31 them taken to a new level, and also to people who have never considered buying a classic car at all because of the maintenance challenges, performance and sustainability problems associated with them. Pearson feels the traditional restoration industry is “complicated and frustrating”, particularly for those who do not know it well, making it “quite unapproachable” for newcomers. He believes Evice’s new-build philosophy offers a blank canvas and that it makes sense “even to combustion classic car purity evangelists – and we’ve had many conversations with them!” Part of that is down to the customer journey, which is another area that a lot of thought has gone into, fully integrating clients into the process. “We treat it as though it were a car that Rolls-Royce were building,” he says. “What’s your reason for wanting this? How do you want to enjoy it? We want to understand the customer’s intent, so it’s a very curated process. “It’s a 12-month build programme, and we have plenty of ‘surprise and delight’ moments throughout the build process. We can make it exciting and engaging from day one to day 365, making it a highly emotional, personal relationship. It’s important that customers see value and have fun throughout the whole thing. “This isn’t about mobility. It’s about moving people, and we want to prove that electrification can be sexy and exciting, and sustainability can be special. The handover itself, depending on the client, can be curated to really mark the occasion of the continuation of one of the best cars in the world.” There is, of course, an argument that electrification is no longer the only way these cars could continue in a net-zero world. The growth of the synthetic fuels industry, which experts believe could reach cost parity with fossil fuels within 10 years, could breathe new life into these old classics, without having to change a thing. Pearson agrees, but quickly points out that this is not what Evice is about: “Would I love to produce a car like this, running an ICE engine on synthetic fuel? No. Not a classic Rolls-Royce. The designer’s original ambition for this car was silent, smooth, torquey, refined and powerful, and an electric powertrain is significantly better at that than a combustion engine. “Are there cars that are being made electric that, in my opinion, would be better, perhaps, with a synthetic fuel? Absolutely. I’ve also been driven around Goodwood race track in a 4.5 litre Bentley running on synthetic fuels, and I think that is right. But I also think the word sustainability is used, misused and abused. “There is no combustion process currently that is zero impact at point of use. Synthetic fuel might be carbonneutral for manufacturing, but there is carbon monoxide and there are particulates. To put a synthetic fuel in a beautiful, classic Rolls-Royce Corniche will allow it to be the car it was, but that’s not what we’re about. We want more.” So, it appears, do many others. Evice has a growing list of customers knocking on its doors, and the team already had plans to scale before they had even sold their first car. The vision to keep things exclusive and special creates a natural limit on capacity, but the current plan is to grow the Corniche, Silver Shadow and Bentley platform to around 15 cars per year. Beyond that, the team is already eyeing up cars that also deserve this type of treatment, and Pearson adds: “It’s a very exciting pipeline, for sure, and there will be a point where that goes beyond comfort, luxury and refinement. Our ethos is the car has to be better than a combustion counterpart. If that rule applies to a car, we’re probably thinking about it.” That, of course, will require further scaling, and Pearson expects that by the time the company has introduced its second and third vehicle programmes, and is at what the current business model predicts will be a steady state, the employee roster will reach the 50-60 mark, with in-house restoration functions potentially adding more. However, while the initial vision is to create world-class cars from legendary classics, there is clearly an ulterior motive, and Pearson concludes: “The broader ambition is not just to build these incredible cars, but to use them as flagships to demonstrate the technology and expertise we have in-house, and apply that to all sorts of programmes, internally and externally. “At that point, we should have the capacity to develop an applied technologies company and that’s certainly something we’re interested in doing. There’s real value in what we are developing from a technology, expertise and supply chain perspective; the ability to do it right. And I think there will be a lot of companies out there who want cars that reflect that.” E-Mobility Engineering | January/February 2025 Specifications Evice R001 / R002 Rolling chassis: Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow (R001) / Corniche (R002) Motor: Single-drive unit, rear wheel drive Power: 400 bhp or 500 bhp (depending on battery pack size) Battery: 77 kWh of actively heated and cooled batteries split between two packs or 94 kWh split between three Suppliers: All systems designed in-house or supplied by Tier 1 suppliers Charging: 22 kW AC charging and DC rapid charging (to be improved from current 80 kW) Suspension: Original layout with modern, active suspension system Accessories: Upgraded audio system Wireless Apple CarPlay on a concealable screen Bespoke, high-performance headlights (in development) Climate control Heated and ventilated seats Electrically adjustable seats Remote central locking Bespoke dashboard with all analogue, tactile features
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