
Speaker 1: typical car manufacture employee because working at BMW, anyone, even
Speaker 1: someone who's working on a line, could afford like to
Speaker 1: buy an M three right whereas I don't think you
Speaker 1: even have a Rolls Royce or do you have one.
Speaker 3: I have the privilege of having a Rolls Royce to use.
Speaker 1: But you don't have your own you didn't like already
Speaker 1: have a ghost to extended wheelbase before they hire deal.
Speaker 3: No, that is something I would love to have and
Speaker 3: not but I understand the point that you're making. But
Speaker 3: everyone who works at Rolls Royce is contributing to delivering
Speaker 3: something quite extraordinary every day and that's where their pride
Speaker 3: comes from.
Speaker 1: But it's like they're building a boat or a home,
Speaker 1: you know, it's different than someone who works on a
Speaker 1: car manufacturing line for the most part.
Speaker 3: Yes, absolutely, I mean I think the best way of
Speaker 3: describing it is that every Rolls Royce is a masterpiece.
Speaker 3: It's a work of art and it's highly bespoke for
Speaker 3: an individual client and the client gets a lot of
Speaker 3: pleasure from that and we get a lot of pleasure
Speaker 3: in creating that for our clients as well. So there's
Speaker 3: a huge bond. There's a huge bond between our people
Speaker 3: and our clients and what we do. It's really quite special.
Speaker 2: Chris, as the new guy coming in, where do you
Speaker 2: see the big growth opportunities for Rules Royce? I know
Speaker 2: it's astounding every time. You know, when I see the
Speaker 2: figure that the average age of your owner is like
Speaker 2: in the forties and the average price of a Rolls
Speaker 2: Royce is above five hundred thousand euros. Can these numbers
Speaker 2: continue to increase indefinitely? To your mind? And where's the
Speaker 2: growth coming from?
Speaker 3: Sure? So one of the keys to our success is
Speaker 3: to one rarity. And secondly, everything we make is a
Speaker 3: bespoke luxury good for our clients. Not just what we make,
Speaker 3: but the experience that we deliver. Our mission is ready
Speaker 3: to create value for our clients and also value for
Speaker 3: our shareholder, which is the BMW Group, and we'll do
Speaker 3: that through creating these masterpieces. So we don't measure our
Speaker 3: success in terms of how many. It's more what we
Speaker 3: do and what we achieve. And the trends that I'm
Speaker 3: seeing right now, our clients are really seeking more creativity
Speaker 3: and more connection with their Rolls Royce and more ambition
Speaker 3: in terms of how particular the car is for them.
Speaker 3: And that represents a great opportunity for creativity. And that's
Speaker 3: why we're opening our private offices, which we're just opening
Speaker 3: one in New York. And also it means that we
Speaker 3: have to change our business so that we've got more
Speaker 3: space and capacity for those projects. But that's where I
Speaker 3: see our opportunity for me it's really exciting to close
Speaker 3: the gap between what people perceive Rolls Royce to be
Speaker 3: and what it really really is, and also to be
Speaker 3: able to deliver those ambitious and highly creative projects for
Speaker 3: our clients. And there is really no limit to the possibilities,
Speaker 3: and that's quite thrilling when you think about it, And
Speaker 3: if you're someone who's got a real passion for all
Speaker 3: things automotive, it's quite a thrill to be leading that.
Speaker 1: So for you're not going to make you're not going
Speaker 1: to obviously be making more. You're not after volume in
Speaker 1: terms of Rolls Royce. I guess you sell like six
Speaker 1: or seven thousand, and that's the that's the limit. But
Speaker 1: you're going to make more complicated or more creative and
Speaker 1: probably higher price tags on those Rolls Royces.
Speaker 3: So in terms of the number that we make, we
Speaker 3: will only build a Rolls Royce if it's something that
Speaker 3: someone's asked us to build, and I think that's an
Speaker 3: absolute that underpins our success. Scarcity is very, very important.
Speaker 3: But I'm sure you would have seen some of the
Speaker 3: wonderful projects the team have delivered in our coach build
Speaker 3: motor cars, where that's probably the most extreme it's a
Speaker 3: sort of hope coture of automotive where we'll work with
Speaker 3: a client over a period as much as four years
Speaker 3: to create a genuine masterpiece and they will be involved
Speaker 3: in the whole process from start to finish the design
Speaker 3: of the car at a very profound level. And those
Speaker 3: projects are delivering something completely unique. It's a unique experience
Speaker 3: for our clients, it's a unique experience for our teams,
Speaker 3: and what we create is is almost a piece of
Speaker 3: history for Rolls Royce. So it's projects like that which
Speaker 3: I think are particularly fascinating for our business and certainly
Speaker 3: our goal will be to deliver more projects like that.
Speaker 2: What is the policy when a potential client would like
Speaker 2: to build something or suspect something that isn't necessarily in
Speaker 2: good taste, that may even that may even you know,
Speaker 2: like not reflect well on Rolls Royce. You know, how
Speaker 2: do you how do you gently take them by the
Speaker 2: hand and suggest an alternative or and or do you
Speaker 2: ever just say no?
Speaker 3: Sure, that's that's a great question. Ultimately, our business is
Speaker 3: client centric. We want to deliver a great experience for
Speaker 3: our clients in the whole process of engaging with Rolls
Speaker 3: Royce and also producing their motor car and the whole
Speaker 3: experience of being within what I call the Rolls Royce
Speaker 3: family and our clients tastes and preferences are very diverse.
