The electric car has come of age. How do we know? Well, see for yourself. Rolls-Royce, perhaps the most iconic of classic luxury marques, has stepped firmly into the EV waters with the 102EX Concept. According to CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös, this machine was created to help the company “[seek] clarity on which technology may be suitable to drive Rolls-Royce motor cars of the future.”

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We’d imagine a nice big diesel engine (perhaps fueled with a biodiesel blend) would work just fine and dandy, but electric drive is certainly a workable option, as well. Apparently, the 102EX, which is apparently also known as the Phantom Experimental Electric, will be used throughout 2011 as a test bed to shuttle… well, whomever Rolls-Royce deems worthy of transport. It won’t, however, be made into a production vehicle.

The Phantom Experimental Electric started life as a run-of-the-mill Rolls-Royce Phantom from which the 6.75-liter engine and six-speed automatic gearbox were removed and replaced with a pair of electric motors putting out 145 kilowatts each. That thrust is sufficient to send the 6,000-pound EV to 60 miles per hour in “under eight seconds.”

More impressive is the battery pack, which is comprised of 96 individual cells assembled (on purpose, we gather) to resemble the shape of the original engine and transmission. Rolls-Royce believes its 338-volt, 71-kWh unit is the largest battery ever fitted to a road car. Also of note is the inductive charging technology that eschews an actual plug in favor of a charging mat on the ground and an inductive mat on the underside of the vehicle that wirelessly recharges the battery. A plug also exists where the fuel filler normally resides.