If you look back at the year and think of the gear that stands out, it’s probably a short list despite the hundreds of phones, tablets, Kickstarter projects, headphones and laptops that flooded the market. There have been plenty of
standouts, and more than a few clear
fails. And there are a few products that wowed us not with innovation or stupidity, but with their stupefying price. From alligator-skinned watches to electric cars to sneakers by Kanye West, here is the gear that dropped our collective jaw in 2012.
Rolls Royce 102EX Phantom Experimental Electric, $3 billion
The future of the automobile is here and it’s electric. But
damn EVs are pricey. The superb
Tesla Model S — which undoubtedly is a milestone for the auto industry — runs about $90,000 at the moment, but even electric runabouts from Nissan or Mitsubishi cost far more than comparable gasoline models.
But the pinnacle of the technology remains the Rolls-Royce 102EX Phantom Experimental Electric, an electrified version of the flagship Phantom. It was a
trial balloon (that sank) to gauge customers’ appetite for a Rolls with a cord, and Rolls reportedly spent about $3 billion developing what we consider
one of the finest cars ever built. The cancellation of the project makes the one-of-a-kind Experimental Electric priceless.
Image: Rolls Royce