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Rolls-Royce 102EX Concept, the world's most luxurious and expensive electric car
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With the upcoming generations of kings, nobles and Arab sheikhs in mind, Rolls-Royce, the pinnacle of luxury and exclusive vehicles, has looked ahead and begun to work towards its presence in the era of electric motors.
All car manufacturers are aware that the future, whether more distant or less, lies in electric vehicles. None of them wants to be left behind in the development of this technology, and nor does Rolls-Royce. This is why the British marque in luxury and handcrafted car creation is testing this technology on one of its two only models: the Phantom, one of the most exclusive cars on the planet.
Rolls-Royce's plan began two years ago, when comments started appearing on professional forums that the marque of the Spirit of Ecstasy –the denomination of the nude winged woman that appears as its emblem on the front of the bonnet– was working on a hybrid variant of one of its models. The Ghost was spoken of at the time, and it was said that it would combine an electric 20kw engine with the supercharged 6.2-litre V12 engine supplied as standard.
A surprising presentation
But at the recent 2011 Geneva Motor Show it surprised everyone by presenting the Rolls-Royce 102EX Concept. Based on the Phantom, the 102EX Concept replaces its bi-turbo V12 engine with twin electric engines of 395 bhp combined power instead of the 460 bhp of the original model. It is thus capable of accelerating its 2.7 tons from 0 to 100 km/h in 8 seconds, attaining a maximum limited speed of 160 km/h.
Concealed under the bonnet is what is currently the largest-sized battery ever mounted on a road car: it is more than double the size of those installed in other electric models and weighs around 640 kg. It permits a normal 20-hour charge and another triple-phase 8-hour charge, although its engineers are working on the wireless recharging of the battery. Its range is about 200 kilometres.
Test model
"We have designed the first vehicle in the world with an electric battery for the ultra-luxury segment ", maintained the company's CEO, Torsten Müller-Ötvös. There is no doubt that behind the introduction of this eco-friendly image, unthinkable just a few years ago in a mega-exclusive marque such as Rolls-Royce, is the hand of its owner, the German BMW and a far more environmentally aware company. Nevertheless, Müller-Ötvös himself pointed out that "we have to be convinced that no other propulsion system of the future will be offering the true Rolls-Royce experience". This is why the company has not stated that they want to produce serial or even custom-made electric Phantoms. For now it is merely experimental in order to improve maximum performance and characteristics and continue to offer the unique sensations provided by the Sprit of Ecstasy. As for its price, were it ever to be marketed it would cost around a million and a half dollars.
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Published in Cars, Ships and Aviation on 25/05/2011
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