Rolls-Royce is one of those brands that you immediately associate with Old Money, British royalty, monarchs, and more conservative values. By contrast, purely electric vehicle brands like Tesla have been traditionally associated with more progressive values, but in these conflicting times, things are changing fast. While Tesla is attracting more Republican consumers these days, Rolls-Royce is unveiling its first electric car and embracing more progressive values. The British luxury automaker's announcement that it will switch to an entirely electrified product lineup by 2030 is even more stunning. Although the revelation shocked everyone, Rolls-Royce showed the firm has always had an eye toward its electric future.
Charles Rolls, the co-founder of Rolls-Royce, predicted an electric future for the automobile, already in 1900. He had purchased The Columbia Electric Carriage, an electric vehicle, and saw its unique potential “as a clean, noiseless alternative to the internal combustion engine,” providing the necessary infrastructure was in place, according to a Rolls-Royce press release. After more than 120 years, the British luxury automaker is releasing the Spectre and fulfilling the mission of the company’s founder.
“This is the start of a bold new chapter for our marque, our extraordinary clients and the luxury industry. For this reason, I believe Spectre is the most perfect product that Rolls-Royce has ever produced,” said Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
So, here’s what makes Rolls-Royce's first electric vehicle, the Spectre, so exceptional.
Rolls-Royce's First EV, The Spectre Has Impressive Power, Performance, And Range
Rolls-Royce doesn't skimp on quality or performance, and even this time it put its engine through rigorous testing. As part of the company’s testing program, Rolls-Royce engineers forced the Spectre motor to undertake a 2.5 million km journey, which is comparable to more than 400 years of service for a Rolls-Royce. Preliminary data shows that the opulent car will have an all-electric range of 320 miles/520 kilometers WLTP and provide 900 Nm of torque from its 430kW motor. Additionally, it will speed up from 0 to 60 miles per hour (or 0 to 100 kilometers/ hour) in 4.4 seconds.
Elsewhere, the British automaker tested the planar suspension and motor on extreme driving conditions, at temperatures as low as -40 degrees centigrade. Rolls-Royce says the testing will continue across Southern Africa, in extremly high temperatures of up to 55 degrees centigrade. In addition, Rolls-Royce also tested Spectre’s planar suspension in France’s Côte d’Azur.
“Using a suite of new hardware components and leveraging Spectre’s high-speed processing capabilities, the Planar system can 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,” says a recent Rolls-Royce press release. “This also reduces high-frequency ride imperfections caused by shortcomings in road surface quality.”
The Spectre Has A Flexible All-Aluminium Spaceframe Architecture
Rolls-Royce designed the extremely functional, all-aluminum spaceframe architecture, dubbed the "Architecture of Luxury," to meet the needs of a fully electric car. And the company’s engineers have identified additional advantages for Spectre. For instance, it is 30 percent firmer than any previous Rolls-Royce thanks to innovative extruded aluminum components and the incorporation of the battery into the structure of the motor car. Also, because of how flexible the architecture is, engineers could position the floor halfway between the sill structures rather than on top of or below them.
The Rolls-Royce Spectre Has An Ultra-Luxurious Design
Rolls-Royce’s creative team found inspiration in contemporary yachts, precisely “the clarity and precision of line, intelligent use of reflection and application of taper to emotionalise silhouettes,” according to the company's press release. The aero-tuned Spirit of Ecstasy figurine, which required 830 hours of design modeling and wind tunnel testing, the "waft line," which is inspired by yacht design, the large grille tastefully illuminated by 22 LEDs, and the tail lamps set into the largest single body panel ever built for a Rolls-Royce continue to be the most intriguing design elements on the exterior of the Spectre. When it comes to breaking records, the Spectre is the most aerodynamic model in Rolls-Royce history as it has a drag coefficient of 0.25. Furthermore, it is the company’s first two-door coupé in production in a century to have 23-inch wheels.
Meanwhile, the company's designers furnished the cabin with the most cutting-edge Bespoke elements in Rolls-Royce history. Major highlights include, the Starlight Doors, which include 4,796 softly illuminated dots, the Illuminated Fascia, which took more than 10,000 collective hours to build, and it incorporates the Spectre nameplate surrounded by a cluster of over 5,500 stars, and the brand-new front seats whose design is a beautiful homage to British tailoring. Also, buyers can order the coach doors with a backdrop of wood Canadel Panelling.