A 1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Goes Electric: When Old Money Meets New Tech
Ah, the 1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom II. A car that screams "I have more money than sense," but in the most charming British way possible. It's the kind of car you'd expect to see in an old movie, where the butler opens the door and you step out wearing a top hat. But what if I told you that this relic of the Roaring Twenties has been given a 21st-century makeover? No, they didn't slap on some LED lights and call it a day. They turned it into an electric vehicle (EV).
Electrogenic, a company that's basically the mad scientist of the automotive world, decided to take on this project. They've been turning classic cars into electric wonders for a while now, but this time they've really outdone themselves. They've taken a car that's almost a century old and made it run on batteries. It's like teaching your grandma to use TikTok, but way cooler.
Now, let's talk numbers. The original Phantom II came with a 7.7-liter straight-six engine. That's a lot of liters. It's like having a soda fountain of gasoline. But Electrogenic took that out and replaced it with a 93 kWh battery pack. This bad boy is tucked neatly into the car's original structure, so no need to worry about it looking like a science experiment gone wrong. The electric motor churns out 201 horsepower and 229 pound-feet of torque. Not bad for a car that was originally designed to be driven by someone named Jeeves.
And how far can this electric old-timer go? Up to 150 miles. That's more than enough to drive from your countryside mansion to your city penthouse. The best part? You won't even disturb the neighbors because this car is as quiet as a mouse. A very, very expensive mouse.
Inside, Electrogenic has made some nifty changes too. The fuel gauge is now an LED state of charge gauge, and the amp meter has turned into a power gauge. They've even got the oil temperature gauge showing the charger temperature. It's like the car's old soul has learned a new language.
But let's not pretend this was a walk in the park. The car is nearly 100 years old, for crying out loud. It's like performing plastic surgery on a mummy. But after 18 months of tinkering, the Electrogenic team pulled it off. And where did they unveil this masterpiece? At the Salon Privé, an automotive event in the UK that's basically the Oscars for cars.
So there you have it. A 1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom II that's been turned into an electric marvel. It's the perfect blend of old-world charm and new-world tech. It's like if James Bond decided to go green but refused to give up his martinis. Cheers to that!
Yours truly,
Captain Electro
