The new Rolls Royce Spectre is the brand’s first EV
The Rolls Royce Spectre marries a familiar design with the novelty of electric propulsion
The wait is over! After months of teasing the silhouette and test schedules, Rolls Royce has taken the covers off its first-ever all-electric vehicle, the Spectre. At first glance, Spectre’s design may remind you of an existing Rolls Royce model, but that’s how most brands have gone about their initial EV offerings. Though, no rear light bars, a unique touch in the EV world!
The Spectre is the first step in battery propulsion as the carmaker pledged to have its entire line-up electrified by 2030. The electrified nature of the car incurred heavy development costs for the British marquee. Hence, Rolls Royce believes the Spectre will get positioned between the uber-luxurious SUV Cullinan and the ultra-luxury flagship Phantom sedan.
While Rolls Royce has unveiled the car in full, the brand claims a final testing phase for the Spectre is still underway. Though preliminary data suggests, the super-coupe EV will have a driving range of 520km and a performance output of 585hp and 900Nm. No weight figures have been mentioned for this land yacht of an EV though the 0-100kph acceleration is expected to take 4.5 secs.
Power has never been the USP of a Rolls Royce; it instead played second fiddle to its primary characteristic trait – luxury. The Spectre gets no different treatment and rides on the Planar Suspension, which offers a ‘magic carpet ride’ as per the company and first debuted on the 2021 Ghost. This clever Planar Suspension combines hardware and software with the ability to decouple the anti-roll bars. This allows the independent suspension to absorb road undulations and eliminate the conventional rocking phenomenon experienced in cars. An upcoming corner influences the system to recouple the anti-roll bars and stiffen the dampers for dynamic ride quality.
The fastback design of the Spectre draws heavily from the petrol-powered Rolls Royce Wraith coupe but digging down to the details is where it distinguishes itself. For instance, the fastback roof body panel that starts from the A-pillar to the luggage compartment is the largest single body panel fitted on a Royce. The Spectre features the “widest grille ever bestowed on a Rolls-Royce”. This widest RR grille gets 22 LED light units for illumination, followed by the door panels and the dashboard mimicking the starlight usually found on a RR’s roofline. The split headlamp design trait has been borrowed from the flagship Phantom sedan, while the taillights have jewel-like detailing and get finished in a neutral colour for the customer to spec it as desired.
The Spectre interior is a typical Rolls Royce layout, while the seats are new units. Especially the rear seats, which now get seamlessly integrated with the body. The software in Spectre’s infotainment system is another new feature. Dubbed the ‘Spirit’, it is essentially a new infotainment interface with connected car technology and presiding control of all the car’s functions. The Spirit also allows customers to spec the speedometer’s dials in the same hue as the interior spec. And as with all Rolls Royce cars, the cabin customisation is limited only by the customer’s imagination.
Final specification numbers and feature list to be announced at the mega-launch of the Rolls Royce Spectre. First customer deliveries are expected to commence following late 2023.
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