Electric Rolls-Royce conversions make classic luxury silent

Rolls-Royce has always prided itself on the quietness of its luxury cars, hence its use of names like Phantom, Ghost, and Spectre. So a near-silent electric powertrain would seem like a good fit.

U.K.-based Evice certainly thinks so. It’s the latest in a crop of companies marketing electric conversions of classic cars, and its first project is a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow sedan. Known internally as XP1, it’s a prototype for a conversion package for both the Silver Shadow and Corniche convertible that Evice hopes to start offering to customers in Spring 2026.

The prototype has a 77-kwh battery pack providing an estimated range of over 200 miles, likely as measured on the more lenient WLTP testing cycle, along with an 800-volt electrical architecture.

Prototype Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow EV by Evice

Output is 400 hp—substantially more than the original gasoline V-8 engine. Evice also claims to have upgraded the brakes, while an active suspension aims to provide the same pillowy ride as the original hydra-pneumatic suspension (derived from Citroën tech) with a greater degree of handling sharpness.

The interior features modern climate control and audio systems, as well as heated and ventilated power-adjustable seats and a touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and a rearview camera.

Several other companies are restoring classic electric cars with modern powertrains—including some vintage Rolls-Royces. Another U.K. firm, Lunaz, has done electric conversions of the 1956 Rolls-Royce Cloud and 1961 Rolls-Royce Phantom V, as well as Bentley and Jaguar models.

Rolls-Royce Silver Corniche EV by Evice

A few of these have also been undertaken by, or commissioned by, automakers looking to tie their heritage to current electrification plans. Yet another U.K. firm, Electrogenic, built a Kia Pride EV restomod to celebrate that automaker’s 80th anniversary. Apprentices recently turned an Audi A2—a European-market hatchback that was a paragon of fuel efficiency when new—into an EV.

It’s also now possible to buy a new electric Rolls-Royce from the factory—the Spectre coupe. The storied brand is looking to shake its traditional reputation for portly vehicles and gas-guzzling V-12 engines by going all-electric before the end of the decade.