Hey, electric restomod critics: It’s time to add both Aquaman and Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa) to your list of public enemies because he’s just converted his classic 1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom II to run on the sparkly stuff, courtesy of British EV specialists Electrogenic.
It’s billed as “the most ambitious and complex EV conversion ever undertaken,” and quite frankly, we’ve no reason to doubt that claim given that this near-century-old vehicle took 18 months to complete.
The mammoth 7.7-liter pushrod straight-six and four-speed transmission pairing—which develops between 40 and 50 horsepower—has been swapped for a 201hp electric motor and 93kWh worth of aluminium-cowled batteries. They’ve been placed beneath the hood and along the chassis rails.
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The Phantom also sends around 309Nm of torque to the fixed reduction gear. Ironically, Charles Rolls and Sir Henry Royce (the marque’s founders, obviously) were both early pioneers of the electric motor. It almost feels like a full-circle moment, doesn’t it?
Electrogenic—which has previously converted other classics like the Citroën DS and the Jaguar E-Type—has also augmented the Phantom with an in-house software system to bring everything together.
To give you some perspective of the complexities involved, the original car used a centralized, entirely mechanical ‘through-flow’ lubrication unit to send oil to the car’s brake and suspension linkages. Removing the engine completely disrupts this process, and means an entirely new system has to be created.
Other difficulties involved repositioning the brake levers and cables to maintain the original ratios since retaining the ‘natural’ characteristics of the car was a big onus for Momoa—and who’s brave enough to refuse him, aye? Therefore, the brakes themselves have seen a refresh since the newfound power would overwhelm the stoppers, which are, quite literally, older than Bernie Ecclestone.
But while the internals have seen a total rework, the exterior upholds every bit of the gorgeous original coachwork hammered together by HJ Mulliner and Co. So, the roguish silhouette, the huge spherical lamps, and the longer-than-a-giraffe’s-neck hood remain untouched. It’s probably the only thing in existence that’s more sinister than a Dothraki horde, right?
The interior is a different story, though. The classic features, including the in-period leather and the wood-lined surfaces, are kept. But the Phantom’s original switchgear has been repurposed. The fuel gauge, for example, is now an LED state-of-charge display, while the oil and water temperature dials show the car’s charger and electric motor temperatures. These old things do have a habit of overheating, after all.
Here’s what Momoa had to say: “In order to pull off this dream project, I had to find the right partner. I needed a team that would appreciate the storied history of this car while updating its technology. Electrogenic is all about honoring vintage cars, making them electric without losing any of the vehicle’s character. They were the perfect fit.”
Meanwhile, Electrogenic director Steve Drummond said: “The car’s diverse elements all add up to deliver a stunning, cohesive package. It’s a delight to drive, a Phantom that performs as Rolls-Royce’s engineers of a century ago would have wanted had they possessed the technology available to us today. It is silent, effortless, and graceful.
“While transformed in terms of performance and ease of use, as with all our conversions, the car’s tuning and calibration—honed over countless test miles—have been finely honed to reflect the original character of the car. Rather than transforming it beyond all recognition, the Phantom drives like an enhanced version of its original self.”
So, here’s the latest in an ever-growing network of classic car conversions, and one that’s likely to cause a pretty big divide between our audience. So, what do we think readers: Yay or nay?
More photos of Jason Momoa’s electrified 1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom II:
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
