Think Spectre, and James Bond à la Daniel Craig comes to mind. But if you think just a little, not even outside the box, you might recall that Spectre is the alias Rolls-Royce gives to its experimental cars that push the envelope as much as they can. For the first time though, Spectre is now an independent nameplate, awarded to Rolls-Royce’s first electric offering, because it too breaks boundaries.

Camouflaged versions of the all-electric 2023 Rolls-Royce Spectre tease fans as before its official launch, the uber-luxury automaker puts its first-ever EV, Spectre through its paces. Notably, the Rolls-Royce Spectre comes from a long line of eerily named cars, like the Phantom, Wraith, and Ghost.

As the automaker puts it, these names evoke a slight feeling of unease. Humans are not very accepting of ghostly apparitions, but if and when any of us experiences a close encounter of the paranormal kind, the sense of wonder remains long after the fear subsides. Perhaps Rolls-Royce names its cars for this very evocative reason, to leave a lingering wisp of emotion after coming in close contact with one of their very expensive but nearly ephemeral and ethereal cars. So here's what we know about the Rolls-Royce Spectre and its spooky name.

The History Of Rolls-Royce Names

Most Rolls-Royce cars, like the Phantom, Ghost, Dawn, and Wraith have namesakes existing through the brand’s storied 118-year history. Only the Cullinan comes as a new name, after the largest rough diamond ever discovered, of gem quality. Rolls-Royce, as a company, likes to keep its nameplates around, never really retiring any because any and every new car it makes has to have genetic links from the models’ past.

One reason the automaker gives, as to why the nameplates are so important, lies in the history of transport itself. Before cars, people had horses, and their favorite steeds always had a name. After motorcars came to replace the animals, people likely named their cars as well. So Rolls-Royce did it for them, dubbing its cars for their larger-than-life road presence as well as their near-silent running.

One of the prime examples of how a name made Rolls-Royce a fortune, was when the Silver Ghost debuted at the 1907 London Motor Show, with silver paint and silver-plated accents, and blew the public and press away.

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The Origins Of The Spectre Lay In A Code

The first time Rolls-Royce used Spectre was for Chassis 1601, built in August 1910, which Johnson used as a trial or demo car. The fate of this particular car is uncertain considering it went to the War Office in 1915. It would be another 20 years before Spectre came back to life, this time as an experimental car.

From early on, Rolls-Royce awarded chassis numbers ending with ‘EX’ to all of its experimental cars, beginning with 1EX in 1919, and going all the way to 45EX in 1957. These were massively powered vehicles, in development rather than production, driven on the harshest of roads for hours on end to see how much of a beating they could take. The ‘EX’ tradition continues, with the latest example unveiled in 2016, as the 103EX.

Coming back to the Spectre, in 1930, Sir Henry Royce tinkered with a brand-new V12 engine along with a new chassis on an independent front suspension. This car, which sadly Sir Royce could not see as he passed before it, carried the nomenclature 30EX. Since keeping this car under wraps was critical, it had a codename. And the codename, of course, was Spectre. Another nine experimental cars also came to carry the same codename before the Phantom III came to life in 1936. Spectre came to mean a lot to everyone at Rolls-Royce, as a car that not just broke boundaries but also created new records in terms of success, sales, and standing.

The Spectre broke fresh ground in terms of powertrain, with Rolls-Royce continuing to use further developed versions of the V12 to date. Now, with a new electric powertrain, it seems only fair for Rolls-Royce to name its new car after the ones that brought it fame and success.

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The Rolls-Royce Spectre Is The Most Aerodynamic One, Yet

Rolls-Royce promises to launch the Spectre only after it traverses four corners of the globe after a 1.55-million-mile (2.5-million-kilometer) journey, as part of an exacting test program. A few teasers are out, for instance, we know the Spectre is the most aerodynamic Rolls-Royce model, with a drag coefficient of just 0.25.

To honor the new direction of the Spectre, it will carry a new and redesigned Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament. Now, she stands with one leg forward in a powerful stance, with her flowing robes reshaped to look less like wings. Like the Spectre, she’s also more aerodynamic, or as Rolls-Royce calls her a true goddess of speed gliding towards the future."

Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor concurs, saying, "There is a pleasing symmetry between the Spectres of the past and the present-day incarnation."

Source: Rolls-Royce