His Masters’ Royce: music stars’ favourite car reborn as a beautiful EV

The Rolls-Royce Corniche was the seventies ‘it-car’, owned by superstars such as Paul McCartney, Michael Caine, Frank Sinatra and Elton John. Now the gauche two-door is back, but with the V8 that drank almost as heavily as some celebrity owners switched for a hi-tech electric powertrain, and the interior taken to new levels of luxury – thanks to a new British tech start-up, Halcyon.

Its latest ‘remastering’ – a Rolls-Royce Corniche drophead – goes public today, ahead of an official unveiling at Hampton Court’s Concours d’Elegance. Auto Express took an exclusive tour of Halcyon’s Surrey workshop to discover the 2,000 hours of craft and bespoke technology that make seized-up Rolls roll again.

The stripped-down Silver Shadow marooned in a parking space gives the only clue to what happens on this stereotypical, grey industrial estate near Guildford. All Halcyon remasterings begin with either a Corniche or Silver Shadow donor chassis, handed over by clients such as the Canadian collector who has supplied a fixed-head Corniche once owned by film director Blake Edwards and his wife, Julie Andrews. 

Don’t have a suitable Rolls to hand? The 11-strong team, led by 29-year-old CEO Matthew Pearson, will source one for you. What on earth made the recent automotive engineering graduate, who owns a pleasingly non-running Triumph GT6 – and fellow Bath University alumni Charlie Metcalfe and Will Burdett – launch a business based on Rolls whose glory years ended before they were born?     

“There hasn't really been a proper attempt to modernise a luxurious, comfort-focused classic. Rolls-Royces should be silent, powerful and refined, so electric power is perfect for transforming these cars into that state.”

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He continues eloquently. “They were phenomenally well built. They’re strong chassis. There’s space and they tolerate the weight. They’re going to do the job they were originally loved for, far better. And that’s key: electrification must reach the point where it does a better job in all metrics – and that’s what we’re building here.”

The workshop team strips the donor Rolls back to the bare metal, and makes any repairs. Then the car is painstakingly overhauled with electric componentry designed in the front office by chief technology officer Burdett, then fitted with a bespoke interior designed collaboratively by the owner and in-house artist Patrick McCallion. 

All the Halcyon Corniche’s range, battery and motor details

We peer behind a glass window into the battery preparation area, and on a palette rests a mighty battery pack layered into the shape of a petrol V8. That epitomises Halcyon’s sympathetic approach to conversions: parts are finessed to fit the original structure and weight minimised to ensure that each new electric Rolls weighs exactly the same as its ancestor.

“It’s a tonne out and a tonne in,” says Pearson. “The 2.2-tonne kerbweight and weight distribution don’t change.” In goes 1.55 miles of wiring, the arteries for the 800-volt electrical system: that’s twice the voltage of a typical Tesla to unlock more power and 230kW DC fast charging, replenishing 10 to 80 per cent battery in just over half an hour.

The biggest challenge, adds tech chief Will Burdett, was working out where to package the electrical components: he feared being too dogmatic about battery size or stowing them in the wrong places would “ruin the car”.

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So the 77kWh standard-range battery slots into the engine bay with some overflow in the fuel tank and spare wheel well, while 94kWh long-range Halcyons pack more cells in a boot recess. While this shaves a little boot space, it boosts maximum range to around 300 miles; the standard car covers 250. Bespoke thermal management aims to keep the batteries at optimum temperature. 

“The motor drive unit goes where the differential was,” continues Burdett. “That frees up space in the propshaft tunnel to put the power electronics low and central.” The electric motor – made by a company that supplies car manufacturers – produces 506bhp, more than double the original V8’s power. New electric-hydraulic brakes, which can recoup energy to charge the battery, replace the original Corniche’s seizure-prone discs. 

What will the Halcyon Corniche feel like to drive?

Without a propshaft spinning furiously, and by adding 100kg of sound deadening and relocating the noisiest components – the air-con compressor and power steering pump – to the front corners, Halcyon says Corniche owners can drop the roof and waft along to the sound of birdsong.

And cars should retain Rolls-Royce’s sumptuous comfort, despite the engineers fitting semi-active suspension, which adjusts the damping in corners to quell bodyroll. Three driving modes – Drive, Spirited and Touring – provide different suspension response and throttle maps to tailor the drive for regular, more dynamic moments or cruising. 

