Rolls Royce Phantom 102EX electric car made a brief stopover in Dubai as a part of its global tour. Experimental electric car, as Rolls Royce calls it, is the most significant step taken by the luxury car maker in its quest to pin down a technology that will put Rolls Royce on a sound footing for the future.

The global tour has one objective – carefully gauge the opinions and reactions of owners, enthusiasts, media and public about an electric Rolls Royce car, while at the same time, allow the R&D team to gather data on car’s performance across the globe.  Now that’s killing two birds with a single stone.

Talking to AutoMiddleEast.com, James Crichton, Rolls Royce Regional Director for Middle East and Africa said that the Phantom 102 EX electric car is a working test bed and there are no plans to build a production version of the car as yet. The bank of research gathered from the global tour that includes Europe, Middle East, China, Singapore, Japan and North America will be crucial to deciding on use of electric propulsion systems in Rolls Royce cars.

Powering the Phantom 102EX experimental electric car is a stack of lithium ion batteries that deliver energy to two 145Kw electric motors mounted closer to rear seats of the car, there by allowing for a maximum power of 290Kw and a monstrous 800Nm torque. Pre launch tests suggest Phantom 102EX experimental electric car should run up to 200km, achieve 0-60mph in less than eight seconds and reach a top speed limited to 160kph.

Strikingly similar in its appearance to a conventional fuel powered Rolls Royce Phantom, illuminated in electric blue Spirit of Ecstasy sitting on top of the grille and a recharging plug instead of the standard fuel filler cap are two visible elements that tell tale of the 102Ex’s electric personality.

Rolls Royce is testing a technology called Induction charging with the Phantom 102EX that allows the car to be re-charged without the need to plug in any wires physically. There are two main elements to the induction charging system – a transfer pad on the ground that delivers power from the main source to the induction pad mounted under the car. The power transfer takes place wirelessly without any physical contact of the pads. All you need to do is park your car above the transfer pad and the charging starts automatically. How convenient!

Next, the car will be taken back to UK for a quick service before heading off to the eastern coast of North America for more testing. The global tour is expected to end by January 2012. Then on, the data collected from all around the globe will be analyzed and a decision made as to whether or not, electric luxury can be perfected or does it present an unacceptable compromise for Rolls Royce cars.