This is the all-electric Rolls-Royce Spectre

Highlights:

• First all-electric Rolls-Royce for series production, available from the end of 2023
• Spiritual successor Phantom Coupé
• 5.45 meters, 2,975 kilos
• 900 Nm torque, 585 hp, 520 km WLTP range
• On the same basis as the Phantom

We first got wind of Rolls-Royce’s electrification plans in early 2021. Although the brand previously said it had little interest in electric powertrains, the rumor that it was developing an EV escaped. And that turned out to be the truth. We now even know that from 2030 onwards, only EVs will roll out of the Goodwood factory. The Rolls-Royce Specter unveiled today is the first of these. It must be a coupe ‘in the spirit of the Phantom’, so one that is part of the upper echelons of Rolls-Royce’s model range.

The Specter shares its Architecture of Luxury platform with the Phantom, with which the model according to the brand serves as the spiritual successor to the Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupé. The all-aluminium platform, which debuted with the eighth generation of the Phantom, has been adapted for an electric powertrain. It has nothing to do with the basis of the new BMW i7. The British have not yet announced the size of the battery that will now be hidden in the Rolls-Royce platform. The final specifications will be announced when the test work is finished, but Rolls-Royce already gives preliminary figures: the Specter will have a WLTP range of 520 km and an output of 585 hp and 900 Nm of torque. It is not yet clear whether that power will find the asphalt via two or four wheels. The Phantom has almost the same power values ​​and does it in any case with only rear-wheel drive.

Rolls Royce Spectre

2.5 million test kilometers

Now that the brand considers the development of electric powertrains far enough advanced for use in a Rolls-Royce, it is at the beginning of a ‘new era’, which will be kicked off with the Spectre. In any case, the brand itself takes it very seriously: never before has Rolls-Royce tested a car so extensively. The Specter has not yet covered all, but already 2.5 million test kilometers. From South Africa to Lapland and from the Nürburgring to the French Riviera. After all, in the latter place, the car must function particularly well.

Seeing and being seen on a boulevard should in any case work. With a length of 5.45 meters and a width of 2 meters, the Specter – despite the lack of the sound of a combustion engine – will not just roll past unseen. For comparison: a Phantom is 31 cm longer and the same width. The Specter is also heavy, because it weighs almost 3,000 kg. The width of the body is clearly accentuated, especially at the front. The daytime running lights are flat and wide, and the grille the Brits put on the Specter is wider than on any previous Rolls-Royce. Remarkable, since there is no need to hide a radiator behind it. Whether the grille is open or closed, the brand does not reveal yet. It does indicate that it is lit by twenty-two LEDs and does not detract too much from a decent streamline. The Specter has a Cw value of 0.25.

Rolls Royce Spectre

Starlight in the doors

Speaking of lights, the Specter is the first Rolls-Royce to be offered not only with a Starlight ceiling, but also with Starlight doors. The well-known ‘starry sky’ is extended by an additional 4,796 lights to the sides of the interior as desired. Seated in it, you have to find yourself in an oasis of peace. An important part of the test kilometers served the fine grinding of the sound insulation, making the Specter the quietest Rolls-Royce ever. Quite clever that this was successful, since the brand has never mounted such large wheels under a modern car before. They measure a whopping 23 inches.

To prevent comfort from suffering from that wheel size, Rolls-Royce paid a lot of attention to optimizing its Planar chassis technology. With active and detachable stabilizer bars in combination with cameras that scan the road surface, this ensures that – no matter how much the large wheels shake up and down – comfort is preserved. Whether it actually leads to the most comfortable Rolls-Royce remains to be seen. The Specter will be delivered from the end of 2023, so it can be experienced from then on.