• News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
  • News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
Sign up Now (For Free)

Sign up for our newsletter and receive the latest automotive news in your inbox!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!
News
Read Now
  • All News
  • Automakers
  • Automobiles
  • Auto Shows
  • Business
  • EVs & Environment
  • Guides
  • Lawsuits/Legal
  • Regulatory
  • Ride-Sharing
  • Safety & Recalls
  • Technology
Recent
  • VinFast Focuses on Europe to Beat Chinese Rivals to Market
  • Honda Establishes Global Motorsports Organization
  • Bugatti Rimac Signs U.S. Distribution Pact with VW
  • Tentative Settlement Ends Ford Strike Threat in Canada
  • NHTSA Revives Ford Focus Recall Investigation
  • Unifor, Ford Agree to Contract Extension
  • Volkswagen Reveals Third-Generation Tiguan
  • Minivans Aren’t as Safe as You Think, Study Claims
  • Everyone Wants to Talk to Elon
  • EV Growth to Accelerate as Price Parity Approaches
Editor’s Choice
    Reviews
    Read Now
    • All Reviews
      • Feeder
    • Classic Cars
    • Concept Cars
    • Convertibles
    • Coupes
    • Crossovers/CUVs
    • Diesel
    • Hot hatches
    • Hybrids
    • Luxury Vehicles
    • Minivans
    • Muscle Cars
    • Pickups
    • Sedans
    • Sports Cars
    • Super Cars
    • SUVs
    Recent Reviews
    • A Week With: 2024 Mercedes-AMG EQE SUV
    • A Week With: The 2024 BMW i7 xDrive60
    • A Week With: 2024 Alfa Romeo Tonale Veloce AWD
    • A Week With: 2023 Toyota Camry XSE Hybrid
    • A Week With: 2024 Subaru Impreza RS
    • A Week With: 2023 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Desert Boss
    • First Drive: 2024 Polestar 2
    • A Week With: 2024 Mercedes-Benz GLE 450 4Matic
    • A Week With: 2023 Mazda CX-50 Turbo
    • A Week With: 2023 Toyota Prius Prime
    Editor’s Choice
      Guides
      Car Warranty
      • Endurance Warranty Reviews
      • BMW Extended Warranty
      • Extended Warranty For Cars Over 100k Miles
      • Extended Car Warranty Cost
      • Subaru Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Reviews
      • CarShield Cost
      • Aftermarket Car Warranty
      • CARCHEX Warranty Reviews
      • Reputable Extended Car Warranty Companies
      • Used Car Warranty Companies
      • Best Car Warranty
      • Is CarShield A Scam?
      • Mercedes Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Plans
      Insurance
      • How To Identify A Car Insurance Company
      • Geico Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • How Far Back Does A Car Insurance Company Look
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance For Used Cars
      • State Farm Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance From Progressive
      • Dollar A Day Insurance
      • Auto Insurance For SSI Recipients
      • Car Insurance Rates After A Suspended License
      • Auto Insurance For Salvage Vehicles
      • Average Cost of Dodge Ram 1500 Car Insurance
      • Car Insurance Florida
      • Full Coverage Auto Insurance
      • GrubHub Insurance
      • Amazon Delivery Auto Insurance
      Shipping
      • Car Shipping Companies
      • uShip Reviews
      • Auto Shipping From California To Hawaii
      • Montway Auto Transport Reviews
      • Cheap Car Shipping
      • Easy Auto Ship Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Miami
      • Auto Shipping To Alaska
      • Car Shipping Cost
      • Auto Shipping Hawaii
      • Auto Shipping Puerto Rico
      • Sherpa Auto Transport Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Atlanta
      • Auto Shipping Boston
      • Auto Shipping. Chicago
      About
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Affiliate Disclosure
      • Sitemap
      TheDetroitBureau.com

      More than just “another” place to find news, reviews, spy shots, commentary, features, and guides about the auto industry. TheDetroitBureau doesn’t stop with the press releases or confuse a few lines of opinion with insightful, in-depth reporting.

      Contact Us

      Like what you see? Have some ideas for making The Detroit Bureau.com even better? Let us know, we’d love to hear your voice.

        Media
        Listen Now
        • Headlight News: All Episodes
        More from TheDetroitBureau
        • Guides
        • Latest News
        • Auto Reviews
        • Podcasts
        Headlight News

        TheDetroitBureau.com’s Headlight News offers a look at the past week’s top automotive news stories, as well as what’s coming up in the week ahead. Check out the week’s top story and our latest review…along with a dive into the past with this week in automotive history.

        home > news > Automobiles > Codename: 103EX – Definitely Not Your (Rich) Father’s Rolls-Royce

        Codename: 103EX – Definitely Not Your (Rich) Father’s Rolls-Royce

        A Phantom for tomorrow’s Masters of the Universe.

        Paul A. Eisenstein
        Paul A. Eisenstein , Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
        June 16, 2016
        The Rolls-Royce 103EX is the automaker's entry in the Vision Next 100 series from parent company, BMW.

        Among luxury brands, few are more bound by tradition than Rolls-Royce, but you might find that hard to believe after catching a glimpse of the new 103EX. Part of the marque’s “Vision Next 100” plan for the future, the concept vehicle offers a glimpse of what an ultra-luxury vehicle might look like in the age of autonomous driving.