Speaker 3: But of course what's suitable in one corner of the
Speaker 3: globe is very different to what's suitable in another. And
Speaker 3: I have to say, in the time I've been at
Speaker 3: Rolls Royce and I try and walk down the line
Speaker 3: at least two or three times a week, everything I've
Speaker 3: seen is I find in thralling. So I can't imagine
Speaker 3: a situation where a client would want to build something
Speaker 3: that we wouldn't want to build. And whilst it can
Speaker 3: be very diverse, I think that's what makes it very
Speaker 3: exciting as well. No two Rolls Royces are the same
Speaker 3: and that will always be the case.
Speaker 1: In terms of horsepower and torque, you know, this is
Speaker 1: something that everybody, every car maker, talks about when they
Speaker 1: come out with a product. Is it still a six
Speaker 1: point seventy five liter twelve cylinder engine?
Speaker 3: That's right. So our combustion engine is a V twelve
Speaker 3: and it's a six point seventy five liter engine with
Speaker 3: two turbo chargers, and that delivers a very strong engine.
Speaker 3: With incredible smoothness, refinement, but also talk. But also this
Speaker 3: year we've launched our first Rolls Royce which is using
Speaker 3: an electric powertrain with Spector, and this has been a
Speaker 3: great success for us because the silence of electrification with
Speaker 3: the huge power and refinement really makes a Rolls Royce
Speaker 3: even more like a Rolls Royce. And I was with
Speaker 3: some clients last night who have Specter and they were
Speaker 3: eulogizing about how thrilled they are about the way the
Speaker 3: car drives. And that excites me because as we move
Speaker 3: into different power trains, it shows for Rolls Royce, you know,
Speaker 3: we always have a perfect solution, which is great news
Speaker 3: for our clients.
Speaker 2: How has it been rolling out Specter this year when
Speaker 2: you know EV sales across the board have puled slightly
Speaker 2: and it seems like every auto maker is pivoting a wave,
Speaker 2: pivoting away or readjusting targets related to evs. You know,
Speaker 2: how has that been for Rolls Royce And what is
Speaker 2: your commitment now to electrification moving forward? Sure?
Speaker 3: Well, I'll start with our experience so far with Spector.
Speaker 3: So we launched the car this year and the level
Speaker 3: of demand has exceeded our expectations. What we know from
Speaker 3: our clients is that they are bowled over by the
Speaker 3: experience of the Rolls Royce Spector. It's a beautiful two
Speaker 3: door coupe, it has a drive train which is perfect
Speaker 3: for Rolls Royce, its performance is extraordinary, and also the
Speaker 3: motor car itself is extremely i would say, very beautiful
Speaker 3: and rich, a great palette for bespoke. So in terms
Speaker 3: of our experience with our clients, it's been extremely positive
Speaker 3: and all of the media coverage has said this is
Speaker 3: a perfect Ross Rice and that fills me with confidence
Speaker 3: because as the world moves to electrification, it means that
Speaker 3: we can offer a perfect solution for a Ross Rice. Now,
Speaker 3: how the speed of that change happens, it may vary
Speaker 3: depending on the circumstances in the different corners of the world.
Speaker 3: But what I can see is that for Ross Rice
Speaker 3: we have a great solution. It will always offer the
Speaker 3: right power train for our clients.
Speaker 1: I don't want to ruin our relationship having just met,
Speaker 1: but for me, it won't be perfect if I have
Speaker 1: to charge it up right, because there's so many situations
Speaker 1: I've been in where I can't find a charger or
Speaker 1: it's not charging fast enough. As Hannah knows, I'm a
Speaker 1: huge fan of the hype.
Speaker 2: We both been traumatized.
Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, Whereas you know, if I had a Specter,
Speaker 1: you know, that's a half a million dollar car, So
Speaker 1: I guess I would have someone charger for me. But
Speaker 1: I would love to have a hybrid. Do you have
Speaker 1: any plans for a hybrid power train? The V twelve
Speaker 1: is excellent, but yeah, I guess you could add some
Speaker 1: boost with a battery.
Speaker 3: Sure. I think with regards to charging, if we consider
Speaker 3: our clients, our clients typically have access to good charging solutions,
Speaker 3: and over time the charging network in different regions will
Speaker 3: mature as well, and so I think that's a barrier
Speaker 3: that will disappear. But what they are enjoying with Specter
Speaker 3: is the whole driving experience. So in terms of future
Speaker 3: powertrain options, what we'll never do is compromise for Ross Rice,
Speaker 3: And you know that's that's important to me that we
Speaker 3: don't compromise. What I wouldn't want to do is put
Speaker 3: in place a powertrain which doesn't deliver the values that
Speaker 3: you'd expect for Rolls Rice.
Speaker 2: How happy are you with the product mix at Rolls Royce?
Speaker 2: You know the Suv, the Sedans and the coup Is
Speaker 2: that a happy, happy product mixed for you? Or do
Speaker 2: you foresee any any new models being introduced?
Speaker 3: Well, I would. I would be reticent to give away
Speaker 3: our future product plans, although I am very excited.
Speaker 2: You can just tell us I don't worry.
Speaker 3: That's an enticing option, but I'll avoid that.
Speaker 1: Maybe in the television INTERVIEWEA, I'd save that. TV says
Speaker 1: I want to break news on my show and let's
Speaker 1: get into the cars that you.
