Counterfeit Rolls-Royces at the Moscow Victory Day Parade
Discussion
thewarlock said:
Knew one of you would have the info! Very interesting, cheers! So it is actually Russian. From what I have read, and the fact that Porsche were involved in a JV on the engine it would be reasonable to assume it is a respectful offering
The interior would appear to be a serious attempt at getting it right, after all it will be used to carry around other heads of state who are we assume familiar with Rolls-Royce's offering and the Russian's would not want to look foolish
But there is something lacking and I cant articulate what it is
The interior would appear to be a serious attempt at getting it right, after all it will be used to carry around other heads of state who are we assume familiar with Rolls-Royce's offering and the Russian's would not want to look foolish
But there is something lacking and I cant articulate what it is
selwonk said:
Numpty with honours said:
But there is something lacking and I cant articulate what it is
Class?It's like a lot of the Soviet automotive products of the 1950s-1970s: they weren't designed 'organically' to fulfil an actual need, but were the result of political committees, industrial planners and members of the politburo decreeing that the Soviet Union must have cars like the West, to show that the USSR is just as good, if not better, and that communism can provide people with personal transport as well. So you get stuff like the GAZ-21, Moskvitch 402, ZAZ 965 and the Chaika which were fairly straightforward cribs of the 1952 Ford, Opel P1 Rekord, Fiat 600 and the 1956 Packard respectively. They aren't even bad cars, necessarily - the Moskvitch and Volga especially turned out to be very strong, reliable and versatile machines - but they were largely imitations of existing cars imposed from above, not created from below.
When the Soviet motor industry did approach things wholly domestically, identifying a need and designing to fulfill that need, they produced stuff like the Lada Niva, which is probably the only Soviet car to be in any way cool or classy. Because it is authentic, not an idea imported to meet a political quota and so people could be seen to be driving cars 'just like they have in America'.
It's the same with all the Rolls-Royce imitations. If you properly think about it, there's very little that's classy or cool about a Rolls-Royce - that ridiculous Parthenon of a radiator grille, the sheer size of the things, the naff bonnet mascot, the 'ooo, look at me' self-righting wheel hubs and that's without mentioning all the daft interior options like a headlining trimmed with stars and the opportunity to have your signature engraved into the dashboard. If the current Phantom had come out of Russia, China or India it would rightly be regarded as an awful nouveau-riche mess. But Rolls-Royce can get away with it because it's what Rolls-Royce does and what it has always done. It's true to itself, which makes the sheer ridiculous excess of the things not only acceptable but strangely likeable.
But it doesn't work when other manufacturers try and do the same thing, and when they decide that the product has to look enough like a Rolls-Royce to be recognised as 'a very expensive and large high-quality motor car' but not enough to be stung with copyright and trademark infringements.
Frankly, it's all been downhill for Russia and Rolls-Royce since the 1920s. They should be using these:
Filibuster said:
Looking at knock off luxury limousines for the patriotic despot, I must say I prefer the Hongqi L5 to the Aurus Senate.
Also a 4 door convertible is better suited for parade duties (the Ruskies seem to like it as well):
I actually rather like that.Also a 4 door convertible is better suited for parade duties (the Ruskies seem to like it as well):
As to the Aurus or whatever the RR knockoff not having any class, I'd say that neither has a RR, they're just vulgar. So no class, just crass.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff