Battersea may have the ritzier penthouse apartments but, a few miles across south London, it is another of London's reformed, former coal-fuelled power stations that we have chosen as the departure point of what should be a very special journey.
We will be tackling it in the grandest of modern, electric grand touring coupés. Visible through the windscreen of the new Rolls-Royce Spectre and the dankness of a November metropolitan morning, what was once Bankside Power Station - now, of course, the Tate Modern art gallery - can still just about hold its own among the neighbouring high-rises of the city's ever-climbing skyline.
Some 40 years older than its more fashionable equivalent in SW11, this is a monument to a time, in the late 19th century, when the UK's capital city was giddy with the first flush of infatuation for electricity. Finished in 1891 to supply power (mostly for street lighting) to the City of London just across the Thames, it became like an enormous electromagnet for young engineers who wanted to learn about 'the new-fangled electricity', and its potential to revolutionise the world.
A young Henry Royce (later to become Sir Frederick Henry Royce, first baronet, OBE) might have been one of them, but having spent several years working in London already, his fast-moving career had by then spirited him off in a few different directions - directions that we are about to retrace.
Royce is primarily thought of as a mechanical engineer - of cars, and then of aero engines. But before any of that, he was one of Britain's pioneer electrical engineers - and if he hadn't been, his outlook on so much else that he would later produce might have been very different.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MG 4
An EV changes your driving style - but not to the detriment of pleasure
PEUGEOT E-208
Time with our French hatch is up. Is it good riddance or au revoir?
In the hot seat
Is the best automotive job in the world actually in miniature scale? Hot Wheels' design boss assures STEPHEN DOBIE it is
Correcting the record
Autocar invented the road test back in 1928 - or did we? KEITH JONES trawls the past to find the true starting point
Road test rebooted
As the Autocar road test forges into its second century, its brief is expanding and it's returning to a familiar place. MATT SAUNDERS explains
Cyber attack
MG is back on the international stage and now trying to return to its sports car roots. MATT SAUNDERS sees if the Cyberster EV can match up to a rival from the present and a relation from the past
KIA PICANTO
As rivals fall by the wayside, Kia's popular city car gets a makeover
MASERATI GRANTURISMO
Latest coupé in a long line of Maserati GT cars hits the UK with V6 power
PORSCHE CAYENNE GTS COUPE
New V8 model gets all the goodies
TOYOTA PRIUS
Back by popular demand with a cool new look and greater driver appeal