‘Rolls-Royce’ and ‘environmentally friendly’ very rarely show up in the same sentence, but the luxury marque is eyeing some very green tech for its Phantom sedan. If Rolls-Royce CEO Tom Purves has his way, electric Phantoms could be trolling the world’s motorways in just a few years.
A large percentage of Rolls-Royce buyers actually use their cars almost exclusively for city driving, so an all-electric Phantom would make sense. “Many of our customers do small mileages exclusively in the city,” Purves told Car Magazine. “For these customers, an electric Rolls-Royce would be ideal.”
An electric Phantom could even gel with Rolls-Royce’s typical clientele. An electric motor offers gobs of torque – a historic Rolls-Royce trait — from zero RPM’s and would also lend to even quieter operation.
But more than just a means of better customer satisfaction, Rolls-Royce might be forced to offer an electric Phantom in order to compete in certain global markets. Several regions are toying with the idea of CO2 limits, which would prevent Rolls-Royce from even being able to sell their cars in certain parts of the world. “We may need an electric car merely to sell in certain parts of the world,” Purves said.
Rolls-Royce hasn’t yet announced a time frame for its electric car, but an electric Phantom might not be too far off. MINI – which is housed under the same BMW corporate umbrella as Rolls-Royce – will unveil and all-electric version of its Cooper at next month’s LA Auto Show, which uses a lithium-ion system that could be easily up-sized to power the Phantom. But even if Rolls-Royce does offer a super green version of its Phantom, expect the company to still offer a V12-powered version.
10/23, 5:12 PM
posted by:
C6Racer
No friggin comment.
10/23, 5:14 PM
posted by:
edgeguy
Wow. Now the super wealthy class that is so greedily destroying America can drive a environmentally-friendly version of a $250,000 car to make people think they care!
10/23, 5:33 PM
posted by:
Mr. Piston
^ $300,000 – €250,000 ^
10/23, 5:40 PM
posted by:
t-ak-box
An all-electric Phantom? What? So its going to be made of plastic?
How Slow? How Heavy? How Sucky?
10/23, 6:05 PM
posted by:
pzimet
edgeguy: I don’t think it’s “to make people think they care”, but more so for the REASONS LISTED IN THE ARTICLE ABOVE.
10/23, 6:47 PM
posted by:
beatusmongous
I think this is cool.
10/23, 8:07 PM
posted by:
macabre
Brilliant, since they only need to get to the country club and back this would be ideal. For occasions that they need to travel that’s what the heli and the Learjet are for. Not sure that the green Phantom will offset crap when you take in account the CO2 from the personal jet and heli.
10/23, 8:07 PM
posted by:
howsmydriving
I can’t imagine somebody stopping an electric Phantom and asking to borrow some Grey Poupon.
10/23, 8:49 PM
posted by:
The Stig
They’ll pull into Exxon and wonder how to fill it up.
10/23, 8:53 PM
posted by:
pursang
I actually really like the idea. Smooth and Silent.
10/23, 9:07 PM
posted by:
eff1Fifty
That’s like shoving a V-12 into a Chevy Volt!…
10/23, 9:39 PM
posted by:
VWgrouP
Hah
good luck with that Rolls
I’d love to see if an electric motor can move a Phantom
but it’s a good idea
10/24, 4:03 AM
posted by:
BMW M1
takbox, this is Rolls we’re talking abt!! Where does plastic crap fit in?? Their not gonna stuff an electro Mini into the Rolls, only an upsized version of the elec motor.
Hmm, the green cred and silent operation is just a smokescreen, theyre really just trying to ensure that their cars sell in California!!!!
10/24, 9:47 AM
posted by:
VladdyTrout
Bad Bad Bad Idea! A Rolls Royce is ot some Eco-Friendly machine. Fer crying out loud, it’s not even a money friendly machine. The best car in the world is above everything. A Royce owner probably owns a vast oil field or an oil company or a country that has both oil fields and oil countries. So gas isn’t a problem. I say REDUCE the MPG on a Royce. 9 miles on the highway and 5 miles in the city! That’ll show the masses who’s boss.
But what am I saying? My own Rolls Royces gets 0 miles to the gallon! Got them from the Franklin Mint. 1/24 scale Silver Cloud and Corniche. Oh to dream….
10/24, 10:49 AM
posted by:
Got Handling?
Its a great idea, Rolls’ are about wafting along serenely. Finally the age-old claim that “The loudest thing in a Rolls Royce at 60mph is the clock” could come true.
10/27, 5:00 AM
posted by:
yungdadi
well an electric royce ain’t bad,but can they make it work like the V12?