With modern cars becoming increasingly appliance-like by incorporating planned obsolescence and all but ignoring the right-to-repair, classic cars are currently more desirable than ever. Whether as an expression of individuality or simply for the joy of driving something with personality, this is true across the spectrum of socioeconomics. British engineering firms Halcyon and Evice Technologies, both founded by the same trio of engineers, understand this well, offering a limited run of electric restomodded classic Rolls-Royce Corniche and Silver Shadow series cars. Each of these cars can be personalized to an extent only limited by the buyer’s imagination, taking over 12 months to complete.
Electric drivetrain swaps are no longer a novel idea. Taking a classic and swapping out its old drivetrain for something newer and easier on maintenance is now commonplace. Halcyon has completely flipped the script by announcing its latest series of cars - the Great Eight Series.
Halcyon
The Halcyon Great Eight Series
In a defiant move away from their roots, Halcyon’s Great Eight Series offers 60 one-of-one commissions of Rolls-Royce Corniche and Silver Shadow series vehicles - including their Bentley equivalents, offered with the legendary Crewe-built 6.75-liter V8, brought up to today's engineering standards. It may be the ultimate expression of combustion luxury, incorporating modern components and technologies into a platform that offered traditional, plush comfort, a floaty ride, and a powertrain that only wafted its passengers down the road rather than ever pushing them back in their seats. Halcyon uses modern technology and engineering to simply enhance the car's existing character without disturbing its analog experience.
Halcyon
A Masterclass in Discrete Modernization
Described as designed to “endure for generations” by Halcyon themselves, the owner of a Halcyon is somebody who questions whether or not there really is a line between art and science; an “expression of automotive art” is what Halcyon proclaims. A Halcyon customer romanticizes and appreciates the old-world charm of open-pore wood, hand-stitched leather, and knurled metal switches. Electric vehicles tend to appeal more to the sort of buyer wearing wireless headphones as he walks into a multistorey carpark with a matcha iced coffee in his hand, to drive home in his Tesla.
Halcyon
This does not, however, mean that the Halcyon offering is missing out on modern conveniences - each of them, at the owner's request, is offered with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, modern climate control, a reversing camera, fully adjustable electric seats with integrated heating and cooling, amongst other conveniences. One could argue that those are expected conveniences in a car for which prices start at $571,000 - not including the donor car, which Halcyon could source for you at an additional cost.
In a World of Modern Electric Homogeneity
This trend of the demand for combustion drivetrains leading businesses to revisit combustion motors is noticeable across the automotive industry. With China’s EV subsidies finally ending this year, and European and American subsidies having ended already, the EV market is witnessing a profound correction. Even classic car specialists realize that they need to offer both EVs as well as perfected iterations of combustion motors alongside one another to meet every type of market demand.
Halcyon
In today’s world of electric homogeneity, Halcyon’s Great Eight Series is a love letter to the motoring experience of days gone by; it is a preservation of automotive heritage in an era that is racing toward disposability, and if you already have a Rolls-Royce Corniche or Silver Shadow lying around, you could have one for $571,000. Plus Taxes.
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