UNITED KINGDOM – NOVEMBER 20: Photograph taken from an album of prints compiled by Charles Stewart Rolls (1877-1910), English motorist, motor car manufacturer and aviator. The Columbia Electric Carriage was an electric vehicle manufactured in Hartford, Connecticut, from 1897. By the end of 1898, some 500 had been built, and this example was said to be the first to be imported into Britain. Rolls founded Rolls-Royce Ltd with Sir Frederick Henry Royce (1863-1933) in 1906, creating one of the world’s most famous marques. He was well known on the motor racing circuit, competing in many of the races of the time. He was the first to make a non-stop double crossing of the English Channel by aeroplane. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)
Rolls-Royce is reflecting on its heritage of electric power ahead of a historic announcement. Charles Rolls, the company’s founding father, championed electric cars in 1900, deeming the Columbia model the best of its type. Meanwhile, Sir Henry Royce, one of the first electrical engineers, supplied motors to the earliest electric cars. Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös has pledged to bring a fully electric vehicle to market by the end of the decade. The launch will combine Rolls-Royce’s heritage with cutting-edge expertise, design and specialist engineering.
Visit www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com on 29 September at 13.00 BST for the next chapter in this story.
