Fresh details of wild Rolls-Royce Silent Shadow

Rolls-Royce is primed to begin teasing the all-new pure-electric Rolls-Royce Silent Shadow before the end of the year, building an appetite among luxury car buyers for a zero-emissions limo that will blend supercar levels of performance with a 500km range.

According to Autocar, Rolls-Royce designers are set to take full advantage of the Silent Shadow's lack of conventional engine and transmission and bestow the car-maker's first-ever production EV with a stunning design that will draw inspiration from the wild 103EX concept unveiled back in 2016.

This will help the inaugural battery-powered Rolls-Royce carve a new niche away from a typical Phantom buyer who might be put off by the 103EX-inspired brash and sculptural design.

It will also help the luxury British brand distance itself from the upcoming BMW i7 that will donate its powertrain, including a large 120kW battery.

What the Rolls-Royce EV won't share, however, is the big BMW's CLAR platform as the Brit mag says the Silent Shadow (the name has already been trademarked) will be based on a heavily updated version of the Phantom and Cullinan's all-aluminium architecture.

Helping justify the extra engineering costs involved with using the Rolls-Royce spaceframe, rather than simply rebodying the BMW i7 that's due in 2022, is the fact that the Silent Shadow's electric powertrain will slot neatly underneath the Cullinan.

This will allow Rolls-Royce to create a zero-emissions version of the SUV.

Set to weigh in at more than 3000kg, the Rolls-Royce Silent Shadow will almost certainly feature at least two electric motors and come with all-wheel drive, although a rear-drive version is also anticipated.

With a large 120kW battery in place, expect the Rolls-Royce to cover up to 500km between charges.

Primed to offer at least Level 3 autonomous cruise control that will see the car take control on the highway in geofenced locations, the Silent Shadow will be the most technologically advanced Rolls-Royce ever offered.

Inside, expect the Silent Shadow to shock traditional Rolls-Royce buyers by shunning traditional wood and leather for cutting-edge materials and a contemporary design tailored to appeal to a younger, tech-obsessed buyer.

That said, the battery-powered limo will still be hand-built using traditional craftsmanship techniques along the same production line at the car-maker's Goodwood factory.

Most examples of the battery-powered Rolls-Royce Silent Shadow will be destined for China and the US, but some could be offered to wealthy Australians when production begins shortly after the BMW i7 is launched in 2022.

Fuelling Rolls-Royce's desire to create a pure-electric limo is the knowledge Mercedes-Maybach and Bentley are both well underway in developing their own respective battery-powered luxury rivals, although the Silent Shadow is expected to be priced comfortably above them all, with a price tag in excess of $1.5 million plus local taxes.