In the future, vehicle electrification has become an irreversible trend, and the global ultra-luxury brand Rolls-Royce has also launched the first electric vehicle "Spectre", marking Rolls-Royce taking the first step to fully realize electrification in 2030. Recently, the Shintropic prototype was discovered during the first road test, and it is expected that the model will be officially launched before 2023.
The Shining is based on Rolls-Royce's "luxury architecture," although Rolls-Royce has yet to reveal any specific details about the Shining's performance or price. But it's safe to say that this new car will be more luxurious than the Mercedes-Benz EQS. Through spy photo analysis, the front face of the Shining Spirit still retains the "Parthenon" column grille design as the spiritual inheritance of the Rolls-Royce brand. However, it is not excluded that in order to cater to electrification, variable grille technology is used to reduce wind resistance.
Although the new car is covered in black camouflage, the side lines are quite similar to the Rolls-Royce Phantom, using the same two-door coupe shape as the Phantom and following the way the door is opened forward. Thanks to the electrified platform, without the shackles of the huge V12 engine, the vehicle has a lower stance and a stronger sense of sport than the Phantom.
However, sharing BMW 7 Series parts with the Phantom is different. The Shining will share parts with the Phantom, Gurst and Cullinan, and it is a more authentic Rolls-Royce. At the same time, it is also testing the waters for the electrification of the Phantom, Gurst and Cullinan.
It is reported that the Shining has three sets of powertrains to choose from. One is equipped with a self-developed electric drive system; the second is to use the BMW i7 is testing three motor systems, the maximum output power of 720 horsepower; the third is to use BMW's strongest iX M60 powertrain so far, the set of powertrain uses front and rear dual motors, and has a four-wheel drive function, the sport mode can burst out the maximum output power of 610 horsepower, the maximum torque of 1100 N· m. In normal mode, the maximum output power is 523 hp and the maximum torque is 1015 N·m.
Rolls-Royce has yet to confirm the battery pack solution, but it can be predicted that the Shining will definitely surpass the Mercedes-Benz EQS's 470-mile (756 km) range. If so, it requires a larger battery pack than 108kW·h.
Regardless of which motor and battery combination Rolls-Royce ultimately chooses, it's safe to say that the Shining will become the most expensive electric car known in the world. It is expected to start at US$500,000 (about RMB 3.18 million).
Statue of the "Goddess of Celebration"
As a classic image of Rolls-Royce, the "Goddess of Celebration" was designed by the famous British artist Charles Sykes in 1911. For more than a hundred years, it remained largely unchanged, with only two brief periods in history (1934-1939 and 1946-1956) in which the kneeling version of the statue underwent significant changes. But on Rolls-Royce's first electric car, the Shining, the "Goddess of Celebration" statue was redesigned.
The new statue took aerodynamics into account and took 830 hours of modeling and wind tunnel testing to achieve the final result. The Statue of the Goddess of Celebration is smaller than before, from 3.94 inches tall to 3.26 inches tall.
The robe of the goddess (which many mistakenly believe to be wings) was redesigned to not only be more aerodynamic, but also more realistic in appearance. The biggest change is the goddess standing posture, no longer with her legs leaning forward together, but with her left leg in front and her right leg in the back, with her legs slightly bent and her body hanging low, pushing forward forcefully. Cd, whose wind resistance coefficient of the whole vehicle was reduced to 0.26, became the "true goddess of speed". The new "Goddess of Celebration" statue will be exclusively equipped on the Rolls-Royce electric model, and the existing fuel model will not be replaced by a new look.