Thursday 9th June 2011

Rolls-Royce Cans Electric Phantom

No future for battery powered Rolls, due to no customers...

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102 EX featured plastic mascot

PHers aren't the only ones who think a battery powered Rolls-Royce Phantom is a bit of a nonsense - the company's customers think so too.

According to a recent report in Automotive News Europe, the most expensive milk float in the West (aka the 102 EX) hasn't been received warmly on the global tour that followed its launch at the Geneva motor show.

The ANE report quotes Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes, who says there are no plans to produce more examples of the electric Rolls, and no customers have asked for one.

The reason given is that buyers of the company's products tend to live on the outskirts of towns, and would struggle with a 100 mile range. Go figure...

Just... no!

Mr Mueller-Oetvoes reckons hybrids could be the answer instead. But might we humbly suggest that R-R leaves BMW to work out the details behind closed doors on a 7-series prototype, with a view to giving us a Rolls-Royce for the 21st Century that actually works?

Not that we've got much of a problem with another hundred years of V12 power, of course...

[Insight]

At least they are honest about it. Well done RR.

[ArosaMike]

Why do I yet again sense a hint of points scoring against electric cars again?! Is it really necessary to jump on the same old band wagon every time the word hybrid or electric is mentioned? I'm almost getting the feeling that you'll (PH) be clinging on to your opinions long after the rest of the world......kind of like a 21st century Flat Earth Society....only they still actually exists, but you get the idea!

I'm not looking to start another debate about EVs etc, but it just seems a bit childish to use phrases like:

Chris-R said:

PHers aren't the only ones who think a battery powered Rolls-Royce Phantom is a bit of a nonsense

Nonsense? Really?!

[Matt UK]

Is this the one that EVO (or was it Car?) drove?

They seemed to think it worked rather well as a town car.

[timewatch]

ArosaMike said:

Why do I yet again sense a hint of points scoring against electric cars again?! Is it really necessary to jump on the same old band wagon every time the word hybrid or electric is mentioned? I'm almost getting the feeling that you'll (PH) be clinging on to your opinions long after the rest of the world......kind of like a 21st century Flat Earth Society....only they still actually exists, but you get the idea!

I'm not looking to start another debate about EVs etc, but it just seems a bit childish to use phrases like:

Chris-R said:

PHers aren't the only ones who think a battery powered Rolls-Royce Phantom is a bit of a nonsense

Nonsense? Really?!

NO!

The answer is simply:..... if you can afford one of these then your rich and not bothered by the cost of fuel so therefore no need for Hybrid/electric.

TW>>>

[freecar]

ArosaMike said:

Why do I yet again sense a hint of points scoring against electric cars again?! Is it really necessary to jump on the same old band wagon every time the word hybrid or electric is mentioned? I'm almost getting the feeling that you'll (PH) be clinging on to your opinions long after the rest of the world......kind of like a 21st century Flat Earth Society....only they still actually exists, but you get the idea!

I'm not looking to start another debate about EVs etc, but it just seems a bit childish to use phrases like:

Chris-R said:

PHers aren't the only ones who think a battery powered Rolls-Royce Phantom is a bit of a nonsense

Nonsense? Really?!

It was clearly nonsense as it was unsuitable for the majority of their customers.

The majority od Rolls owners have no need for a city car that can't get them there from their country pile first.

[markoc]

No electric Phantom so RR to "fast follow" Aston and produce a rebranded BEV Daewoo Matiz to be called the Piglet...

You heard it here first folks...


... or not

[Insight]

The simple truth is that the manufacturers of any product will buy what the public want. For example the re-fillable milk cartons done by Waitrose and Sainsburys are a way better, cheaper, more environmentally friendly alternative to the usual plastic carton but we (the public) don't like to use it because it's not as convenient as what we already have. Hence, in many places they have stopped selling them.




Change can happen, but it has to come from the consumers. More info on the future of packaging here: http://www.willbaxter.com/newsletter/news17.html

[thinfourth2]

Too right would would want to waft around in utter silence.

The sensible approach would be to fit a V8 with open pipes, none of this silent superority nonsense

They could get an exhaust from halfrauds

[Ian974]

Electric would have fitted in quite well with a RR I'd imagine. Quiet with plenty of power and torque, but as always, range still seems to be the main issue.

[freecar]

thinfourth2 said:

Too right would would want to waft around in utter silence.

The sensible approach would be to fit a V8 with open pipes, none of this silent superority nonsense

They could get an exhaust from halfrauds

More trolling from you?

Read the article, they like silence but need more range. It nothing to so with aything you said but don't let that get in the way of some top trolling!

[kambites]

I would have thought a range extender system would have been the obvious choice, since a bit of weight is hardly an issue with a car like this. Big set of batteries and a couple of chunky electric motors, plus a (well isolated) rotary engine or similar with a generator to charge the batteries when they get low. With a range extender you can also run very careful battery charge cycling algorithms to stop the batteries losing their ability to hold charge.

