Rolls-Royce has announced ‘Project Nightingale’, a luxurious convertible with a pure electric drivetrain. The 5.76-meter-long two-seater is expected to be delivered from 2028 onward, though only by invitation and limited to 100 vehicles worldwide.
With the Spectre, the British luxury marque already offers a battery-electric model. The electric coupé shares many components internally with the BMW i7, which recently received a technical update.
Regarding the new electric convertible from ‘Project Nightingale’, Rolls-Royce confirms only that the vehicle is powered by the brand’s ‘silent all-electric powertrain’.
The Specter typically delivers up to 430 kW, while the ‘Black Badge’ version delivers up to 485 kW. To date, the Spectre has been equipped with the familiar 102 kWh battery from the i7, featuring prismatic cells. Whether the updated version, with its cylindrical cells and 112 kWh energy capacity, will be adopted by Rolls-Royce remains unconfirmed.
The British marque rarely discusses the technical details of its powertrains, instead emphasizing design, luxurious appointments, and bespoke craftsmanship.
When Rolls-Royce does address the powertrain, as in the case of Project Nightingale, it states: “For a Coachbuild Collection conceived for the most discerning and design-literate clients in the world, the qualities of electric power are deeply considered. The silent and effortless delivery of power amplifies every characteristic that has defined the Rolls-Royce experience for more than a century, and the nature of this powertrain unlocks completely new design possibilities.”
‘Grand proportions’
The 5.76-meter-long (!) luxury convertible is defined by “grand proportions and underpinned with a fully electric drivetrain that delivers a uniquely silent open-top experience… evoking the glamour and confidence of the 1920s and 1930s while remaining entirely of its time,” boasts the company.
The ‘creative vision’ is complete, with the body design nearly finalized. “The small number of design details that remain demand entirely new manufacturing techniques that are currently under development,” Rolls-Royce adds.
The vehicle is named after ‘Le Rossignol’, the name of the house where the designers and engineers worked, near Henry Royce’s winter residence on the Côte d’Azur.
“Some of the most discerning Rolls-Royce clients in the world asked us for our most ambitious work. We responded by bringing three things together that have never coexisted within our brand: the complete design freedom of coachbuilding, our powerful, near-silent all-electric powertrain, and a uniquely potent yet serene expression of open-top motoring – an experience that only this technology makes possible,” says Chris Brownridge, CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
“Achieving this required the same audacious mindset that drove our co-founder, Sir Henry Royce, to create his radically different experimental ‘EX’ motor cars of the 1920s. Project Nightingale shares the spirit of those landmark projects and is the most extravagant expression of what Rolls-Royce is capable of today.”
The maximum 100 interested clients who will be chosen later can already line up. There’s a chance the waiting list may be much longer…
