Rolls-Royce already has a prototype of its first electric car in testing

Rolls-Royce’s dependence on BMW has made the British firm what Mini is to BMW. So much so that, according to our colleagues at Autocar, the first electric car from the luxury brand par excellence will indeed have its own architecture, but German engineering is already under way for the new electric era of the automotive industry.

Thus, judging by the sources our British colleagues claim to draw from, the first electric Rolls-Royce will be a sort of “hybrid car”, based on the Rolls-Royce Phantom platform, while both the powertrain and the electric energy storage system would be those of the BMW i7, the electric saloon and flagship of the German firm’s new era.

Even so, according to information the publication has received, a electric Rolls-Royce Phantom prototype is already being driven around the city of Munich. A prototype whose aim is to gather information on this experimental setup with a view to its application and serial production.

The shadow of a stealthy ghost awaits around the corner

As expected, this vehicle, used as a rolling laboratory, is not only silent, as is inherent to any electric vehicle, but Autocar even dares to predict the name of the first electric car from Rolls-Royce.

Based on the patent registration filed in 2020, the electric Rolls-Royce could be called Silent Shadow.

Despite what was said above, the speculation, rumours and whispers about this future Rolls-Royce claim that, although it will use the Phantom’s architecture, the vehicle that dares to break with a tradition, until now indissoluble, between the manufacturer and its imperative need to burn fossil fuels to power its combustion engines will not properly be a Phantom in itself, hence even its name.

According to interpretations published by the outlet, the car would be the first of a disruptive, unknown line, suited to a new era. Possibly a coupé-style vehicle but, at the same time, with inspirations drawn from SUV architecture, possibly related to the BMW iX presented recently.

What seems most plausible of all these assumptions is that, even if only in outline, the first electric car from Rolls-Royce will be revealed in some way before the end of this year, 2021.