It's always nice to have good neighbors, especially if those neighbors happen to be ultra-premium automakers. The March CE Primary School is located just a few minutes' walk from Rolls-Royce headquarters, so when the children need some help with engineering projects, they have a world-class tutor to turn to. Last year, the two parties teamed up on a Rolls-Royce-badged electric go-kart, and this year they've come up with a more refined design named "March 2 Glory."
Whereas last year's March/Rolls go-kart was a cool but rather rough design with a bit of Rolls-Royce badging, the March 2 Glory looks like the type of Rolls-Royce go-kart you might expect to find in the annual Neiman Marcus Christmas Book. It's a mini Rolls racer with authentic luxury detailing.
The new racer is heavily influenced by the Phantom Drophead Coupé Waterspeed Collection, itself inspired by Rolls-Royce's racing heritage. The March 2 Glory wears the same Maggiore Blue paint and has an aluminum-effect bonnet and grille surround that recall the full-size convertible.
In true Rolls fashion, the elaborate design continues right through to the smallest details – a hand painted coach line runs along the sides; white stripes adorn the tires; and Phantom tan leather with Bespoke blue stitching wraps the single seat. The children even stitched their initials into the perforated leather backrest under the direction of Rolls' Leathershop apprentice team.
If you look closely, you'll notice one misplaced detail. The go-kart wears a "March Hare" mascot on its hood in place of the usual Spirit of Ecstasy figurine. The hare logo is also integrated into the coach line design.
In terms of engineering, Rolls-Royce called upon its apprentices to help the 10- and 11-year- olds create a track-ready race kart. The lightweight, hand-molded body panels are affixed to an aluminum space frame inspired by the undercarriage of the Phantom. A rear-wheel electric drive draws power from a 24-volt twin-battery system, propelling the go-kart to speeds up to 8 mph (13 km/h).
Rolls-Royce hopes that its work with the school inspires a student (or a few) to pursue a career in design or engineering. And if working on an authentic Rolls-Royce go-kart project can't inspire such dreams, we're not sure anything can.
Source: Rolls-Royce