The only car quieter than a Rolls-Royce is an electric Rolls-Royce. Batteries included.

If you’re the sort of driver that has been repelled by the idea of an electric car because of the stereotypical image of the tree-hugging socialist making a stop at Trader Joe’s to pick up some tofu snacks as they drive their Prius to an Obama rally, you may have to finally give up your Luddite stance and accept the future of electric. You’ve almost certainly seen the Tesla and the Fisker , two of the more remarkable electric vehicles in production. But even the more adventurous buyer with the funds available to purchase a car like that would probably balk simply due to the fact that both companies are highly speculative startup ventures. Well, things are starting to take a serious turn in the EV market, a turn that may make it hard to argue against an electric as soon as 2013. High-end carmakers were already making some bold moves in the green car market; Porsche’s hybrid Panamera is just one of several examples, and Porsche also quietly rolled out the Boxster E prototype recently. But now three major luxury carmakers – BMW, Rolls-Royce, and Mercedes-Benz – are all making serious commitments to EV’s. And not just as quirky, awkward looking concept cars. Even the combustion engine addicts over at Car & Driver gave the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG E-Cell high marks – not as an electric, but as an “actual car”. BMW is also rolling out their ActiveE, and probably the most mind-blowing development is the Rolls-Royce 102EX. When a company that embodies a commitment to perfection in engineering and owner experience in the way that Rolls does is making a commitment, you know the electric car is truly arriving. Visit ElectricLuxury.com to learn more. Or watch the introductory video below. The abundance of umlauts in CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös’ name is exceeded only by the clarity and confidence with which he expresses his vision for making the Rolls-Royce 102EX a year-long global R&D adventure. Does someone have a bib? I keep drooling as I edit the photos of this thing.