The new Rolls-Royce Spectre glides into view
Rolls-Royce’s first-ever EV is a big moment for the brand. The Spectre retains the brand’s trademark sense of occasion and sheer physical scale without an exhaust pipe in sight
![Rolls-Royce Spectre EV from the side](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/nH8SSNBG6skmgm96W69pYN-415-80.jpg)
This is the Rolls-Royce Spectre, the famous marque’s first foray into building a pure electric vehicle. The Spectre has arrived fully formed and completely resolved, a monumental 5.4m long and 2m wide two-door, four-seater that marks the start of the company’s all-electric era.
Rolls-Royce has heritage. In fact, it can always be relied upon to dip into its 116-year history to find some relevant nugget that foreshadows its latest move. In Spectre’s case, it’s a 1900 statement by company co-founder Charles Rolls, in which he predicted the eventual domination of electric propulsion for cars.
Six years later, Rolls teamed up with Henry Royce to establish the company that bears their name. Four years after that, Rolls was dead, the first powered aviation fatality in the UK. Royce took the company forwards, rapidly establishing it as a benchmark for excellence, a name synonymous with the best in any given category.
Under BMW’s stewardship since 1998, Rolls-Royce has only had one previous visible foray into electrification. The Rolls-Royce 102EX, or Phantom Experimental Electric, was built in 2011 and toured the world, giving potential customers a taste of electrification.
With a range of just 125 miles and long before EV infrastructure was in place, the 102EX didn’t quite hit the spot. In Rolls-Royce’s world, spots are designed to be whacked right out of the ballpark, first time, so the engineering team bided its team.
Pre-production models of Spectre broke cover last year, but this is the first time the production-ready vehicle has been revealed.
Not due for delivery for at least 12 months, Spectre is due to slot into the space left by the departing Phantom Coupé. Crucially, it also means Rolls-Royce has a pure EV on the market some three years before Bentley.
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ CEO, describes Spectre as ‘the most perfect product that Rolls-Royce has ever produced’, a strong statement but one which aligns perfectly with current trends.
The company’s current fleet of models, from the Phantom to the Ghost, and Cullinan stand apart from their peers by a steadfast refusal to engage with such vulgar things as power output, acceleration figures and top speed. Although massive V12 engines lurk beneath those equally massive bonnets, you would barely know and most buyers, it seems, barely care. That makes the brand especially well suited to electrification.
As you can see, the company’s design team has chosen not to do away with the massive bonnet, nor the towering radiator grille that fronts it.
This emphasis on form, not function, is what gives a Rolls-Royce its considerable aesthetic clout, and Spectre is no less imposing than any conventionally powered car bearing the famous Spirit of Ecstasy.
It also clocks in at a shade under 3 tonnes, making it by far the heaviest production car you can buy, despite making use of Rolls-Royce’s bespoke aluminium platform.
A massive battery pack probably accounts for most of the weight; the range has been upped to a more than respectable 323 miles. Surprisingly, the company has also thrown in an acceleration figure – 0-60mph in 4.4 seconds – to tempt those wealthy enthusiasts who are still on the fence.
The fastback bodywork recalls the form of the Wraith, to date the most avant-garde and sporting production Rolls-Royce of modern times (aside from the extraordinary creations of the Rolls-Royce Coachbuilt division). Inspiration is said to have been drawn from architecture and yacht design, with more emphasis on aerodynamics than ever before, right down to the wind-tunnel re-shaped Spirit of Ecstasy. Lighting, inside and out, has been taken up a notch, with LEDs within the stainless steel grille, concealed headlights and slender LED running lights.
To add to the unashamed and ‘imperious’ indicators of scale, the company claims that Spectre is ‘the first production two-door coupé to be equipped with 23-inch wheels in almost one hundred years’.
The lightshow continues inside, with the option of ‘Starlight Doors’, an extension of the company’s famed Starlight Headliner. The tiny pinpricks of light have now migrated to the door cards, with a grand total of 5,876 glittering stars transforming the interior.
You can even get the stars on the dash as well. At the core of the Spectre’s operation is Rolls-Royce’s new digital architecture, dubbed SPIRIT, a sort of butler-esque AI that works across the car’s interface and the RR ‘Whispers’ app to create a seamless relationship with the car; destinations, state of charge, and so on.
We’re atop the crest of another wave of retro car design, as the combination of EV innovation and consumer desire for familiarity and warmth sees carmakers plunder their heritage to splice the two together.
By 2030, every Rolls-Royce will be electric. The Spectre is the ghost of luxury car-making future.
INFORMATION
Rolls-Royce Spectre, first deliveries Q4 2023, price to be confirmed
Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
The Mercury Prize nominees for 2024 have been revealed
Charli XCX, The Last Dinner Party and Beth Gibbons are amongst this year's nominees
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
Cadillac SOLLEI Concept journeys on to the higher reaches of the auto market
Cadillac describes its all-electric four-seater convertible concept as an ‘ode to the sun’ as it moves even further upmarket
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Hongqi’s Giles Taylor on the Chinese car maker's imminent arrival in the UK
Hongqi makes China's state limousines. By 2026, it'll have a pair of premium EVs on UK roads. Giles Taylor, its VP of design, tells us about its design approach, and ambition in Europe
By Aysar Ghassan Published
-
We sample the world’s first all-electric DeLorean, a stainless steel marvel for the modern age
Electrogenic brings its brilliance with batteries and motors to bear on the iconic DeLorean DMC-12, giving this classic design the futuristic feel it deserves
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
The pure electric Lotus Emeya GT looks and drives like a modern Lotus should
Lotus finds its groove with the elegant Emeya, a true 21st-century grand tourer
By Guy Bird Published
-
Paolo Dellachà, CEO of Automobili Pininfarina, takes us through the hypercar company’s plans
Automobili Pininfarina produces a select portfolio of one-of-a-kind hypercars. Next up, a ‘Luxury Utility Vehicle’. CEO Paolo Dellachà takes us into the future
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
The Hispano Suiza Carmen Sagrera is an esoteric Spanish hypercar
The reborn Spanish car brand continues to forge a unique path with the striking all-electric Carmen Sagrera, a celebration of 120 years of the Hispano Suiza name
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
A unique electric Maserati marks a long-standing partnership with a legendary winery
The Maserati GranCabrio Folgore Tignanello Edition is a one-off celebration of Maserati’s bespoke division and the half century of Tignanello
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Croatian start-up Verne wants its svelte robo-cabs to reshape urban travel
Can the creators of Rimac’s electric hypercar transform urban mobility with Verne, their new autonomous start-up?
By Jonathan Bell Published