Rolls Royce Electric Plane Breaks Speed Record

Rolls Royce isn’t just vying for the title of “world’s coolest electric car” – they’ve taken to the skies, too, and they just broke a speed record. Their “Spirit of Innovation” hit a top speed of 345.4 mph over 1.86 miles.

The brand synonymous with chic luxury incorporated what’s become their main company, Rolls-Royce Holdings, in 2011, with a multinational aerospace and defense focus. Though it should be pointed out that Rolls-Royce, itself, is no stranger to the friendly skies (or airspeed records) – a Rolls Royce aircraft engine helped win a “Schneider Trophy” for seaplanes back in 1931.

Rolls-Royce Holdings is the second-largest maker of aircraft engines, and they’ve also dipped their toes in the electric plane market, with the goal of making aviation more sustainable.

And while we’re probably a ways off from full-size electric commercial aircraft (if ever), we are seeing some cool innovation – like the aforementioned “Spirit.”

The world record run from the “Spirit of Innovation” destroyed the previous mark of 209.7 mph set by the Extra 330LE plane back in 2017, and according to Rolls Royce, they set two additional records -- 330 mph over 9.3 miles, 182mph faster than the previous record, and the fastest time to climb to 3000 metres by 60 seconds with a time of 202 seconds.

“Staking the claim for the all-electric world-speed record is a fantastic achievement for the ACCEL team and Rolls-Royce,” said Warren East the CEO of Rolls-Royce. “The advanced battery and propulsion technology developed for this program has exciting applications for the Advanced Air Mobility market … this is another milestone that will help make ‘jet zero’ a reality and supports our ambitions to deliver the technology breakthroughs society needs to decarbonize transport across air, land and sea.”

The company is aiming for all new products, including planes, to be net zero-emission by 2030.