Speaker 2: Wait, wait, wait, don't what I'm off the hook. He's
Speaker 2: going to answer, Oh, you're going.
Speaker 3: To tell us, of course, so if I One of
Speaker 3: the great things about Rolls Rice, one of the many
Speaker 3: great things is our manufacturing facility is completely flexible, so
Speaker 3: we can build whatever our clients want from us. And
Speaker 3: so you talked about am I happy with the mix
Speaker 3: of what we sell? Yes, I am, because it's what
Speaker 3: our clients want. But most recently we announced the series
Speaker 3: two of the Culin, which is a motorcar we launched
Speaker 3: in twenty eighteen. And normally with a motor car, you
Speaker 3: launch it, it grows and then over time that the demand drops.
Speaker 3: But with Cullen and it's grown every year, and it
Speaker 3: shows that this is a motor car that our clients
Speaker 3: really love because it's a real Rolls Royce, but also
Speaker 3: it's a Rolls Royce they can use every day. And
Speaker 3: so that's our most demanded product. But in terms of
Speaker 3: our other models that there's there's a pretty even demand
Speaker 3: across the range. But as I say, we can respond
Speaker 3: to any condition and that's one.
Speaker 1: Of our well and that's what I want to kind
Speaker 1: of focus on. Is the new private office that you've
Speaker 1: opened to here in New Yusk, Yes, because this gives
Speaker 1: you the ability to go deeper than even you would
Speaker 1: and say like a bespoke showroom. Sure, right, you can
Speaker 1: actually spend time working with clients who have I don't
Speaker 1: want to say demands, but needs that go beyond where
Speaker 1: typical manufacturer requirements a typical manufacturer can. So this is
Speaker 1: going to allow you to really do some serious customization.
Speaker 1: Is that right?
Speaker 3: Absolutely. What we've seen in the last few years is
Speaker 3: the level of demand from our clients for increasingly complicated
Speaker 3: and personal commissions is accelerating rapidly. And in order to
Speaker 3: do that, our dealer network do a fantastic job with
Speaker 3: our clients. But for some of our clients they need
Speaker 3: more than that, and so our dealers can work with
Speaker 3: our private office network, of which we're just opening one
Speaker 3: in New York and we'll open one in Seoul later
Speaker 3: this year. We already have Shanghai in Dubai, and there's
Speaker 3: one in Goodwood. And this is where a client can
Speaker 3: spend time with a member of the design team, so
Speaker 3: someone who can really find stretch the possibilities or break
Speaker 3: the rules, as I would say. And we know that
Speaker 3: this is an area where our clients really are fascinated
Speaker 3: and the opportunity to talk directly to the design team
Speaker 3: really opens up lots of new possibilities for them. But
Speaker 3: of course not every client can come to Goodwood. So
Speaker 3: what we thought we would do is bring Goodwood to
Speaker 3: New York. So we've effectively brought a little bit of
Speaker 3: the Rolls Royce home to a place where we know
Speaker 3: a lot of our clients are. So that's why we
Speaker 3: have the private office in New York, which we literally
Speaker 3: opening as we speak.
Speaker 2: You mentioned New York, Goodwood, saw and I think there
Speaker 2: was Dubai. Is it fair to assess that those are
Speaker 2: your biggest markets?
Speaker 1: And Shanghai did you see Shanghai as well.
Speaker 3: That's right, that's right. And so what we've done is
Speaker 3: we've opened these private offices. So we have a network
Speaker 3: of private offices, and we've opened them where there's a
Speaker 3: real concentration of our clients. And of course even in
Speaker 3: New York for some of our clients that's a drive
Speaker 3: or a short flight, but it's a lot easier to access,
Speaker 3: perhaps than Goodwood. But I think what we want to
Speaker 3: do is make sure that we can be close to
Speaker 3: our clients but also create a space where they can
Speaker 3: feel at home and really spend time exploring the possibilities
Speaker 3: of a bespoke Rolls Royce because the whole experience of
Speaker 3: going through that is something not to rush, because the
Speaker 3: possibilities are extraordinary. And that's why you may well have
Speaker 3: seen at the Quail this year we revealed a very
Speaker 3: special private collection car, and we produce these cars from
Speaker 3: time to time to showcase possibilities of bespoke, to show
Speaker 3: techniques or innovate new techniques. And typically these motor cars
Speaker 3: are they're sold before we talk about them, but that's
Speaker 3: not really the purpose. The purpose is really to inspire
Speaker 3: our clients as to what they could do for themselves
Speaker 3: and often they stimulate discussions and that's what these private
Speaker 3: offices are designed for.
Speaker 2: And these cars are seven figure cars, correct, what's.
Speaker 1: The most expensive one? I'll ask the vulgar question.
Speaker 3: Yeah, vulgar question. Well, as you will know, we never
Speaker 3: talk about the price of things, but obviously there are
Speaker 3: prices reported in the media. But for our clients, it's
Speaker 3: the experience and the uniqueness which they're fascinated by, and
Speaker 3: that's what we strive to be able to exceed their
Speaker 3: expectations on.
Speaker 2: He didn't say no. He didn't say no, I.
Speaker 1: Didn't say yes.
Speaker 2: Well, here's okay, So here's my follow up, two follow ups,
Speaker 2: And I don't know how we're doing with time, but
Speaker 2: I'm just going to dive in. How often are the
Speaker 2: people when they're creating these cars over two and three
Speaker 2: and four years. I have to imagine they're changing their
Speaker 2: minds all the time because everything changes in a month.
