Rolls-Royce 102EX electric

car dealerships, Rolls-Royce 102EX electric – wafting up the Goodwood hill, I had the privilege this last weekend of wafting Up The Hill in Rolls-Royce’s remarkable 102EX Phantom Experimental Electric at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. If you’ve read Ben Oliver’s excellent first drive you’ll know that despite having the biggest battery ever fitted to a passenger vehicle – there are 96 lithium-nickel-cobalt-manganese-oxide cells  beneath that imperious bonnet generating 71kWh, with 850 amps peak current delivered at 338 volts – the 102EX’s limited 125 mile range means it’s unlikely to take the big step into production. Which is a pity because everything else about the powerplant – its silken and silent refinement, its effortless and muscular performance and uncomplicated ease of use – perfectly embodies Rolls-Royce’s best-car-in-the-world ethos.



As instructed by my passenger, the 102EX’s chief engineer Andrew Martin, I let the big 2.7 tonne car roll off the line to walking pace, before squeezing the throttle flat. Like fast-forwarding a silent film, the Phantom rushed ahead on a generous wave of torque in pin-drop silence. After the demonic wailing and howling of the supercars that preceded us, the hushed fast-moving Phantom must have caused a few furrowed brows.

It was while chatting to Martin after the run at the top of the hill that he dropped a nugget into the conversation that completely transformed my understanding and impression of the typical Rolls-Royce driver. “One of our key findings among our customers was that they aren’t fussed about what’s under the bonnet,” he said. “It’s not that they don't care – far from it – but so long as it’s technically advanced, immensely powerful, incredibly refined and doesn’t demand some convoluted start-up or shut-down procedure, it will get their vote. They’re open to anything – electric, hybrid, hydrogen.” My image of stuffy and florid magnates insisting every Rolls-Royce motor car has to have a vast petrol-powered V12 engine, car dealerships was instantly blown out the window. So, a next-gen Phantom running the world’s most sophisticated hybrid drivetrain? I’d put money on it.

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