LONDON: While Rolls-Royce never made any production electric cars, the brand's founders fascination with electricity and electrified vehicles go way back before the company's establishment in the late 19th century.
Co-founder Sir Henry Royce was one of the world's first electrical engineers,.
After the electric company which he was chief electrician folded in 1884, he struck out on his own making electrical appliances such as doorbells, lamps, fuses and switches.
Royce.
As business thrived, the company soon produced larger and more complex devices including dynamos, electric motors and winches.
In 1902, Royce supplied electric motors for Pritchett & Gold, a London-based battery-maker that had diversified into building electric cars.
Though Royce himself never built or owned an electric motor car, he created internal combustion engines that delivered the driving experience associated with today's electric propulsion: effortless torque, silent running and the sensation of one continuous, powerful gear.
His technical expertise and pioneering achievements underpin the marque's historical claim as a world leader in electrification in both luxury and social settings.
Rolls.
Meanwhile, another co-founder Charles Rolls was also a highly gifted engineer but his enthusiasm for electricity began even earlier in life.
When he was just nine years old, he rigged up an electric bell between his bedroom and the stables at The Hendre, the family's ancestral home in Monmouthshire.
He also planned and supervised the installation of electricity in the servants' quarters; deploying the powers of salesmanship that would later make him world-famous, he persuaded his father, Lord Llangattock, to pay for it.
In 1896, aged 18, he travelled to Paris and bought his first car, a 3¾hp Peugeot Phaeton.
Two years later, while still an engineering student at Cambridge, he acquired his only electric-powered car, an American-made vehicle called The Columbia Electric Carriage, imported into the UK by Paris Singer (heir to the sewing machine dynasty) and sold as the City & Suburban car.
Rolls regarded this as the best then available.
In an interview published in The Motor-Car Journal in April 1900, Rolls described electric propulsion, in terms that, over a century later, carry the ring of prescient prophecy:
“The electric car is perfectly noiseless and clean. There is no smell or vibration, and they should become very useful when fixed charging stations can be arranged. But for now, I do not anticipate that they will be very serviceable – at least for many years to come,” he said.
However, Rolls made his own small contribution to solving the range problem, by providing a battery-charging station at his car showroom on Lillie Road in Fulham for the private or rentable electric Broughams that were all the rage in London at the time.
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars chief executive officer Torsten Müller-Ötvös said Rolls, made a prescient prophecy about automotive electrification.
“Move forward over 120 years to when I made a public promise, on the record, that we would bring the first fully-electric Rolls-Royce to market within the current decade.
“And, right now, our company is embarking on an historic undertaking to create the first, super luxury car of its type. This will happen, sooner than many thought possible, through the incredible skills, expertise, vision and dedication of our engineers, designers and specialists at the Home of Rolls-Royce.
As electrification has long been promoted as the future of automotive propulsion, mainstream manufacturers are increasingly embracing hybrid and battery electric vehicle (BEV) technology, supported by the expansion of national charging infrastructures.
To date, Rolls-Royce said its electrification strategy would be that:
• The marque will introduce an all-electric car this decade (2020 - 2030).
• This car will be a pure BEV, not a hybrid of any kind.
• It will be launched only when the time is right, and every element meets Rolls-Royce's technical, aesthetic and performance standards.
102EX.
In 2011, the marque released Phantom Experimental Electric (EE), codenamed 102EX; a fully operational and road-legal batery-electric version of its pinnacle product.
Phantom EE was never intended for production, serving instead as a working test-bed for clients, VIPs, the media and enthusiasts to experience electric propulsion and share their experiences, thoughts and considerations directly with Rolls-Royce designers and engineers.
The car's 6.75-litre V12 petrol engine and gearbox were replaced with a lithium-ion battery pack and two electric motors mounted on the rear sub-frame, connected to a single-speed transmission with integrated differential.
This system gave a maximum power output of 290kW and torque of 800Nm, compared to 338kW and maximum torque of 720Nm, delivered at 3,500rpm, for the V12 Phantom of the time.
While Phantom EE drew widespread acclaim for its technical accomplishment, particularly its near-total silence and impressive torque delivery, its limited range, long charging cycles and three-year battery life remained significant hurdles that Rolls-Royce would need to address in order to satisfy the expectations of its clients.
In 2016, Rolls-Royce unveiled the Vision Next 100 (103EX), a radically innovative concept car set out to define the marque's long-term vision of luxury mobility featuring individualised and an immersive emotional and sensory experience.
103EX.
Its coach-built bodywork will allow clients to commission a car that reflects their personal vision while a virtual assistant and chauffeur powered by artificial intelligence offer an effortless journey.
The interior creates a Grand Sanctuary, crafted from rare and exclusive materials.
With its size and scale – 5.9m long and 1.6m high – the car ensures a grand arrival.
The vehicle is fully autonomous and is built on an advanced lightweight platform and powered by a proprietary, all-electric drive train.
The EX-suffix confirms that 103EX was a purely experimental car and never destined to enter production.
Following a spectacular debut in London, the car embarked on a three-year world tour, returning to the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood in 2019.
In addition, Rolls-Royce also paid tribute to three men who helped the company in its early years.
Henry Edmunds
A colleague of Royce in Brush Electrical Engineering Company Ltd, Henry Edmunds was the company engineer who earned his place in history when, on May 4, 1904 at the Midland Hotel in Manchester, he announced: “Mr Royce, may I introduce you to Charles Rolls”.
Edmunds.
Said to be "The Godfather of Rolls-Royce," Edmunds is also a friend of Joseph Swan (the inventor of the incandescent
lightbulb) and Thomas Edison, and was present at both the first successful sound recording and telephone call.
He also brought into being the world's first electrified underground railway, when he persuaded the engineer in charge of London’s City & Southwick Railway (now the City branch of the Northern Line) to operate trains powered by electricity rather than steam.
E A Claremont
Claremont was a partner in F H Royce & Company, Joint Managing Director of F H Royce & Company Limited, Chairman of Royce Limited and the first Chairman of Rolls-Royce Limited; and together with Royce were also Members of the Institute of Electrical
Engineers.
Claremont.
Royce himself wrote, "I was induced to found... a small company in my own name' and none but his was ever used.
Claude Johnson
As the self-styled 'Hyphen in Rolls-Royce,' Claude Johnson quit his role as secretary of the Automobile Club of Great Britain & Ireland – whose members included Edmunds – to work for Paris Singer's City & Suburban Electric Carriage company in 1903.
After less than a year, however, Johnson left to join C S Rolls and Co, later becoming managing director of Rolls-Royce Ltd.
Johnson.
He was responsible for much of the company's early publicity and in advertisements produced for the UK and US markets where he described Rolls-Royce as 'a petrol car as smooth and quiet as an electric'.
And to complete the symmetry, Paris Singer became the world's first owner of a Rolls-Royce motor car.
