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For most adults, driving is a plain, tedious task. However, for kids, it is something that brings so much thrill and excitement. This is what happens at St. Richard’s Hospital Pediatric Day Surgery Unit in Chichester, West Sussex, England where young patients are getting to drive and whizz down the corridors of the hospital in an actual Rolls-Royce.
Just recently, the British luxury automaker has rolled out the Rolls-Royce SRH, which was named for St. Richard’s Hospital. This child-sized luxury vehicle for kids is designed to drive through pediatric corridors marked with traffic signs, arriving at the operating theater where they will undergo surgery.
The hospital has been enabling kids to drive themselves to surgery for years as a way to reduce the stress and fear surrounding operations. When the miniature Jeep they had been using started to wear out recently, the Love Your Hospital Charity requested Rolls-Royce to create a replacement. Granting the request, the automaker, also based in Chichester, developed a sleek blue and white electric car with red interior, which is capable of going from 0-10 mph in just seconds. It is powered by a 24-volt gel battery that delivers a smooth, quiet ride contending with the company's V12 engines.
Rolls-Royce is utilizing 3D printing in the manufacture of their full-size vehicles, and the SRH is not an exception wherein the paddle controls and the Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament are 3D printed. The Bespoke Manufacturing team of the company spent more than 400 hours of their own time designing the car.
Pediatric unit patients Molly Matthews and Hari Rajyaguru took the Rolls-Royce SRH for its first test drives and arrived at the automaker's Goodwood design studio to put the car through its paces for an ultimate inspection and validation before it was handed over to the hospital. The two then went back home with their families in full-sized, chauffeured Rolls-Royce Ghosts. Their stamp of approval has authorized the SRH to be in full operation, enabling young patients to drive to surgery in style rather than being in a wheel chair.
According to Sue Nicholls, Pediatric Matron at Western Sussex Hospitals NSH Foundation Trust, it is wonderful to see a smiley face on the way to theater rather than an apprehensive one, and everyone caring for children at St Richard’s is so thankful to Rolls-Royce for this exceptional donation. “We know boys and girls alike will love driving it and in the coming years it will help turn a daunting experience into a more fun and enjoyable one for hundreds and hundreds of children.”
Source: https://3dprint.com/167030/rolls-royce-3d-printed-srh-car/
