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Guildford-based start-up Halcyon has revealed a new restomod based on the Rolls-Royce Corniche and Silver Shadow, converting the classic cruisers to electric power using an architecture developed entirely in-house.

Based on the later rubber-bumpered models, it swaps the original circa-200bhp 6.75-litre V8 for a rear-mounted electric motor with significantly more poke. Standard Range examples get around 400bhp, while the Long Range is boosted to some 500bhp.

Under the bonnet lies a large battery pack constructed in the same vee shape as the original powerplant; at the rear end sits a second unit that replaces the petrol tank. This set-up is said to preserve both the packaging and the weight distribution of the original car, tipping the scales at the same 2.2 tonnes (split 53:47, front to rear).

Standard Range cars are claimed by Halcyon to deliver a range of around 200-250 miles, while the Long Range manages 250-300 miles.

The system runs on 800V electricals, allowing charge rates of up to 230kW. This yields a 10-80% refill in around 40 minutes.

The entire electrical package and the software on which it runs was developed and supplied by Halcyon’s sister company, Evice. This, according to the companies’ co-founder and CEO Matthew Pearson, gave much greater freedom to develop an ideal technical solution for the Silver Shadow platform.

There are three driving modes to maximise the bandwidth of the Halcyon Corniche’s capabilities, named Drive, Spirited and Touring. Pearson explained: “In Spirited you’ll get a slightly more responsive throttle, slightly firmer dampers both passively and actively; and in Touring, if you’re on a motorway, enable cruise control and the dampers will slack right off – you’ll just be on a floating cloud.” Because the entire electrical package is the company’s own development, rather than a series of off-the-shelf components, “we can be quite precise with how we want the car to behave”. 

In addition to technical changes, the Halcyon Rolls-Royce gets a new interior that aims to strike a balance between a traditional look and offering modern conveniences. For example, it has wireless Apple CarPlay connectivity and a reversing camera, but the screen hosting these features can also be hidden at the touch of a button. The instrument panel retains analogue dials too, displaying key information such as the remaining range and battery charge level. Halcyon also promises material quality and personalisation on a par with brand-new Rolls-Royces.

It will build a total of 60 cars, offering the conversion on both the Corniche coupé and convertible and the Silver Shadow saloon. Prices start at around £400,000 excluding the cost of a donor car (around £50,000 for a tidy example) and taxes.

The Corniche and Silver Shadow were chosen to launch the Halycon and Evice businesses because of both the models’ appeal and their platform’s technical attributes, said Pearson. He explained: “There are earlier cars that were options, but their body-on-frame [constructions] do not tolerate the degree [of modification or performance]; the electric powertrain just simply doesn’t have an end result for what we were looking for.”

Pearson added that the Silver Shadow’s unibody construction meant it was one of the most torsionally stiff cars of its period, so is “really well suited to the sort of things that we’re expecting”. 

There was also a commercial argument in favour of the Roller. “The thing that we absolutely wanted was to do it properly, and to give us the capacity to develop technologies that can serve other purposes,” said Pearson. “We needed to do that by building a car for which clients are willing to spend what we want to charge.”

The allure of contemporaries such as the Citroën DS would not have matched up to the high price that Halcyon is asking for its Silver Shadow, suggested Pearson, so were considered a no-go.

The first Halcyon cars are earmarked for delivery next year. In the meantime, Evice will begin pitching its technologies and services to firms in the automotive, marine and commercial vehicle sectors. It has already developed an electric test mule for Land Rover specialist Twisted and will commence a feasibility study on that car in the coming months.

Mercedes-Benz plans to end production of the EQE saloon and EQE SUV in 2026 as part of a realignment of its electric cars.

The decision follows internal reassessments of new electric model introductions and subsequent overlap within the German car maker’s line-up.

The EQE saloon, currently produced at Mercedes' factory in Bremen, Germany, and the EQE SUV, built in Tuscaloosa in the US, will be indirectly replaced by the electric C-Class EQ and GLC EQ, both based on Mercedes' new 800V MB.EA-M platform. They are claimed to offer improved packaging, enhanced practicality and a similar level of chassis technology to their EQE siblings.

The move comes despite earlier signals that the two EQEs would receive a mid-life facelift next year amid a significant upgrade to their EVA platform, shared with the larger EQS models. Among the upgrades is a boost from the current 400V to a new 800V electric architecture, a silicon-carbide inverter and Mercedes' latest-spec eATS2 electric motors, for added performance and efficiency. Autocar has been told these upgrades are still planned, but only for the larger EQS saloon and EQS SUV.

The C-Class EQ saloon, due in 2026, will bridge the gap to the EQE saloon in terms of its technology, including options such as air suspension and rear-axle steering.

The upcoming GLC EQ, set to make its debut at this month's 2025 Munich motor show, offers 570 litres of boot space and an additional 128 litres in a frunk, comfortably exceeding the EQE SUV’s 520-litre capacity. It also has a towing capcity of up to 2500kg.

Mercedes has yet to officially confirm production of the EQE will end in 2026, with a spokesperson saying the company has “a policy of not commenting on speculation surrounding its current and future models”.

However, the same spokesperson did confirm the successor model to the EQE saloon, the electric-powered E-Class EQ saloon, is under development and planned for introduction in 2027. It is based on the same MB.EA-M platform as the C-Class EQ and GLC EQ.

Mercedes has continuously updated the EQE saloon and SUV since their introduction in 2022, including hardware improvements such as a heat pump, a disconnect unit for the front-mounted engine on four-wheel-drive 4Matic models to allow rear-wheel-drive operation in certain driving conditions, an upgrade extending the energy capacity of their largest battery 96kWh and, more recently, a performance increase across several models.

But with no remaining platform or packaging advantages over the incoming electric C-Class EQ and and GLC EQ, Mercedes has opted not to invest further in them. The move also gives Mercedes time to retool its factories for the arrival of the E-Class EQ in 2027.