Silent Shadow could be the first electric Rolls-Royce

Rolls-Royce owner BMW Group has filed a trademark for the name Silent Shadow, leading to speculation that the nameplate will be applied to the company’s first EV.

CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös told Automotive News Europe that Rolls-Royce will build its first electric car “within this decade” and that electric power “fits perfectly” with the brand. “It’s silent and torquey and that is the reason to go directly from combustion to electrification,” he added.

The company’s aluminum spaceframe which underpins the Phantom, Cullinan, and new Ghost can be adapted for an electric powertrain, which would most likely come from BMW’s iNext. In current form that can provide a 120-kWh battery which would be good for a range of over 400 miles.

Rolls-Royce showed an electric Phantom, the 102EX, as long ago as 2011, but the project ran out of juice. This time things are different as some 20 cities have said they will ban combustion engined cars by 2030, which will force customers to plug in instead. Not that they will actually have to handle any cables themselves as Rolls-Royce is reportedly working to develop a robotic charging system.

If you can’t wait ten years for an electric Roller from the factory, then you could always have a classic converted by the experts at Lunaz. If you have half a million dollars or more to spare then Lunaz will build you a pure electric Silver Cloud or Phantom.