Rolls-Royce Built Its First Electric Vehicle For Young Patients At West Sussex Hospital

Mar 02, 2017 07:40 AM EST | JP Olvido

Who would have thought that Rolls-Royce would enter the electric vehicle market? The luxury car manufacturer did in the form of a small electric-powered one-off car for children to ride around in.

Rolls-Royce created an all-electric mini vehicle. The car manufacturer revealed its first ever electric vehicle for children to use at the St. Richard's Hospital. The hospital is located in the company's hometown of Chichester, West Sussex. It was built specifically the hospitals' pediatric day surgery unit.

The vehicle is for children awaiting surgery at St. Richard's Hospital. The SRH is small enough to maneuver through the hospital's corridors. Children will be able to drive themselves in it to the hospital's operating rooms with the corridors lined with traffic signs to guide them. The aim of this vehicle is to help reduce stress among young patients of the hospital.

The SRH's unveiling was made in the presence of two young children. They were invited over to the car manufacturer's Goodwood plant and had the privilege of driving it along the production line which is usually done by the chief executive officer when signing off new vehicles by the company.

It took more than 400 hours to build the small electric car. It has a top speed of 10 miles per hour but can be modified to 4 miles per hour depending on the age of the driver.

Just like any of the company's vehicles, it features "the same finesse and attention-to-detail afforded to every Rolls-Royce patron". It has a two-tone steering wheel, 3D-printed components, leather seats, and the same self-righting wheel centers on the company's full-size cars. The small electric car sports the company's signature chrome grille. It also has a Spirit of Ecstacy bonnet ornament on its hood just like any of its regular-sized vehicles carries the name SRH.

The company officially handed the vehicle over to the hospital on March 1, 2017. West Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust chief executive Marianne Griffiths has said that the car is "simply priceless". Griffiths said, "It is a very special gift and one of the most wonderful donations ever received by Love Your Hospital, our trust's dedicated charity."

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