“We’ve not compromised on comfort and compliance in pursuit of cornering,” says Pearson. “And we’ve spent a lot of time developing the throttle map. Press the accelerator and it’s deliberately not neck-snapping, it builds to a surge of power.” Power delivery will nonetheless be crisper than the original’s three-speed automatic.

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All this new componentry is orchestrated by the firm’s software. “Throttle feel, the speed the windows go up, how softly the headlights come on, what happens when you turn the car off – all of these critical experiences are the product of software. We have to be able to control them and then create systems to control it for other clients as well.”

The primary goal: prove the company’s EV engineering prowess

And this is the fundamental goal behind the revived Rolls-Royces: they are the emotional, rolling showcase for the engineering prowess of parent company Evice Technologies. The three founders’ overwhelming vision is for their powertrain and software expertise to electrify the marine, mining, agricultural and construction industries. 

“We plan to dominate the specialist electrification market. It’s a multi-billion-dollar, global market,” says Pearson. Evice’s first step is signing a letter of intent with the 4x4 modifier Twisted Automotive to electrify one of its modified Defenders.

That’s in addition to the 12 to 15 Rolls-Royces Halcyon will remaster in the next four years. And that musical term is knowingly chosen and highly appropriate for a car that attracted so many rock stars.

“We prefer the phrase remastering to reimagining,” explains Pearson. “That’s a common phrase in the industry but we really like the original car, it doesn't need ‘reimagining’. It’s about taking [a classic Rolls] to a whole new level of quality, refinement and power – but true to what it originally did.”

Indeed Halcyon has been working with the authorities on relaxing the requirement to notify the DVLA about modifications where the car preserves its original look. It also has staff focused on import regulations, to ensure cars bound for overseas customers don’t get stuck in transit, tying up cash.

Halcyon’s prototypes both have tortuous musical nicknames: its Silver Shadow – or Shad – is called Marshall after Marshall Mathers, the real name of ‘Slim Shady’ rapper Eminem. Got it? Meanwhile the Corniche drophead goes by the name Elvis, because it’s driven by the press. 

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Thankfully Halcyon’s first commission is named Highland Heather, reflecting the moorland purple hues that inspired its paint. The dashboard is the same but different: the look is very respectful to the original but everything bar the rounded vents have been subtly changed. A 1.4-metre milled aluminium panel runs pillar-to-pillar, the beautiful dials blend some digital elements, each steering wheel is bespoke and the wooden veneers a client choice. 

There is a low-set touchscreen – with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, naturally – where the cassette player would have sat, but a cover slides over to hide this anachronism. And while it relays images from a reversing camera, there’s no lane assist to supplement the old-fashioned cruise control, nor any audible speed limit warnings. “We have a really strict rule: no beeps and no bongs,” chides Pearson. 

Given the faithful look inside and out, the Halcyon workforce – whose previous employers include McLaren Automotive, electric van start-up Arrival and Formula1 teams – must get some funny looks when they stop at a public charger. 

“I sit at traffic lights, see people look over and wish they’d go green,” chuckles Pearson. “Then I see the window go and I know I’m going to be stuck there. But it's fun. It's great to see people's reactions and you don’t have to tell them a Rolls-Royce is just such a natural fit for [electrification].”

Halcyon is doing for Rolls-Royces what Singer Vehicle Design does for Porsche 911s. Not that Singer is ditching incredible flat-six engines for electric power: petrolhead Pearson thinks that’s inappropriate for a 911 – unlike a Rolls. 

Singer and Halcyon do share a suitably elevated price: the service costs from £420,000, excluding the donor car and taxes. That’s more expensive than contemporary Rolls-Royce’s flagship Phantom. What would BMW’s Goodwood outpost make of Pearson and co’s work?

“You won’t find a company with bigger fans of what Rolls-Royce does today. Ours is a Rolls-Royce Corniche, remastered and electrified lovingly by Halcyon. We love the fact that there's a pantheon grill, an original Rolls-Royce badge and Corniche on the back. 

“We're not going to make the ‘e’ green as a gimmick. I hope everyone will know that [a Halcyon] can be looked at as a true homage to what Rolls-Royce stood for in the sixties, seventies and eighties – and today.”

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