An electric powered Rolls-Royce limousine is set to hit the road within days, the luxury British car maker has confirmed.
Based around the existing £300,000 Rolls-Royce Phantom, the electric -powered version will be re-chargeable from the domestic mains and with zero emissions.
The news confirms what the Daily Mail reported in January.
The standard petrol powered Phantom achieves only around 15 miles to the gallon while the electric Rolls-Royce will cost around 2p a mile to run - providing you can afford the price tag which is likely to be not far short of £1million.
The new car is to be unveiled to the world at the Geneva Motor Show on March 1. It has the codename EXP 102 - the EXP standing for 'experimental.
Traditionally, the firm produces a fully running 'experimental' car to take around the world to show super rich clients, before taking orders and putting the starting the production version.
There has been speculation for two years that Rolls-Royce was planning a top-secret electric model. This intensified in January when Rolls-Royce's boss, under intense questioning from the Daily Mail, admitted it would be 'a good idea.'
Mr Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes confirmed at the time that ‘all options’ for alternatively-fuelled vehicles were being considered.
In a statement the company based at Goodwood in Sussex said: 'Rolls-Royce Motor Cars today confirmed the development of 102EX, a one-off, fully electric powered Phantom, to debut at the Geneva Motor Show on 1 March 2011.
The car will tour during 2011, serving as a test bed to gather a bank of research data which will be crucial in informing future decisions on alternative drive-trains for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.'
Chief executive officer Torsten Müller-Ötvös, speaking from the company’s headquarters in Goodwood said: 'We have engineered the world’s first battery electric vehicle for the ultra-luxury segment.
'With this vehicle, we begin an exploration into alternative drive-trains, seeking clarity on which alternative technologies may be suitable to drive Rolls-Royce motor cars of the future.'
A Rolls-Royce spokesman added: 'Rolls-Royce produces cars that represent the pinnacle in luxurious motoring for the world’s most discerning customers.
With 102EX, also known as the Phantom Experimental Electric (EE), it is the company’s intention to carefully test the opinions and reactions to alternative drive-train options of a range of stakeholders including owners, enthusiasts, members of the public and the media.'
He added: '102EX will serve as a working test bed for a global tour that takes in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and North America. Through test drives, owners will be given the opportunity to experience an alternative drive-train technology and to feedback their experiences, thoughts and concerns directly to Rolls-Royce.'
'As one of the company’s EX models it will serve to begin a dialogue with existing owners and stakeholders, posing as well as answering questions of its audience.
These include the car’s ability to deliver an acceptable range between re-charges and to operate in extreme weather conditions. But also to benchmark reliability and quality against customer expectations of the world’s pinnacle automotive brand.'
Mr Müller-Ötvös. 'I must be convinced that any alternative drive-train we choose for the future delivers an authentic Rolls-Royce experience“It must be a technology that is right for our customers, our brand and which sets us on a sound footing for a sustainable future.'
The super-green car for the wealthy will be on the road in time for the 2012 Olympics where parent company BMW will be showcasing its ground-breaking electric and environmentally-friendly technology to the world.
The company's flagship £300,000 Phantoms currently manage just 15 miles to the gallon.
There has been intense speculation over the last two years that Rolls-Royce was planning a top secret electric car.
Mr Mueller-Oetvoes increased that speculation when he told the Daily Mail before Christmas that an electric or alternatively-fuelled ‘experimental’ Rolls-Royce model would be a ‘good idea.’
BMW, which also owns British-based MINI, has already launched an electric powered MINI-E which can be re-charged from the mains.
With the world’s eyes watching the 2012 Olympics - where parent company BMW will be showing off their low-emissions cars to ferry 80,000 VIPs to and from venues - it could be the perfect opportunity to showcase just such a vehicle running on electric power, or even a fuel-cell.
British gangster movie director Guy Ritchie, former husband of Madonna, took delivery of one before Christmas. Traditionally, Rolls-Royce has produced one-off ‘experimental’ models to showcase to potential the luxury car company’s latest technological advances.
When the Daily Mail pressed Mr Mueller-Oetvoes before Christmas that a super-green electric Rolls-Royce using the latest in environmentally-friendly technology for the super-rich with a conscience would make an ideal new ‘experimental’ model, he acknowledged it would be a ‘good idea’.
Rolls-Royce announced record annual car sales in 2010 - up 171per cent on 2009 and more than double the previous record of 1,212 cars set in 2008. In 2009 the company sold 1,002 cars.
The USA remained the biggest single market for Rolls-Royce in 2010, followed by China and the UK with all areas showing ‘significant growth’, particularly in Asia Pacific, the USA and the Middle East.
Wealthy women, like Paris Hilton buying the smaller ‘baby’ Rolls-Royce Ghost models are fuelling the boom in sales from the company’s hi-tech factory.
Wealthy women buying the smaller ‘baby’ Rolls-Royce Ghost models are fuelling the boom in sales from the company’s hi-tech factory is in the grounds of the Earl of March’s Goodwood estate.
Pop star and Geordie X Factor judge Cheryl Cole has one of the £196,000 cars, and British gangster movie director Guy Ritchie, former husband of Madonna, took delivery of one before Christmas.
The company sells about three Ghosts to every one Phantom. Mr Mueller-Oetvoes told the Daily Mail that women are attracted to the car’s ‘masculinity’ and now account for up to 10 per cent of sales of the Ghost, a more compact and ‘less formal’ Royce saloon than the massive £300,000 Phantom.
'Women love their Ghosts. But they are not buying a car for women. Rolls-Royce is a male brand. And women like that. It’s a nice masculine car.'
But female customers do like to customise their interiors with a more feminine choice of colours and detailing, leathers and stitching, he said.
Although sales are bucking the economic gloom, the Rolls-Royce boss did admit that colour schemes are more in tune with the downbeat mood, with a shift from ‘bling’ to more subtle interior shades: There’s a degree of sobriety.'
In preparation for the Geneva debut of its electric car , Rolls-Royce will launch the website
www.electricluxury.com this week, a portal to fuel a wider global debate seeking views on the question of electric luxury from media, VIPs and stakeholders.
The site will also deliver regular updates of the car’s progress while on tour.
Full technical specifications for 102EX will be announced at the Geneva Motor Show on March 1.
