Rolls-Royce’s first all-electric car, the Specter, is finally on the road and is already attracting a new generation of super-rich young owners who want greener luxury.
Prices start at around £330,000, but most buyers will familiarize themselves with the options list and end up spending far more.
So what are they getting for all the money – and can the electric scooter compete with its petrol-powered super-luxury cars of the past? Ray Massey traveled to California to be one of the first to ride it.
Rolls-Royce’s first all-electric car, the Specter, is finally on the road and is already attracting a new generation of super-rich young owners who want greener luxury
Specter: millions of miles in development
The production version of Specter is the result of millions of kilometers of intensive testing around the world.
And the bosses emphasized: “What matters is that it’s a Rolls-Royce first and then an electric car.”
It also marks the end of an era for the British super-luxury carmaker, which proclaimed “Rolls-Royce will never produce a new internal combustion engine model again.”
The existing Rolls-Royce range with petrol engines will be the last and future designs will be purely electric.
Ray Massey flew halfway across the world to California to be one of the first to drive the £330,000 green sedan
The test track took place more than 5,000 miles from where Specter is built by engineers and craftsmen at the company’s high-tech boutique factory in Goodwood, West Sussex
Tentative orders for Specter show it has helped reduce the average age of Rolls-Royce customers from 56 to 43. Many of them are young entrepreneurs in technology and finance
Specter is powered by a powerful 584 hp (430 kW) electric motor and battery configuration that allows the almost 3 tonne (2,890 kg) vehicle to go from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds and to a top speed of 155 km/h. h drives.
But it also boasts an impressive range of up to 329 miles on a full charge – enough to drive from London to north of Newcastle.
So how is the first Rolls-Royce of the future doing?
Before even the first customer had driven or received the sleek, zero-emission fastback coupe, I made a trip to the US West Coast—Rolls-Royce’s largest market—to test-drive the finished product.
Our test drives took place more than 5,000 miles from where Specter is built by engineers and craftsmen at the company’s high-tech boutique factory in Goodwood, West Sussex, which employs 2,500 people.
Specter is powered by a powerful 584 hp (430 kW) electric motor and battery configuration that allows the almost 3 tonne (2,890 kg) vehicle to go from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds and to a top speed of 155 km/h. h drives
They call the whole pre-production process the Rolls-Royce “graduation school”. This meant the new Specter was taught how to be a true Rolls-Royce, with refined manners and ‘easy’ acceleration.
In addition to grueling all-weather testing in extreme arctic cold and scorching African heat, engineers made sure it passed another important challenge: the “champagne test”.
It states that no matter how bumpy the roads, the journey must be so smooth that a passenger sipping champagne does not spill a drop from his glass.
I tried it and it seems to work.
However, it should be noted that due to California driving laws, this was only done with a non-alcoholic champagne substitute.
While it passes the champagne test, the two-door Specter fits more into the cradle of a driver’s Rolls-Royce than one to be chauffeured in.
Tentative orders for Specter show it has helped reduce the average age of Rolls-Royce customers from 56 to 43.
Many of them are young entrepreneurs in technology and finance with at least seven cars, but it’s still important to flaunt their wealth as well as their green credentials – 40 per cent of them are new to the brand and have never owned a Rolls-Royce obsessed before.
Prices for the new Specter start at around £330,000, but few customers will pay that. Instead, the high level of bespoke options so popular with Rolls-Royce customers means the average batting outlay is likely closer to £500,000.
The two-tone chartreuse and black ‘Hero’ version will cost around £450,000. Specter offers “nearly infinite bespoke possibilities,” says Rolls-Royce.
At almost 5.5 meters long and weighing almost three tons, the Specter low-loader is electrifying and has real road presence
First impressions give the impression of a sweeping, aerodynamic four-seater two-door fastback with a streamlined Spirit of Ecstasy Flying Lady at the bow
Thanks to the clever design and the slightly set back seating position, driving is more fun than driving
How is Specter?
The most aerodynamic Rolls-Royce car of all time, the Specter shares a similar presence and size to the earlier petrol-powered Phantom Coupé – and is billed as its spiritual successor.
As I drove through the vineyards of the Sunshine State’s Napa Valley wine region, I had the privilege of being among the first of a select group of auto journalists from around the world to get behind the wheel before the first paying customers could.