Speaker 2: So are you? Are you? Is it the type of
Speaker 2: thing where the longer you spend on a project, the
Speaker 2: longer it's going to take, simply because as time passes,
Speaker 2: people change what they want.
Speaker 3: Typically in these projects, the decisions do take quite a
Speaker 3: long time, and our clients are particularly discerning. I'll give
Speaker 3: an example. There was one client who he knew exactly
Speaker 3: what he wanted in terms of the color and the
Speaker 3: finish of the car, but in terms of the particular
Speaker 3: type of wood and the color of the woods on
Speaker 3: a large panel within the car. He lived with samples
Speaker 3: of wood in his office for six months before he
Speaker 3: said that's the one I want. And that's the joy
Speaker 3: of the process. It's a real profound and deep engagement
Speaker 3: with our clients and what comes out at the end
Speaker 3: of the process is something which is truly unique for them.
Speaker 3: It really is a work of art, and so it's
Speaker 3: not something we'd ever want to rush our clients on,
Speaker 3: but it's a collaborative process.
Speaker 1: Could you choose various hides. I'm a big fan of
Speaker 1: horse hide, which was common in the early twentieth century
Speaker 1: but no longer. Still I have jackets and boots made
Speaker 1: with it all the time. You have a famous leather
Speaker 1: supplier in Scotland, right, I think Hannah has written a
Speaker 1: piece about it, sure where, but that's cow leather, right.
Speaker 1: Could I say, listen, I want a horse hide interior.
Speaker 3: Well, I'm delighted to say that If that's what you
Speaker 3: wanted to have, we could discuss it, and I'm sure
Speaker 3: we could come up with a perfect project for you.
Speaker 3: In the history of Rolls Royce and what we produced today,
Speaker 3: the limits that there are no limits. So there are
Speaker 3: so many wonderful examples of where a client has come
Speaker 3: to us and said I want to have a motor
Speaker 3: car that celebrates this topic or something as a gift
Speaker 3: for my family or and our teams will then want
Speaker 3: to meet the client and talk to you, Matt, about
Speaker 3: your preference for a particular type of leather and then
Speaker 3: come up with different creative ideas. When I started at
Speaker 3: Rolls Royce, as part of my induction, I was going
Speaker 3: through the bespoke area and the team we're learning a
Speaker 3: particular technique using a very specialized type of guilt paint,
Speaker 3: and I asked them, what are you doing? Why is
Speaker 3: this a commission? They said, no, it's not a commission.
Speaker 3: But a client has asked about They've given us a
Speaker 3: brief and we think if we could learn to do this,
Speaker 3: we could do something really spectacular for them. And so
Speaker 3: the people that are involved in actually creating the motor
Speaker 3: car are involved in the design process as well, and
Speaker 3: I think that's really rather lovely. So in answer to
Speaker 3: your question, when you're ready to talk, we've got a
Speaker 3: wonderful private office in the meatpacking district and we would
Speaker 3: love to invite you there and we can talk about
Speaker 3: your special leather.
Speaker 2: Can anybody go just walk into the private office or
Speaker 2: do you have to make an appointment or do you
Speaker 2: have to like hope not.
Speaker 3: The private office is something that is in place that
Speaker 3: we offer our dealers to work with our clients to
Speaker 3: bring them there. So when one of our dealers as
Speaker 3: a client who's got a he knows has a more
Speaker 3: demanding commission, that's where that's how that engagement went.
Speaker 1: Not a showroom. You're not gonna have cars in the window.
Speaker 3: And no, we already have an amazing network of partners
Speaker 3: who've got fantastic facilities, and they already are able to
Speaker 3: work with our clients to put together their perfect Rolls Royces.
Speaker 3: But as I said, what we're finding is that more
Speaker 3: and more frequently clients are wanting to elevate that beyond
Speaker 3: the classical specification of a Rolls Royce. And that's when
Speaker 3: the dealer would work with us with the private office. Effectively,
Speaker 3: it's like a creative accelerator. It's like an outposting of
Speaker 3: Goodwood where we can really collaborate with the client to
Speaker 3: create exactly what they want.
Speaker 1: Now, can we talk about other cars? I have one
Speaker 1: more question relating Okay, Hannah's always breaking the news here.
Speaker 3: Okay, I feel like, yeah, let's hear it.
Speaker 2: Okay, my other question, and you know, I've been talking
Speaker 2: with other automakers talking about the upcoming election, and not
Speaker 2: just in the US. You know, India's got an election
Speaker 2: coming up. There are a lot of countries that have
Speaker 2: within the next year or two big elections. How closely
Speaker 2: are your clients watching the US election and possibly, you know,
Speaker 2: waiting to see how it goes before they decide to
Speaker 2: put money down on a car. You know, are your
Speaker 2: clients really taking into account this uncertainty or does it
Speaker 2: not necessarily affect their buying thought process?
Speaker 3: Well, that's a great question, and it's one that I
Speaker 3: can't really answer it because I mean, every client is
Speaker 3: so different and I'm sure they'll have different considerations. But certainly,
Speaker 3: what we're seeing right now, particularly in North America, is
Speaker 3: that there's a really strong demand for Rolls Royce and
Speaker 3: also there's a strengthening demand for these bespoke projects. So
Speaker 3: based on what I can see, I don't see any
Speaker 3: holding off. But it's very hard for me to tell.
