Classic electric car conversion business, Lunaz, has announced the release of all-electric classic Rolls-Royce Phantoms and Silver Clouds.
Take a classic car, rip out the internal combustion engine and drop in some batteries and electric motors, jack up the price and you can waft about feeling good… Lunaz is well known for converting classic cars into electric vehicles and has previously converted Jaguars and Bentleys, but it’s done nothing like this.
It’s taking 30 classic Rolls-Royce Phantoms and Silver Clouds and converting them to electric only. The starting price for a Phantom will be a, gulp, eye-watering $1,000,000-plus while the Silver Clouds will be more than $600,000. And Lunaz is saying it’ll be available for Australia.
What you’re looking at here is the first cab off the rank, a converted 1961 Rolls-Royce Phantom V. It’s had a ground-up restoration “and the incorporation of Lunaz’s proprietary electric powertrain and full suite of hardware and software upgrades”.
While there will only be 30 vehicles offered, Lunaz said, “Orders are already being taken from Lunaz’s existing client base and some of the most celebrated and influential institutions in the world.
“Following demand for electrified Phantoms, Lunaz elected to begin creating Rolls-Royce Silver Clouds. From today, clients are invited to secure allocation for these cars in a range of body styles, including four-door limousine, two-door coupé and drop head coupé.”
The 1961 Rolls-Royce Phantom by Lunaz is built in eight-seat configuration with a front bench for three occupants, rear bench for a further three and two occasional seats. During the restoration, each car was stripped back to bare metal, 3D scanned, weighed and fully restored before the conversion and re-engineering process began. The battery pack is a 120Ah jobbie which is good for around 480km.
Modernities like sat nav have been squeezed into the thing with the driver able to switch the infotainment so that those in the back can listen to music while the driver listens to nav directions. There’s split-zone climate control, privacy screens, screens for watching movies in the back or mirroring your smartphone, there’s even a bar in the back and buyers will be able to specify the drinks they want the vehicle stocked with before delivery. And the original bakelite phone that sat in the back has been retained and modernised so that it syncs with the owner’s smartphone.
“The time is right for an electric Rolls-Royce. We are answering the need to marry beautiful classic design with the usability, reliability and sustainability of an electric powertrain. More than ever we are meeting demand for clean-air expressions of the most beautiful and luxurious cars in history. We are proud to make a classic Rolls-Royce relevant to a new generation,” said David Lorenz, founder of Lunaz.
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