Halcyon retools the Rolls-Royce Corniche as an EV

May 13. Halcyon Cars filed the Highland Heather commission this week: a 1978 Rolls-Royce Corniche rebuilt as an electric two-door. No internal combustion, no original upholstery, one battery pack where the V8 used to sit. Price lands at £500,000, roughly three times what a restored period-correct Corniche trades for at auction.

The work strips the car to chassis and replaces most of what was there. New electric drivetrain, new suspension geometry, new interior using hemp and Alcantara in place of leather. The exterior bodywork stays close to the original coachwork, repainted in a custom purple the house calls Highland Heather. Wheels are modern but sized to period spec. Halcyon calls it a "remaster," not a restoration.

The company also announced a Rose and Scroll commission: same platform, different color palette, delivery in 2027. Both cars retain Rolls-Royce badging under license from BMW, who now owns the marque. Halcyon's deal allows use of the Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament and the Rolls grille shape, but the cars are titled as Halcyon builds, not Rolls-Royces.

The angle here is the price. A functional 1978 Corniche in good condition trades for £120k to £180k. Halcyon is charging £500k for a car that no longer has the engine, the leather, or the original wiring. What the buyer gets is an EV that looks like a Corniche and drives quieter than one ever did. Whether that's worth the delta depends on how much the buyer values the silhouette over the mechanicals.

Halcyon filed three commissions last year, all Corniches, all sold before completion. The waiting list now runs 18 months. The house works out of a shop in Warwickshire, fifteen employees, one car at a time. No plans to scale. Each build takes nine months from chassis acquisition to delivery.