Speaker 2: I was just going to say, you know, money aside,
Speaker 2: it's an appearance thing, it's a tone thing, you know. Sure,
Speaker 2: My sense too is maybe people think, well, it wouldn't
Speaker 2: be correct for me to be seen purchasing this new
Speaker 2: lovely vehicle potentially in an unstable or uncertain time.
Speaker 3: I guess from our perspective in terms of the demand
Speaker 3: that we're seeing, it's matching our expectations. So we're not
Speaker 3: seeing any clear evidence of that. And going back to
Speaker 3: your question about China, what we're seeing in the environment
Speaker 3: in China is tougher at the moment. Although Ross Royce
Speaker 3: is a business which it's a global it's a very
Speaker 3: famous brand and we have clients all over the world
Speaker 3: and there's always there's ups and downs and all re
Speaker 3: of the world. And the great news is our business
Speaker 3: is very evenly spread, so we're feeling very resilient at
Speaker 3: the moment and our business is in a very strong position.
Speaker 3: So you know, we see China as a strategically important
Speaker 3: region for us, and you know, we'll continue to invest there.
Speaker 3: We've opened a private office there and we're seeing some
Speaker 3: fantastic commissions coming through our clients as well some really
Speaker 3: very creative requests. So yeah, I think that, As I say,
Speaker 3: there were always ups and downs, but that's the beauty
Speaker 3: of the Rolls Royce businesses, and we respond to our
Speaker 3: clients their demand and also with our amazing flexible production facility.
Speaker 1: You can't tell us about the weirdest request you've gotten, Kenny.
Speaker 3: I can't. I can't think of a weird request.
Speaker 1: But as no one ever said, like I want leopard
Speaker 1: skin on the seeds.
Speaker 3: It's not unusual for a client to say, look, I
Speaker 3: want you to match the color of my dog's eyes,
Speaker 3: or here's a piece of clothing. I want the car
Speaker 3: to be this color. And that's the wonderful thing. That's
Speaker 3: what really excites our team is that these requests, but
Speaker 3: being able to not only meet the expectation of the client,
Speaker 3: but also exceed it. That's what really thrills us. And
Speaker 3: based on the feedback that I've had the privilege of
Speaker 3: receiving from our clients, we do it every day.
Speaker 1: Everybody always gets one or two colors on the exterior.
Speaker 1: Have you ever had anyone say I want you to
Speaker 1: paint like Michaelangelo's whatever on the exterior of the car.
Speaker 3: We've had and we have delivered the most extraordinary commissions
Speaker 3: for our clients, not just different colors, but different finishes
Speaker 3: or examples of cars which depict imagery. And there's no
Speaker 3: limit to the possibilities of our exterior surface team. They
Speaker 3: can do anything, and that's amazing. You see the most
Speaker 3: fabulous creations coming down our production line in Goodwood.
Speaker 1: We kind of done this backwards because I want to
Speaker 1: go back to your experience in college and you mentioned
Speaker 1: Mini's and what you started to drive, and then you've
Speaker 1: what you've got to drive at BMW. Imagine you've had
Speaker 1: some awesome cars.
Speaker 3: Yes, as I said, As I said, I've always loved
Speaker 3: cars from an early age.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 3: My first car was a Mini which I bought, which
Speaker 3: had holes in the floor and I restored it and.
Speaker 1: I've all an original Mini.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it was a nineteen seventy eight Mini. It was
Speaker 3: two hundred and fifty pounds. It was a magnificent It
Speaker 3: was well, it was black, but it became red with
Speaker 3: the white roof. Of course, but I've always loved motor cars,
Speaker 3: and I've had the privilege in the many roles I've
Speaker 3: had of driving all sorts of them, and I have
Speaker 3: a real passion for them, whether they're old or new.
Speaker 3: You know, I enjoy Rolls Royce's. I love the heritage
Speaker 3: of Rolls Royce. The other weekend I was at the
Speaker 3: Goodwood Revival, which is a wonderful event, and I had
Speaker 3: the experience of going around in the course car, which
Speaker 3: was a nineteen sixty one Silver Cloud marked to open top,
Speaker 3: four door saloon and it was the most beautiful motor car.
Speaker 3: And it's cars like that that I just I just
Speaker 3: love the craftsmanship and the storytelling and the design behind them.
Speaker 3: So yeah, I've always had a great passion.
Speaker 1: For Hannah has a couple of Rolls Royces.
Speaker 3: Yes, I know, I know some fabulous cars.
Speaker 2: How's it. I've got a couple, and I've got my
Speaker 2: eye on a couple more. It's really starting to be
Speaker 2: a sickness because I already I love them. I think
Speaker 2: they're so they make you feel like a million bucks.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think there's the experience of riding in a
Speaker 3: Rolls Royce is it makes the journey the event itself.
Speaker 3: And that's what makes them.
Speaker 1: Which ones do you have, Hannah? I have Magne Silver.
Speaker 2: I well, I personally have a Silver Shadow nineteen seventy
Speaker 2: five long wheelbase in olive green, and then Magnus as
Speaker 2: a two door Shadow Coop nineteen sixty nine park war
Speaker 2: Pot war Lovely exactly. And then we just got a
Speaker 2: Silver Spur which is the long wheelbase two of the
Speaker 2: Silver Spirit. I believe you have Spirit, I remember and
Speaker 2: eighty five. So that's the current that's the current match.
Speaker 2: And then of course we have our eye on some
Speaker 2: Camargs and you know a couple other random ones.
Speaker 1: I like that.
