It’d be hard to dispute that Rolls-Royce excels at providing perhaps the pinnacle of automotive luxury. But they’ve been far less successful, thus far, at pivoting to greater efficiency. While other manufacturers are ditching V8s, Rolls-Royce does not even deign to use one; their current crop of cars employs either 6.6-liter or 6.8-liter V12s. But that could all be about to change — and in a hurry.
Rolls-Royce has announced that they will make a historic announcement on Wednesday. The press release inviting readers to meditate on the brand’s “heritage of electric power” suggests this announcement will be related to Rolls-Royce’s first electric car.
We don’t know a lot about what the first Rolls-Royce EV will look like. The brand has said it will eschew a detour in PHEVille and go straight to electric cars. But the timeline given — sometime between now and 2030 — has been incredibly vague.
Rolls-Royce seems to have two potential options for going EV. One choice, with a shorter timeline, would be to build off BMW’s current CLAR architecture, which accommodates combustion, hybrid and electric powertrains. Picture a Rolls-Royce version of the upcoming electric 7 Series. Another option would be to wait for BMW to roll out a dedicated EV platform for larger cars, expected in 2025.
In theory, Rolls-Royce should have the easiest time of any brand converting to EVs. The strengths of electric vehicles are being incredibly quiet and delivering smooth power. Rolls-Royce has essentially been pouring R&D over the decades into building combustion cars that try to feel like electric cars. The major drawback to electric vehicles — beyond range anxiety — is cost. And if Rolls-Royce buyers can afford custom $8,800 stools, they can pay a premium for an EV powertrain.
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