A Rolls-Royce powered by hydrogen is a possibility, according to the brand’s new CEO Ian Robertson.
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“Our parent company BMW is committed to hydrogen,” Robertson told Automotive News Europe. “The engineering is proven. Once the logistics of providing the fuel are resolved, I wouldn’t rule out – or rule in – hydrogen becoming a Rolls-Royce attribute.”
As part of its plans to produce cars with lower exhaust emissions, BMW is working on using hydrogen to fuel conventional internal-combustion engines.
Other carmakers are developing fuel cells as their hydrogen-based technology.
By 2008, BMW says it will begin selling a few hundred 7 series sedans with either a V8 or V12 engine that can run on petrol and hydrogen.
These will be targeted at cities that suffer high levels of air pollution in Europe, the US and Asia – such as San Francisco and Berlin.
Robertson said Rolls-Royce could piggy-back on BMW’s hydrogen technology because the Phantom’s V12 engine is closely related to BMW’s V12.