Edited by kambites on Thursday 9th June 12:48

[MartinJames]

Just think how long the batteries in your laptop last. Lithium Ion batteries have a shelf life and would a Rolls owner pay some exorbitant amount every 2-3 years for a new battery pack? No, as it doesn't make financial sense and most likely they are in a position to be able to buy a Rolls because they are financially savvy.

Maybe push for hydrogen internal combustion as BMW is a leader in the field. It wouldn't cost a lot more for the car like one stuffed with pricey batteries and would be a lot lighter. I know there are only a few filling stations now but that may change with demand. Plus we get to keep internal combustion engines instead of buzzing about in electrical appliances which just aren't proper cars. well, not to me at least.

[Greg_D]

their customers probably have, if anything, more range anxiety than your 'typical' ev buyer.

could you imagine if you had a more hectic day than you were envisaging and a business associate called and needed picking up from Heathrow and you had to send a cab because the rolls is low on juice, the shame......

you would be laughed out of the polo club.

ev simply doesn't give you enough options

That's why noone wanted one

[The Wookie]

freecar said:

The majority od Rolls owners have no need for a city car that can't get them there from their country pile first.

It would do 150 miles on a charge. Anyone that owns a Phantom wouldn't want to live any further north or west from London than that

Edited by The Wookie on Thursday 9th June 12:51

[freecar]

kambites said:

I would have thought a range extender system would have been the obvious choice, since a bit of weight is hardly an issue with a car like this. Big set of batteries and a couple of chunky electric motors, plus a (well isolated) rotary engine or similar with a generator to charge the batteries when they get low.

I'm a bit surprised they went with full electric (I suspect there are tax or legislation reasons we are not privvy to) as a range extender/hybrid concept would surely give them better range and a similar driving experience (not that I'd imagine many Rolls owners driving it lots) to the petrol. After all, Rolls have long had the silent reputation so method of propulsion shouldn't matter.

If range is solely the reason for rejection (I don't know about batteries concern) then what solutions could there be for a full electric solution?

Obviously replacable battery packs but I can't see that looking right with a chauffeur changing batteries at a fuel/power station, might be a step too far for your average Rolls owner. Is there anything else?

[The Wookie]

freecar said:

I'm a bit surprised they went with full electric (I suspect there are tax or legislation reasons we are not privvy to) as a range extender/hybrid concept would surely give them better range and a similar driving experience (not that I'd imagine many Rolls owners driving it lots) to the petrol. After all, Rolls have long had the silent reputation so method of propulsion shouldn't matter.

• cough*

A Range extender would have been lighter and had better range, but i'm guessing that they didn't want the NVH problems associated with a small engine running at constant speed, as well as the potential performance endurance problems associated with REEV's.

It was only meant to be a one off prototype initially, they only planned to build more if the response at the Geneva show was positive. The response from the show was positive, so I'm guessing they tried to drum up enough sales to make it a viable business proposition.

[chuno]

The big problem i see with electric cars is not the range, but the time it takes to re-charge, or re-fuel.
With an IC engine, you might be low on juice, but have to pop out on a whim when something comes up, and then (espcially in a work situation) something else might happen and you might need to be somewhere else pretty soon.
At the moment, this isn't a problem as it takes what, 5 minutes? to pop to the petrol station to fill up.
Whats the best time we're going to achieve with a fast charge - a couple of hours??
I can't ever see electric cars becoming commonplace for a very longtime to be honest becuase of the convinience of the IC engine.
Add to this the continuous increase in electricity cost and the cost of charging the car in the first place might not be that much cheaper!

[P9UNK]

ArosaMike said:

Why do I yet again sense a hint of points scoring against electric cars again?! Is it really necessary to jump on the same old band wagon every time the word hybrid or electric is mentioned? I'm almost getting the feeling that you'll (PH) be clinging on to your opinions long after the rest of the world......kind of like a 21st century Flat Earth Society....only they still actually exists, but you get the idea!

I'm not looking to start another debate about EVs etc, but it just seems a bit childish to use phrases like:

Chris-R said:

PHers aren't the only ones who think a battery powered Rolls-Royce Phantom is a bit of a nonsense

Nonsense? Really?!

I agree with you ArosaMike, I think electric technology needs everyone coming in and a bit like the Bluebird story anthing that is car and fast is good. It is the next evolution most likely and arguably of course. Many years ago vinyl records still had a big audience but who now doesn't value an MP3 player, that is a pretty loose analogy but I believe in fifteen years I will probably have a 1 litre Lotus with some kind of battery power and it will be great fun.

[Balmoral Green]

The range on petrol ain't all that anyway

I can burn a tank in 150 on my old bus if I'm giving it some.

[thinfourth2]

chuno said:

At the moment, this isn't a problem as it takes what, 5 minutes? to pop to the petrol station to fill up.
Whats the best time we're going to achieve with a fast charge - a couple of hours??

Nissian leaf takes 30 minutes to reach 80% charge

About the same time as a bacon butty and a cup of tea followed be a lesuirely pooh and your car is charged