Summer 2024

kindred spirit. “He had built an electric car on a shoestring budg- et.” Also “a car guy since I was a kid,” Morris says of RBW,“no one is bringing this level of quality production and safety-minded- ness to this industry.” Current plans call for the com- pany to ramp up its U.S. presence quickly.“At this point, we are kind of under the public’s radar, and that’s on purpose,” Swain says. Some word about these cars has leaked out, most notably on James May’s YouTube channel where the British TV presenter put aside his general dislike of classic cars and was charmed by the RBW roadster. Consequently, there’s a slight buzz among potential buyers. The Pebble Beach debut will no doubt turn the buzz into a roar. “We’re going to do our American debut properly,” avers Swain. “We’ll launch at Pebble Beach, will have a brick-and-mortar facility in California, and a yet-to-be determined assembly plant somewhere in the U.S. We want to give people confidence that you can purchase a new car from a tiny U.K. company and be taken care of down the road.” RBW is currently putting the finishing touches on the first two left hand drive models they’ve produced, a roadster and a GT, to be unveiled to the automotive public at the Concours d’Elegance from August 15-18. The bottom line is this: RBW EV Cars is a company of highly skilled, extremely passionate and dedicated people who are laser focused on bringing their unique automobile to potential owners who wish to drive what is essen- tially a brand-new classic car. Maybe they drove one in college. Took their spouse in it on that first date. Cherished mem- ories of long, sun-filled country drives. “We cre- ate dreams for people,” Morris says. Perhaps the sign at the entrance to RBW’s Lichfield facility says it all:“If you don’t look back at your car after you’ve parked it, you’re driving the wrong car.” For more information,visit www.rbwevcars.com . C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S U M M E R 2 0 2 4 147 RBW maintains showrooms in London and Lichfield and has approved dealerships in Hong Kong and Bermuda. Soon, they will open a facility in the U.S. to bring these innovative machines to the American automotive public. Photo: RKP Photography Carmel Magazine sent writer Michael Chatfield to Lichfield, England, to research this story. He’s behind the wheel of a new roadster. Photo: Ali Kahn