What does "burn up the town" mean?

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NewHopeR

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Context:
James - the Rolls-Royce. We'll burn up the town.

from City Lights
 
Drive very fast through/around the town.


Thanks.
Does "James - the Rolls-Royce" mean "James, to prepare my car - the Rolls-Royce"?
 
:up: But there's no 'to'.

And it's not clear from the context whether 'James' ia real person. There's a sort of joke - not exactly idiomatic, but certainly informal - that someone addresses a command to an unknown servant, with the words 'Home, James, and don't spare the horses - that is, drive quickly (horses are seldom if ever involved). Maybe it's a quotation from a Victorian melodrama - but it's quite common in Br Eng..

b
 
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