The champagne test
To see if it really works, I tried the champagne test myself – with the help of Rolls-Royce manager Georgina Cox.
To comply with California law regarding alcohol in cars (it’s illegal unless the passenger is being driven by a legally licensed chauffeur), we’ve replaced champagne with a sparkling non-alcoholic substitute.
Sitting in the back, I was being wheeled down a bumpy wine road—and the suspension was so gentle that not a drop spilled from my glass and the surface of my drink stayed perfectly flat the entire time.
We then swapped places and I drove at full speed while Georgina sat in the back holding the champagne glass.
Again, not a drop was spilled as the suspension soaked up the bumps in the road and the fluid within it stayed calm as a mill pond.
Champagne test duly passed. Alcohol-free cheering all around.
This wasn’t a Californian dream, but it certainly felt like it.
At almost 5.5 meters long and weighing almost three tons, the Specter low-loader is electrifying and has real road presence.
First impressions give the impression of a sweeping, aerodynamic four-seater two-door fastback with a streamlined Spirit of Ecstasy Flying Lady at the bow.
Up close you can tell it’s surprisingly big for such a sleek car. Cleverly designed, it wears cleverly designed clothing that makes it appear slimmer and lighter than it actually is.
The company says the design draws inspiration from modernist sculpture, nautical design, haute couture fashion, tailoring and contemporary art.
The fun begins the moment you step through one of the two rear swing doors into the low-ceilinged cabin.
Specter customers are most likely to drive themselves, so there is no attendant or chauffeur to open the door for you. At approximately 1.5m long, these laser-welded aluminum doors are the largest pillarless coach doors ever fitted to a Rolls-Royce.
Usually there is a button that the driver has to press for the door to close automatically. But with Specter, you simply put your foot on the brake and the door quietly and gracefully swings shut, sealing you. Pure genius.
The cozy cockpit, with its intelligent digital dashboard, is refined, simple, relaxing, understated and calm, without needing flashes of lightning or sci-fi style to herald its qualities as an electric car. First and foremost, it’s a Rolls-Royce.
In the driver’s seat, the Specter feels cozy, low and sporty. But there’s also a surprising amount of room in the back for two passengers, thanks to clever design and the slightly set-back positioning of the seats, which I found to my own surprise and delight while driving.
Acceleration is phenomenal – but also seamlessly smooth and controlled. Despite its incredible power, you won’t feel your neck snap back
How does Specter drive?
Switch on the ignition and there is a quiet, almost silent but faintly perceptible tone as the engines come to life. Rolls-Royce even used the sounds of a professional harpist to create just the right atmosphere.
Driving Specter is the easiest thing in the world. There’s no clutter of dials and buttons. The car does most of the work for you so you can enjoy the experience.
Specter is sure-footed, nimble and amazingly responsive. Rolls-Royce has always strived to bring magic carpet rides to its vehicles, and with Spectre the company has electrified that.
Acceleration is phenomenal – but also seamlessly smooth and controlled. Despite its incredible power, you won’t feel your neck snap back.
If owners want to keep their driver’s license, they need to watch their speed. Exceptionally fast can appear rather relaxed.
Handling the Specter is remarkably intuitive, and even the slightest touch of the tiller has an immediate effect on the wheels.
It goes exactly where you’re looking, as if you and the car were connected. And it is fun. You will not get bored while driving this car. After a long drive in this electric grand tourer, you’ll probably feel fresher than when you started.
The cozy cockpit, with its intelligent digital dashboard, is refined, simple, relaxing, understated and calm, without needing flashes of lightning or sci-fi style to herald its qualities as an electric car
If you want to increase the driving resistance and thus generate more charge, simply press the “B” button on the shift knob to activate “Brake Mode”.
I liked that as you can rely less on the brakes and let Specter handle the burden of so-called single-pedal driving, which can even bring the car to a complete standstill. But everything is seamless. Not forced or jerky at all. It all feels so natural and smooth.
The Specter looks, drives and indulges you exactly as you would expect from a Roll-Royce.
At no time did I think, “This is an electric car.” I didn’t have to make any compromises or concessions. The company insists that it makes a Rolls-Royce first and in that respect it has fully succeeded.
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