Rolling towards a greener future
IT seems fair to say that Rolls-Royce owners are not eco warriors. So when Rolls-Royce Motor Cars said they were building a prototype electric Rolls-Royce Phantom – called the 102EX or Phantom Experimental Electric (EE) – mine were not the only eyebrows raised. But at the very least the concept is intriguing. Why would Rolls-Royce build an electric version of the world’s most luxurious car?
Well, according to the spokesman from RR, it has no real interest in being seen to be green. For Rolls-Royce it is business sustainability they’re worried about. The company wants to know what alternative powertrains its customers would be interested in when the petrol’s run out or when driving a roller becomes so ostentatious that too few people choose to do it (whichever comes sooner). Thus it’s built the 102EX to find out.
You wouldn’t think a Rolls-Royce would be well suited to electric propulsion, yet actually it’s very good. Instead of the 6.75-litre V12 engine, there’s a massive stack of batteries under the hood and two electric motors driving the rear wheels. With no gear changes to interrupt acceleration it’s very impressive. Though not as quick as a regular Phantom, the 388bhp 102EX surges forward, (near-)silently and effortlessly.
Outside, the 102EX looks pretty much like a regular Phantom except for a few details. Check out the red double-R 102EX badge on its flanks (red indicates experimental), the glowing blue Makrolon Spirit of Ecstasy emblem which sits atop the radiator grille and that unusual iridescent and eerily wet-looking paint job. Thanks to its minuscule ceramic nano particles, the car looks as if it’s shimmering.
Inside, Rolls-Royce’s designers have taken the usual, traditional conservative interior materials and shaken them up a bit. The armrests, seats and even the floor are trimmed in an earthy, chestnut, vegetable-tanned, natural-looking Corinova leather and some wood – that usually trims the dash – has been replaced with aluminised foil weave. Even the wood veneers are experimental and have unique grains and patterns. The effect is stunning. Although I find the leather floor so unsettling that I almost ask if I should take my shoes off.
Cleverly, the 102EX’s batteries can be charged by induction charging in eight hours. This means you can charge the 102EX without actually plugging it into the wall. Instead you can park it over a charging plate installed in the garage floor. A special Bluetooth system helps the driver know whether they’ve lined the car up properly with the charging station by way of dashboard lighting. This means that no ugly cables have to be attached to such a beautiful car. That said, without the charging plate the car can be plugged into the wall. But doing so takes 20 hours. So you’ll need to buy two if it’s used as a daily commuter.
So how relevant is it? Well firstly, most Rolls-Royces don’t get driven very far. This means the the 102EX’s 124-mile range could be enough for some owners. Some exclusive hotels – hotels like The Peninsula Hong Kong which runs a fleet of 14 Rolls-Royce Phantoms – ferry their most valuable guests around in such luxury. For those kind of companies an electric Phantom could make some sense. But there’s no doubt – despite being an intriguing combination of tradition and emerging technologies – the Rolls Royce Phantom 102EX is an oddity, a solution to a problem that is obviously proving something of a conundrum. It will be interesting to see which of Rolls-Royce’s key markets are most taken with the car when it completes it’s world tour in a year’s time.
THE FACTS:
ROLLS-ROYCE PHANTOM
PRICE: Not for sale
0-60MPH: under 8sec
TOP SPEED: 100mph (limited)
CO2 G/KM: 0g/km
MPG COMBINED: 124mpg