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Electric Rolls Phantom planned
19 November 2009
Rolls-Royce could have an electric Phantom on the road in just 12 months, according to a company source.
That would be well in time for the car to be one of the centrepieces of BMW’s sponsorship of the 2012 London Olympics.
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Company boss Tom Purvis has previously revealed a wish to produce an electric Rolls to offset any possible future ban on big-engined saloons in urban areas and hedge against tough inner-city CO2 legislation.
Internally it’s thought that the near-silence of electric propulsion, and the fact that full torque is available from a standstill, would align perfectly with Rolls-Royce’s core values. Engineers are currently hard at work making this a reality, although a running prototype has yet to hit the road.
It’s also understood that the company is keen to push electric technology as far as it can go to ensure that an electric Phantom is a technological showcase.
If the car does go on sale it’s likely to be in tiny numbers, however.
Rolls-Royce is anticipating a sales model based on the recently introduced electric Mini, which is only available on a leasing scheme at selected cities around the world.
Chas Hallett
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