There is very little known about the electrified future of Rolls-Royce, but one thing is certain: All the BMW Group brands will join the electric movement. And while Rolls-Royce has been quiet about their plans, there were plenty of bits and pieces planted that point to a highly luxurious and electric Rolls in the future.
This week, we do get to learn more about their plans. According to Autocar, the Goodwood-based automaker is currently testing an EV drivetrain using a Phantom model as the test bed. But the same report mentions that it won’t be the Phantom who will do the honors.
Apparently, Rolls-Royce is working on a bespoke model to use the electric drivetrain. The project name is rumored to labeled as Silent Shadow, and that rumor is based on a BMW filling with the German patent office for the name. The name somewhat references the Silver Shadow model which was one of the best selling Rolls-Royces.
No design details are available now, but the report mentions a bespoke model which makes sense considering that the flexible architecture from Goodwood allows them to build several different models. Including one-offs. It’s also fair to assume that a lot of the EV tech from BMW will make its way into electric Rolls-Royces. Of course, that includes motors, batteries and packaging.
Specifics of the drivetrain remain a secret, but Rolls-Royce has allegedly developed both rear- and four-wheel-drive layouts together with a battery pack that is claimed to have a capacity of well over 100kWh for a range of at least 500km (311 miles).
This won’t be the first Rolls-Royce EV though. More than ten years ago, the luxury carmaker unveiled the 102EX one-off concept at the Geneva Motor Show. So that shows how far ahead BMW Group was looking.
