10 replies to this topic

[mudmonster]

William Maley
Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com
August 3, 2012

Back in March, Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös said the automaker is looking into alternative powertrains. Already, electric power has been kicked out due to the range and charging time being unacceptable. Now, it looks like another power option has been kicked to the curb.

A source tells Autocar that Rolls-Royce asked their customers what they thought about diesels. The response was a resounding no.

“A diesel has a lot of low-end torque. But customers are not going to cop it. It’s the perception of compromise. They wouldn’t entertain the idea. They said absolutely not, don’t bring diesel anywhere near a Rolls-Royce, we won’t buy it,” said the source.

Source: Autocar

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at william.maley@cheersandgears.com or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

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[Drew Dowdell]

Daft.

[balthazar]

Interesting.

[Z-06]

Strange

[Delta Force79]

It comes down to this, if you have the money to buy a brand new Rolls, gas mileage and the price of gas are not a concern.

[dfelt]

I think the only other option that would be considered is Hybred, an electric engine driven unit with a gas generator that would be damn near silent. This would give you an ultimate quiet ride.

[smk4565]

A Hybrid could work, most of Rolls-Royce history was done with a V8, but at this point, I doubt any of their current or perspective customer base wants any less than a V12. Maybe bolt the BMW hybrid system on the the Rolls V12, but as stated, people buying a Phantom don't care about mpg or fuel cost. They just care that it took 127 hours to hand stitch the leather on the seats and that a man with white gloves spent a week polishing the chrome.

[FAPTurbo]

RUBRUBRUB

WE CAN'T USE THE SAME FUEL AS THE TRACTORS BELONGING TO THE PEASANTRY!

RUBRUBRUB

[balthazar]

At the price level RR is at, it should be a completely unique powerplant, like a gas turbine.

[Drew Dowdell]

As long as Rolls can get around any NHV issues, I would think any Rolls buyer would love 700 ft-lb of thrust at 900 rpm.

[mudmonster]

At the price level RR is at, it should be a completely unique powerplant, like a gas turbine.

Hmm... That is very good idea