Jason Momoa has brought a 1920s Rolls-Royce into the 21st century.
The Hollywood star, famous for his turns in Aquaman, Game of Thrones, and Dune, recently enlisted Electrogenic to convert his stunning 1929 Phantom II into a fully fledged EV.
“In order to pull off this dream project, I had to find the right partner,” Momoa said in a statement. “I needed a team that would appreciate the storied history of this car while updating its technology.”
Electrogenic fit the bill. The British outfit is known for turning classic cars into contemporary electric rides and has also developed nifty “drop-in” EV conversion kits. (We got behind the wheel of one of the shop’s all-electric Porsche 911s in March last year.)
The Phantom features coachwork by H. J. Mulliner & Co.
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“Electrogenic is all about honoring vintage cars,” Momoa adds. “Making them electric without losing any of the vehicle’s character.”
Indeed, the team appears to have modernized this jewel of British automotive history without erasing the charming 1920s touches. The century-old Phantom II retains its original coachwork by H. J. Mulliner & Co. and other timeless features but now packs a whisper-quiet, emission-free electric powertrain. (As with all of Electrogenic’s projects, the conversion is entirely reversible, too.)
This was no easy feat, of course. Electrogenic director Steve Drummond said that it was the most complex classic car EV conversion the team has ever undertaken. The engineers, programmers, and fabricators worked with Momoa for 18 months to bring his vision to fruition.
The Rolls was originally powered by a giant 7.7-liter pushrod straight-six engine that was bolted directly to a four-speed manual gearbox. Churning out between 40 and 50 horses, the car could reportedly reach well over 80 mph in its heyday. The mill and gearbox were removed and replaced with 93 kWh of batteries, which have been integrated into the existing architecture. (No modifications were made to the car’s original structure.)
The original controls and gauges were repurposed.
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The electric motor, which sits neatly between the chassis rails, receives power from the batteries via a custom single-speed direct drive transmission. Approximately 150 kW of grunt and 229 ft lbs of torque is channeled to a fixed reduction gear, which in turn delivers about 734 of twist to the prop shaft. The systems are all managed by custom software developed by Electrogenic.
The team also updated the original cable-operated braking system, repurposed the original controls and gauges, and added a high-end multi-speaker HiFi system.
The all-electric Rolls and the painstaking conversion process are covered in Momoa’s new show, On the Roam. The documentary series follows the Hawaii native as he travels across the globe meeting pioneering creatives, from athletes and musicians to motorcycle fabricators and car restorers.
“For our work and team to be showcased on screen by Jason alongside other passionate craftspeople, really is the icing on the cake,” Drummond concludes. “It’s the perfect way to celebrate this Phantom II, which is now future-proofed for another hundred years of stately motoring.”