        The Rolls-Royce 103EX is the latest in a series of unusually edgy prototypes the British maker has revealed in recent years, but it is timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Rolls’ German parent BMW – which has unveiled its own futuristic concept, as has sibling British brand Mini.

        Stay in the Know!

        “With the Rolls-Royce Vision Next 100 we were mindful not to dwell on the past,” said Torsten Müller-Ötvös, the brand’s CEO. “We wanted to be as innovative as possible and at the same time transcend the design history of the marque.”

        The unveiling of the Rolls 103EX comes just as production wraps up on the marque’s flagship, the yacht-sized Phantom. While it doesn’t reveal what’s in store for the Phantom replacement, the concept vehicle does give a hint of what could come a bit further into the future.

        While it doesn’t reveal what’s in store for the Phantom replacement, the concept vehicle does give a hint of what could come a bit further into the future.

        It is frequently said that there will be more change in the next decade than the industry has seen in the last half century, and that idea is reflected in both the design and the technology of the 103EX. While Rolls has been reluctant to embrace the push towards electrified drivetrains, it appears finally ready to accept that trend, while also nodding towards a future of autonomous, connected technologies.

        “In short,” the maker suggests, “the Rolls-Royce Vision Next 100 utilizes envisioned advances in technology to herald the return to authentic coachbuilding.”

        Significantly, the footprint of the 103EX mirrors that of the outgoing Phantom, as 4.9 meters in length and 1.6 meters in height. Visually, there are classic Rolls-Royce cues, such as the tall, “Pantheon” grille topped by the familiar Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament. But the nose is flanked by two large, outrider wheels barely concealed within aerodynamic fenders.

        (Farewell to Phantom as Rolls Royce prepares new flagship. For more, Click Here.)

        Rolls isn’t revealing specific powertrain details, beyond stating the 103EX uses a zero-emissions system. The design of the concept takes advantage of the flexibility an electric propulsion system might offer by providing an unusual front cargo bay, two large suitcases popping out of its concealed storage compartment ahead of the cabin.

        Rolls isn’t revealing specific powertrain details, beyond stating the 103EX uses a zero-emissions system.

        The Spirit of Ecstasy has been the most familiar symbol of the Rolls-Royce brand since it was formed in 1911. The original statue was created by sculptor Charles Sykes and modeled after Eleanor Thornton – one of the victims lost when a German U-Boat sunk the SS Persia near Crete during World War I.

        Thornton has an even bigger presence in the Rolls-Royce 103EX in the form of “Eleanor,” the artificial intelligence “virtual assistant and chauffeur” who passengers interface with. “She” manages pretty much everything, from setting destinations, to tuning the radio or handling other connectivity duties. Give a command and Eleanor will retrieve the 103EX from a remote parking spot.

        “She ‘brings’ the car around when her passengers are ready to travel and,” Rolls explains, “whilst conveying her charges to their next destination, helpfully but discreetly makes suggestions and recommendations, briefing them ahead of their arrival so they are ready to ‘perform.’”

        (Click Here for TDB’s first drive in the 2016 Rolls Royce Wraith.)

        A large, state-of-the-art OLED high-definition screen is used to show routing, provides news and entertainment, or to brief a passenger about the events of the day.

        Of course, the Rolls 103EX is, first and foremost, a luxury car, and the centerpiece of the cabin is a silk and wool sofa, “a beautifully textured, ivory-coloured luxurious throne upon which our passengers are conveyed, and from which they command.”

        The Rolls 103EX is, first and foremost, a luxury car, and the centerpiece of the cabin is a silk and wool sofa.

        How much of the 103EX will be offered to tomorrow’s Masters of the Universe is unclear, but some key elements are all but certain to appear. Despite its initial reluctance, Rolls will have to adapt to increasingly stringent global emissions and mileage standards, something that will likely lead to either pure battery-electric or plug-in drive options. And autonomous driving would seem a natural fit for the classic Rolls buyer.

        Meanwhile, with Siri available on every iPhone and Amazon’s Alexa an increasingly familiar presence in home and office, virtual assistant Eleanor would seem a prerequisite.

        (Rolls-Royce begins development of new SUV. Click Here for the inside story.)

        So, while the edgy design of the Rolls-Royce 103EX may seem little more than a fantasy in chrome, many of the underlying concepts are likely to reappear in production in the not-too-distant future.

        How to Care for Your Car

        Cheap Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice

        Best Extended Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice
        Recently Published

        VinFast Focuses on Europe to Beat Chinese Rivals to Market

        Today

        Honda Establishes Global Motorsports Organization

        Today

        Bugatti Rimac Signs U.S. Distribution Pact with VW

        Yesterday

        2 responses to “Codename: 103EX – Definitely Not Your (Rich) Father’s Rolls-Royce”

        1. john says:
          June 20, 2016 at 4:24 pm

          Eleanor Thornton did not die when the Titanic Sunk.

          She was killed when a U-Boat sunk the SS Persia near Crete.

          -john

          Reply
          1. Paul A. Eisenstein says:
            June 21, 2016 at 8:16 am

            Thanks for the correction, John. We’ll revise immediately.

            Paul E.

            Reply

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Share this article:
        © The Detroit Bureau 2023
        • Guides
        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms of Use
        • Affiliate Disclosure
        • Contact Us
        • Sitemap
        Follow Us: