Details of Cars

Rolls-Royce 100EX and 101EX: the V16 experiments behind the Phantom Coupé

ROLLS ROYCE

Rolls-Royce 101EX at the Paris motor show
The 101EX concept at the 2006 Paris motor show. Photo by Ton1~commonswiki, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

The Rolls-Royce 100EX and 101EX are two related experimental cars, with ‘EX’ standing for experimental models, shown at the Geneva motor show in 2004 and 2006. The first marked the centenary of the meeting of Charles Rolls and Henry Royce; the second was a two-door grand tourer and previewed the styling of the Phantom Coupé.

Rolls-Royce 100EX at a glance

Rolls-Royce 100EX key facts
Maker Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
Shown 100EX at Geneva in 2004, 101EX at Geneva in 2006
Purpose experimental models, hence the EX suffix
Engine 9.0-litre V16
Transmission six-speed automatic
Length 5,669 mm (223.2 in)
Width 1,990 mm (78.3 in)
Height 1,561 mm (61.5 in)
Chassis aluminium space frame, shortened Phantom floorpan on the 101EX
Legacy styling basis for the Phantom Drophead Coupé and Phantom Coupé

The English page on the 100EX covers both concepts and is short, so this article is shorter than usual and rests on one source.

History of the Rolls-Royce 100EX

The centenary study

The 100EX concept was produced and presented in 2004 to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the meeting of businessman Charles Rolls and engineer Sir Henry Royce in 1904. It was a large four-seat open car with a 9.0-litre V16 engine, a six-speed automatic transmission and dimensions of 5,669 mm long, 1,990 mm wide and 1,561 mm tall.

Rolls-Royce 101EX at Geneva
The 101EX at the 2006 Geneva motor show. Photo by Max Schmitt, CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons.

The 101EX

In 2006 Rolls-Royce showed the 101EX, a grand tourer coupé prototype that followed the 100EX concept of a possible new line-topping two-door Rolls-Royce. The 101EX shared its aluminium space frame technology with the 2003 Phantom, albeit in a shortened version, and was 9.5 in (241 mm) shorter than the Phantom saloon, with a lower roofline and a shallower glass area. Power came from the same 9-litre V16.

From concept to production

The updated body styling of the 101EX would eventually serve as the basis for the Phantom Drophead Coupé and the Phantom Coupé. The Coupé appeared in the film Johnny English Reborn, and for the film Rowan Atkinson persuaded BMW to fit one of the three or four V16 engines originally developed for the 2003 Phantom saloon into the movie coupé, to which BMW agreed.

Design and features

  • V16 engine: a 9.0-litre sixteen-cylinder unit, far larger than anything in the production range.
  • Centenary exercise: the 100EX was built to mark one hundred years of Rolls–Royce.
  • Shortened Phantom chassis: the 101EX used the Phantom’s aluminium space frame, shortened by 241 mm.
  • Production preview: the 101EX styling passed almost unchanged to the Phantom Drophead Coupé and Phantom Coupé.

Rolls-Royce 100EX versions

  • 100EX (2004): the centenary concept with a 9.0-litre V16 and six-speed automatic.
  • 101EX (2006): the two-door grand tourer prototype on a shortened Phantom space frame.

The production cars that followed the 101EX design are described in the Phantom VII article. More cars are in the Rolls-Royce collection.

Sources

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