Some interesting news came out of the Geneva Motor Show recently. Rolls Royce, the most prestigious car company in the world used the event to show off their 102EX Phantom Electric car.
Interesting, because it showed how even the top end luxury car manufacturers are taking their responsibilities to the environment (and escalating oil prices) seriously.
Rolls Royce has still got some way to go before we can start calling them a ‘green’ company, but the 102EX uses less paint, an experimental leather called (Seton Corinova), and its major talking point (the engine, or lack of), has been replaced with a lithium ion battery pack and two electric motors mounted in the rear (oh, and the silver lady at the front glows in the dark).
[nggallery id=28]The 102EX is rumoured to have a driving range of around 200km, significantly more than any electric vehicles currently in production. The problem being with this car is the weight of the batteries (640kg) and that it takes 20 hours to fully charge (not much good if you have one party in LA and another in Vegas the next night).
Ok, forget about the price, if you need to know how much a Rolls Royce costs you can’t afford it, and it’s unlikely to ever see full production, but it’s a good start.
Let’s hope Rolls Royce will forge ahead and the 102EX will prick the conscience of some of the people rich enough to buy one.