Rolls-Royce is known for building some of the quietest cars on the road. Unfortunately for Rolls, however, another carmaker is stealing headlines for its automotive quietness … and it’s not one of Rolls’ usual suspects, like Maybach or Bentley. No – the ultra-quiet cars in question come from Toyota, Nissan, and Chevrolet, who have been grabbing media attention with their silent-running hybrid electrics models. Indeed, even highly-respected sources like Scientific American are asking whether these new EVs and hybrids are too quiet to be considered safe around pedestrians.
Clearly, Rolls-Royce needed to act – and act they have! The company has announced that they’ll be bringing a fully-electric 102EX Phantom to next month’s Geneva Motor Show, to “gather a bank of research data which will be crucial in informing future decisions on alternative drivetrains.”
In other words: Rolls-Royce wants to see how many they can sell before they commit to building the things … which is fine by me! If I were in the market for an ultra-smooth, ultra-quiet vehicle to be shuttled around from home to work in (and possibly the opera? Do rich people go to the opera?) I couldn’t think of a better option than an EV.
Rolls-Royce is expected to release full specifications for their new 102EX Phantom on March 1st.
Source: Rolls-Royce, via Wired’s Autopia.