More than 120 years after Rolls-Royce co-founder Charles Rolls envisioned his cars being powered by electricity, the luxury carmaker has unveiled the Spectre as its first-ever fully electric model.
The purpose of a Rolls-Royce isn’t to go fast but to travel from A to B in a smooth, refined and quiet manner which is why going electric is a significant step forward for the brand.
Spectre also introduces us to a new class of vehicle which Rolls-Royce calls the “Ultra-Luxury Electric Super Coupe” which refers to its spacious two-door design.
With that being said, let’s see what else is new.
While Rolls-Royce is keeping much of the Spectre’s powertrain’s figures close to its heart, preliminary data shows the car will have a range of 520km.
The EV is said to produce 430kW and 900Nm of torque, helping it reach 100km/h from a standstill in around 4.4 seconds.
Its chassis is made entirely from aluminium, enabling it to be 30 per cent stiffer than any previous Rolls-Royce. However, like many luxury vehicles, the Spectre isn’t exactly light with kerb weight coming to 2975kg.
Underneath the cabin is a floor mounted battery which allows for a low seating position inside while also acting as a 700kg sound deadener.
With a new platform comes new technology as well – a lot of it in fact. A highlight of this is the Spectre’s “Decentralised Intelligence” system which controls over 1000 vehicle functions.
Much of the car’s development has been conducted on roads in which it will be driven on including the French Riviera. For that reason, the Spectre has been fitted with Planar suspension which takes into account driver inputs and road conditions through Rolls-Royce’s latest software and hardware developments.
The Planar system can also decouple the car’s anti-roll bars allowing each wheel to act independently, preventing the rocking motion that occurs when one side of a vehicle hits an undulation in the road.
It then recouples the anti-roll bars and stiffens the dampers, as well as preparing the four-wheel steering system ahead of a corner. 18 sensors are used to maintain stability on the road too.
In designing the Spectre, Rolls-Royce took much of its inspiration from modern yacht concepts including their linework and reflections.
A new-to-the-brand split headlight design now features upfront which may have been influenced by parent company BMW’s new design direction. Both light units flank what is the widest grille ever fitted to a Rolls-Royce, which is also illuminated by 22 LEDs, with the Spirit of Ecstacy sitting proudly above.
In another first, the Spectre is also the marque’s most aerodynamic car ever made with a drag coefficient of 0.25, helped by the smooth front end.
The side profile reminds us of both the Wraith and Phantom coupe with the lower ‘waft’ line taking direct influence from yachts.
Follow the sloping roofline toward the rear and you can find “jewel-like” colourless vertical tail lamps.
Large 23-inch wheels prop the Spectre up, featuring sharp spokes and the iconic floating Rolls-Royce logo in the middle.
Like other Rolls-Royces before it, the suicide doors open to reveal a star-lit roof, large steering wheel, as well as a clean-faced digital dashboard and infotainment system.
The doors can also be optioned with illuminated ‘stars’ alongside the passenger side of the dashboard.
Much of the Spectre’s interior can be customised to an individual’s personal taste including stitching, embroidery and piping.
Pricing is yet to be announced but Rolls-Royce says the Spectre will be positioned between the Cullinan and Phantom.
Orders are available now with customer deliveries set for late 2023.
We have yet to hear if New Zealand will receive the model.
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