Rolls-Royce has no plans to build a convertible version of its Spectre electric GT, with bosses claiming certain elements make such a project impossible – at least for now.
Speaking to Auto Express at a private preview of the forthcoming coachbuilt Project Nightingale, Rolls-Royce’s head of future product, Phil Harnett, told us: “If you want to do a four-seater [convertible] then you also have to bring in further weight, further strengthening and you need a rollover protection system as well.”
Yet the maker isn’t a stranger to heavyweight cabriolets; the Phantom Drophead Coupé preceded the Rolls-Royce Dawn – the latter of which ceased production in 2023. But both were born in the pre-EV era, with each using a variation of the firm’s lauded V12.
“We’ve looked at various things in the past,” Harnett said. “The more weight you add… you begin to spiral. Eventually you’ll go over legal limits.” Asked if these issues were prohibitive for such a project, Harnett said: “At the moment, yes. That’s why it’s not in our line-up.”
These so-called “legal limits” are a homologation nightmare for all car makers – and Rolls-Royce is no exception. As a result, the production-ready Project Nightingale won’t be available in China, with Harnett telling us: “It won’t be able to be homologated [in China] because of the energy efficiency.”
It means that if you simply must have an electric Rolls-Royce with a folding fabric roof, your only option is something from the forthcoming ‘Coachbuilt Collection’. But with Harnett telling us he knows “basically all the homes” that the proposed million-pound Project Nightingale cars are going to, you might be out of luck…
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