Rolls-Royce unveils Project Nightingale – a super limited electric vehicle masterpiece

Rolls-Royce has revealed its most ambitious car yet. Project Nightingale is a hand-built, fully electric, open-top two-seater. And only 100 will ever be made.

The car was unveiled at Goodwood today. It is the first in a new “Coachbuild Collection” – a programme offering bespoke, coachbuilt cars to the most devoted Rolls-Royce clients in the world.

The name comes from Le Rossignol, French for “the nightingale”, the name given to the designers’ house near Henry Royce’s winter home on the French Riviera.

Rolls-Royce CEO Chris Brownridge called it the company’s most extravagant statement to date. It combines coachbuilding, electric power, and open-top motoring in a way the brand has never attempted before.

The design itself is extraordinary. At 5.76 metres long (the same as a Phantom) it is almost entirely bonnet and tail, with a snug two-seat cabin tucked deep inside. The look draws on the sleek, unornamented principles of Streamline Moderne and the experimental “EX” Rolls-Royces of the 1920s. Those original cars wore red badges, so Project Nightingale does too.

This is, in my view, one of the most visually compelling electric cars unveiled in years. The proportions are almost absurdly dramatic, and the detailing, from the metre-wide grille to the sideways-opening boot lid that Rolls-Royce compares to a grand piano, will grab attention wherever it goes.

The electric powertrain, similar to the one found in the Rolls-Royce Spectre, transforms the driving experience in unexpected ways. Designers say early prototype drives felt like travelling by sailing yacht. With the roof down and almost no mechanical noise, occupants can reportedly hear birdsong as they drive. That detail directly inspired the interior’s “Starlight Breeze” lighting suite: 10,500 individual light points arranged in a pattern derived from recordings of actual nightingales.

Inside, there are just five rotary controls. The armrest slides back to reveal the Spirit of Ecstasy controller. Hidden cupholders and storage are carved from solid aluminium. It feels less like a car interior and more like a private room.

Global testing begins this summer and further engineering details will follow as development progresses.

Project Nightingale is available by invitation only, offered to clients with a deep connection to Rolls-Royce design. Deliveries begin in 2028. No price has been announced.

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Spencer Hart Buying Guide Editor

About

As Buying Guide Editor, Spencer is responsible for all e-commerce content on Stuff, overseeing buying guides as well as covering deals and new product launches. Spencer has been writing about consumer tech for over eight years. He has worked on some of the biggest publications in the UK, where he covered everything from the emergence of smartwatches to the arrival of self-driving cars. During this time, Spencer has become a seasoned traveller, racking up air miles while travelling around the world reviewing cars, attending product launches, and covering every trade show known to man, from Baselworld and Geneva Motor Show to CES and MWC. While tech remains one of his biggest passions, Spencer also enjoys getting hands-on with the latest luxury watches, trying out new grooming kit, and road-testing all kinds of vehicles, from electric scooters to supercars.

Areas of expertise

Watches, travel, grooming, transport, tech