Speaker 3: I like the beautiful cars and that's the wonderful thing
Speaker 3: that there's such great heritage with Rolls Royce from the
Speaker 3: very early cars through to the more modern cars. For me,
Speaker 3: the two door Phantom Coupe, I think that's an absolutely
Speaker 3: beautiful car. So yeah, I mean that, and that's another
Speaker 3: thrill for me. So whilst this is a business and
Speaker 3: our job is to create value for our clients and
Speaker 3: our shareholder and be consistent with the Rolls Royce brand,
Speaker 3: it's a passion for me as well. I absolutely love
Speaker 3: working at Rolls Rice and with working with the people
Speaker 3: that I work with.
Speaker 1: You know, I've always I've always wanted to buy a
Speaker 1: Bentley from kind of the Rolls Royce era, and or
Speaker 1: I'd be happy also with the Rolls Royce in the
Speaker 1: same era. I'm worried about the maintenance costs, right, Hannah
Speaker 1: always tells me not to worry about it. You haven't
Speaker 1: any right, no, real, No, you never had a twenty
Speaker 1: five thousand dollars surprise.
Speaker 2: Knock on wood. No. I mean, look there there's that
Speaker 2: famous saying there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Rolls Royce,
Speaker 2: and that's probably not without some truth behind it. But
Speaker 2: knock on Wood, I drive mine almost every day to
Speaker 2: the office.
Speaker 3: I think it's time. I think it's time, And so
Speaker 3: why didn't you do that now? And then come to
Speaker 3: the private office and we can talk about the Horsehall
Speaker 3: leather and we can you.
Speaker 1: Know, a new one. I'm talking about getting a Commard
Speaker 1: that's more mine, that's more my speed. All right, let's
Speaker 1: get to BMW's because you must have had some awesome
Speaker 1: cars from that experience. And I know a lot of
Speaker 1: guys who weren't there, and they are car nuts, and
Speaker 1: a lot of them motorcyclists as well. So what have
Speaker 1: been your favorite other brand of cars that you've that
Speaker 1: you've had the privilege to drive.
Speaker 3: Well, I've had the real privilege of driving pretty much everything.
Speaker 3: And in previous life, you know, I was working in
Speaker 3: product strategy for BMW. That was another great time in
Speaker 3: my career where it's just fascinating when you're involved in
Speaker 3: a product project. And that's what I love about my
Speaker 3: role today and rolls Roy last week I was in
Speaker 3: the design studio working on the design of a future car,
Speaker 3: and then I'm working on the plant extension and then
Speaker 3: I'm working on the interior with the team, and it's
Speaker 3: just it's just so fascinating. So could I name a
Speaker 3: particular car, No, But what I can say is the
Speaker 3: cars that I remember are those that give you the
Speaker 3: experience that is special. So it's how it drives or
Speaker 3: how it makes you feel when you drive it. You know,
Speaker 3: in my garage at home, I have a nineteen fifties MGA,
Speaker 3: which is just a beautiful design and when you drive it,
Speaker 3: it's just a wonderful thing. And also the reaction you
Speaker 3: get when you drive a motorcar like that is great.
Speaker 3: And so there isn't one that stands out, probably because
Speaker 3: there are so many standout moments. But for me, it's
Speaker 3: the experience, the experience of the different cars of different eras.
Speaker 1: We're not going to get into talk about like a
Speaker 1: three point oher CSL or or the cars.
Speaker 3: Well, I mean I've driven them all and had them all,
Speaker 3: and they're just fantastic cars. I remember, you know, when
Speaker 3: I was, when I was how old was I maybe
Speaker 3: maybe twenty eight? I had my company car was an
Speaker 3: E forty six M three.
Speaker 1: Manual love it, you know, and I love it.
Speaker 3: I mean, you know you look back and think, God,
Speaker 3: that was that was I mean, the car was cool.
Speaker 1: Maybe it's the best generation. Well it was a.
Speaker 3: Wonderful you know, individual throttle, butterflies, fantastic engine and it
Speaker 3: was just what's wonderful? And you know, my favorite car
Speaker 3: in my previous job was always an M five Competition
Speaker 3: because that was the everything car. It was, it was your,
Speaker 3: it was it was a family car. It was it
Speaker 3: was thrilling to drive and it did everything. And you know,
Speaker 3: so yeah, as I say, I can love anything with
Speaker 3: four wheels, as missus brown Ridge will tell you.
Speaker 2: And I don't hear you saying it has to have
Speaker 2: a manual transmission.
Speaker 3: Well, it depends on that anything. Yeah, it depends on
Speaker 3: the motor car. I think that for me, the ground
Speaker 3: other experience of a manual transmission, if it particularly was a
Speaker 3: sporting car, it really suits it. But for example, the
Speaker 3: Silver Cloud too that I went round the Goodwood circuit
Speaker 3: on recently, that I could not believe the silky smoothness.
Speaker 3: The engine was silent and the gearbox was so smooth.
Speaker 3: It really was remarkable. Maybe we'll go back to the
Speaker 3: internet and spend far too log looking to think, oh,
Speaker 3: maybe I could fit one of those in my garage,
Speaker 3: because they have such magnificent things. It's the engineering that
Speaker 3: also fascinates me, how well those things were done, and
Speaker 3: the design details, like the rear windows of that car,
Speaker 3: because it's a convertible but with the four doors, when
Speaker 3: the glass goes down, it actually folds forwards into the door.
Speaker 3: It's just so when you see it happen for the
Speaker 3: first time, it really surprises you. So it's all those
Speaker 3: small details that I love.
Speaker 1: By the way, so I've always loved the ghost As
Speaker 1: I said, I drove on a tourist in twenty fourteen
Speaker 1: and was my favorite car for I mean, it is
Speaker 1: still probably my favorite car of all time in Is
Speaker 1: it possible if I came down to the Private Office
Speaker 1: and I said, I'll give you guys a million bucks
Speaker 1: if you'll put a manual transmission in this car. Is
Speaker 1: that kind of thing even possible or is that going
Speaker 1: too far?
Speaker 3: Well, well, nothing's ever going too far. No one's ever
Speaker 3: asked that question either. I don't know what crazy I
Speaker 3: think if you think about the typical Rolls Royce experience,
Speaker 3: a manual transmission, maybe something which is quite unusual. But
Speaker 3: so I don't know whether we we we would do that.
Speaker 3: But when do we have our appointment we can discuss it.
Speaker 1: Okay, all right, I'm going to go down there, all right, Chris,
Speaker 1: great spending some time with you. Thanks so much for
Speaker 1: joining us so much.
Speaker 3: Oh it's great. Great to see you too as well.
Speaker 1: All right, So that was Chris Brownridge, very very on brand.
Speaker 1: Did you notice that I was trying to get him
Speaker 1: to talk about other brands and he was like, well,
Speaker 1: very focused.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, he knows his duty.
Speaker 1: Which is how it's supposed to be. I'm actually going
Speaker 1: to go down to the check out the Private office
Speaker 1: tomorrow because they have like an event.
Speaker 2: Oh good, well, we're going to want a full report
Speaker 2: when you get back.
Speaker 1: I'll be ordering a car obviously.
Speaker 2: Well that's what you say. Now.
Speaker 1: By the way, we had some really good emails, so
Speaker 1: I want to go through a couple of them. If
Speaker 1: you want to write to us, you can email us
Speaker 1: at a hot Pursuit at Bloomberg dot net. And many
Speaker 1: people do.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And we do see and read and respond to
Speaker 2: your emails as best we can.
Speaker 1: Well, and we had one guy who wrote in and
Speaker 1: was talking about some of the cool cars that he's
Speaker 1: had throughout his life. He had had Rolls Royce Bentley
Speaker 1: to cloud conversion, which I think is fascinating.
Speaker 2: I've been in the mountains, I haven't you haven't checked it.
Speaker 2: Email a few days.
Speaker 1: He had some awesome cars, So starting with nineteen seventy
Speaker 1: two Camaro SS three fifty, which already like you had
Speaker 1: me at Camaro. And then he had a Rolls Royce,
Speaker 1: a Bentley to Cloud conversion shipped over from England. He
Speaker 1: had a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow. He had a BMW
Speaker 1: two thousand and two. My dad had a two thousand
Speaker 1: and two. A couple of Thunderbirds, Mustang California Convertible, a
Speaker 1: VW Camper, a few Pooh shows. Anyway, he's now he's
Speaker 1: looking for a new Also, he's a dead head. So
Speaker 1: I feel like I really have to do something for
Speaker 1: this guy.
Speaker 2: This is a very eclectic person.
Speaker 1: He wants a car that he can drive around the
Speaker 1: California highways without worrying about stuff, and he's interested in
Speaker 1: the super crew's functionality that Cadillac has. And I happen
Speaker 1: to be driving as as we mentioned last week, a
Speaker 1: CT five Premium Luxury, which I'm going to pick up
Speaker 1: this evening at your service, and so I'm gonna drive
Speaker 1: it around and report back to Andrew who wrote in
Speaker 1: and a thank you for your email. B You've had
Speaker 1: some amazing cars, and see, I can't wait to do
Speaker 1: this little deed for you.
Speaker 2: You just here. We're here to serve.
Speaker 1: We do what we can, right Yeah. So that one.
Speaker 1: The other thing is I got an email, by the way,
Speaker 1: Polaris invited me to the Baja one thousand to embed
Speaker 1: with the Polaris Factory racing team and get an inside
Speaker 1: look at the preparation it takes to compete.
Speaker 2: That would be very fun for you.
Speaker 1: That would be bucket list, right, I've never been to
Speaker 1: one of those big races.
Speaker 2: I think you've got to get out of this whole
Speaker 2: TV commitment thing. I think it's really putting a it's
Speaker 2: really on your car life. Because this whole TV side
Speaker 2: job that you have, I don't know why you even bother. Yeah,
Speaker 2: that's the putting on your travel schedule.
Speaker 1: I can't leave the studio. Also, I can't leave my
Speaker 1: wife at home with these two new babies.
Speaker 2: Like, yeah, I hope really that she gets a trip
Speaker 2: by herself, like.
Speaker 1: She sent her. I should send her to the Baja
Speaker 1: one thousand.
Speaker 2: Does she want to do that?
Speaker 1: I don't think so. Maybe she's a huge fan. No, No,
Speaker 1: if I told her she could go to the Moto GP,
Speaker 1: she would be out.
Speaker 2: He may like to go to the Rebel Rally, which
Speaker 2: is the you know, ten day rally through Death Valley.
Speaker 2: That's also a great one coming up in October.
Speaker 1: All right, I'll ask her about that. We got an
Speaker 1: email from somebody who was listening about the clips. So
Speaker 1: clips is the sound system that was in the Infinity
Speaker 1: QXAD that I was amazing love. It was very good
Speaker 1: and I expected no less because when I was a kid,
Speaker 1: my friend his dad had these Clipsch reference speakers that
Speaker 1: were insane. Someone wrote and I cause, I guess I
Speaker 1: said it was a German company. I assume clipsch KLi psch.
Speaker 1: He says, no, it's an American company founded in Hope, Arkansas.
Speaker 1: The founder was Paul Clips. Paul W. Clips.
Speaker 2: Okay, okay, well duly noted and thank you, thank you
Speaker 2: for the email. This is great to know.
Speaker 1: Yeah, the email address is hot Pursuit at Bloomberg dot net.
Speaker 1: Shoot us an email and will a lot. I get
Speaker 1: a lot of emails, Hannah that are like bat links, like, hey,
Speaker 1: check out this auction.
Speaker 2: Is that why you send me that terrible one today? Yes,
Speaker 2: before you pass it on from something somebody else, I'd sin, yeah,
Speaker 2: because I like what I mean. It's it's I'm trying
Speaker 2: to enjoy a quiet cocktail and a lovely James Bond
Speaker 2: style Zuric bar, and I'm getting a text about something
Speaker 2: on bring a trailer, and I'm like, what is this?
Speaker 1: It's a Factory five Mark four Cobra that's been converted
Speaker 1: to electric, which is already I feel like it's a sin,
Speaker 1: but everybody in the comments is saying like this is
Speaker 1: what cobras are all about, lightweight and high performance. But
Speaker 1: also it has a five speed tremic. I don't understand
Speaker 1: how that works. Like I would definitely want somebody email
Speaker 1: me if you know how an electric converted car works
Speaker 1: through a five speed tremic manual transmission. Please explain how
Speaker 1: that's going to work.
Speaker 2: Can you see my eye won't go up anymore? Yeah,
Speaker 2: they are for house skeptical. I am.
Speaker 1: It sounds pretty bad, but I'm glad it's a manual.
Speaker 2: But we love the links. I mean, thanks for letting
Speaker 2: us know.
Speaker 1: Yes, we love the link. And Peter, by the way,
Speaker 1: regular listener messaged just about a Volvo Wagon, huge fan.
Speaker 1: That was my first car ever in nineteen eighty four,
Speaker 1: baby blue Volvo to forty d L. But this wagon
Speaker 1: is a manual with one hundred and seventy thousand miles
Speaker 1: and it's sold for twenty grand.
Speaker 2: That's a pretty high provov a manual Volvo Wagon.
Speaker 1: A nineteen ninety two to forty wagon.
Speaker 2: Yeah, for twenty grand. On bring a trailer.
Speaker 1: It looks nice.
Speaker 2: I mean, it's actually more than I would have anticipated.
Speaker 1: Yeah, me too, me too, it's it's I think a
Speaker 1: hot car. The wheels, it looks like it has bbs rims.
Speaker 2: If I would have used the word hot to describe
Speaker 2: a Volva wagon. But know, some people like dad bods,
Speaker 2: some people like Wolba wagons. Start. I mean, I'm not
Speaker 2: gonna I'm not gonna come down on your kink at all.
Speaker 1: Wow. All right, So definitely shoot us an email if
Speaker 1: you have any ideas or if you want to point
Speaker 1: out any interesting vehicles. Hannah, what are your plans now?
Speaker 1: Are you going to stay in Zurich? Are you not
Speaker 1: coming back?
Speaker 2: I'm not coming back. I'm sending for the dog and
Speaker 2: I'll be residing here now by the lake. Actually, i'll
Speaker 2: be back in La on Thursday. I did take a
Speaker 2: couple days off of off for a little little holiday
Speaker 2: since i've been here, so I'll be back in La
Speaker 2: grinding away on Thursday. And yeah, I think I've got
Speaker 2: some cars coming up that we can talk about to drive.
Speaker 2: But yeah, I'm getting on a plane tomorrow.
Speaker 1: What about you, Well, I have my brother's bachelor party
Speaker 1: this weekend, so I'll be driving the Cadillac up there,
Speaker 1: which is a good reason for me to use super
Speaker 1: crews because we're gonna go up to the Gunks in
Speaker 1: New Paultz. We're going to do some climbing for a day.
Speaker 1: Then we're going to go out to dinner rock climbing. Yeah,
Speaker 1: rock climbing, okay, but bachelor party style rock climbing. Uh,
Speaker 1: dinner for dinner for the boys in Rhinebeck. And then
Speaker 1: we're going to go shooting at Sandanona, which is the
Speaker 1: oldest shooting preserve in America in Millbrook, New York. Wow,
Speaker 1: that'll be fun, a good sporting bachelor party with.
Speaker 2: How many of you are going?
Speaker 1: Five guys?
Speaker 2: Okay, that's cool. That's a small group. It's manageable. Yeah,
Speaker 2: we hope you come back in one piece.
Speaker 1: So I guess that's it then for us today.
Speaker 2: Huh. Fun, that was a good one.
Speaker 1: I'm glad you got me the great guests for my
Speaker 1: show tomorrow and we were able to. Now we're going
Speaker 1: to go down and buy.
Speaker 2: A Rolls Royce, so can't wait to see what you
Speaker 2: pick out.
Speaker 1: Join us again, same time, same place next week. I'm
Speaker 1: Matt Miller and
Speaker 2: I'm Hannah Elliott, and this is Bloomberg