When I came across this one, I just had to post it! It was just too funny for a variety of reasons. The subject of an electric Rolls-Royce has been something the company has given serious thought to. Even beyond that, it seems like it’s something they want to do as well, judging from the comments made by Rolls-Royce’s CEO Tom Purves:
“Many of our customers do small mileages exclusively in the city….for these customers, an electric Rolls-Royce would be ideal…..we stand for unmatched refinement and you can’t get a quieter and less intrusive engine than a well engineered electric motor…..we also stand for strong and instant torque – and an electric motor delivers maximum torque instantly. The ‘waftability’ would be fantastic.”
Voila! Hybrid Rolls-Royce? Man on the Move reports the driver as saying the vehicle was a “prototype…loaned to his VIP client, by Rolls Royce, for everyday use.” Usually companies either make it into a big PR extravaganza (think MINI E, Project Driveway) or they want to keep it under wraps while testing. The big hybrid badge doesn’t lend itself to covertness.
On top of that, why use the GM hybrid badge? I know BMW (owner of Rolls-Royce) is a part of the Dual-Mode hybrid collaboration but still you’d think they’d want to use something unique for Rolls-Royce.
Whoever is doing this obviously has a lot of money though – chauffeur-driven, long-wheelbase model in New York – so either they’ve got a real sense of humor or the driver’s comments are true. I’d say it’s the former but nonetheless, this is a very interesting find!
Credit to Man on the Move for the Images
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