Smooth, silent and effortless, EVs and Rolls-Royce seem like they should’ve gone hand in velvet glove years ago. But, as we discover, they took their time and got it right with the Spectre.
The electric car is perfectly noiseless and clean. There is no smell or vibration, and they should become very useful when fixed charging stations can be arranged. But for now, I do not anticipate that they will be very serviceable – at least for many years to come.”
Sounds like the predicament we’re in today, doesn’t it? The EVs themselves are sound, but the infrastructure isn’t quite there yet. However, that statement wasn’t made by some industry pundit in Germany, a senator from Washington or a tech genius from Silicon Valley. Those are the prescient words of Charles Rolls, co-founder of Rolls-Royce. And they were spoken in the year 1900.
You see, both Rolls and Sir Henry Royce were big proponents of all things electrified. They made dynamos and electric motors for cranes and championed other brands’ forays into electric cars, but before committing their own initials to an EV, they were determined to get it absolutely right. It wouldn’t be until the Phantom-based 102EX of 2011 – a concept that featured, among much else, wireless car charging – that Rolls-Royce first showed proper intent. But still, it wasn’t ready.
2011’s 102EX concept first previewed what a Rolls EV could be.
It wouldn’t be for another 11 years – and finally in 2022 – that we got our first glimpse of the Spectre, an EV that didn’t take the form of a traditional saloon car or a more contemporary two-box SUV. No, it was a swooping two-door, four-seat coupé, which is just as well for the relative aerodynamic benefits that are so important for an EV. But it was more to make a statement that an electric Rolls-Royce could at once be luxurious, dynamic and uncompromising.
Rolls Royce Spectre exterior design
This Dark Emerald example wafted silently into view under an autumnal sunset in Aix-en-Provence in the south of France. We have dinner scheduled soon, so my potential drive time is running out, but I can’t help myself from having a walk around and taking it all in. And it’s quite a walk: 5.5 metres from prow to stern (as long as a Maybach S-Class) and over two metres wide, mirror to mirror. Huge 23-inch wheels don’t look out of place here, and despite all the mass, its fastback roof that stretches down to the tail allows it to look sleek, more so if you specify it in a contrasting colour. This is the most aerodynamic Rolls ever, with a 0.25 Cd, and you can see that in the laid-back grille, steeper-raked windscreen, and even a unique ‘Spirit of Ecstasy’ hood ornament that hunkers lower than the regular lady.
Most aerodynamic Pantheon grille ever. The hood ornament is tipped forward, too.
As I carefully swing the rear-hinged coach door open – power-assisted, of course – I’m quickly reminded once again of how big the car actually is, as its wingspan takes up half a parking slot. They’re probably the largest doors I’ve seen on a car, so much so that they get their own customisation options – like huge expanses of wood veneer and even the LED-ingrained ‘starlight’ option otherwise reserved for the roof liner. Closing the doors is an easier – and cooler – endeavour, requiring just a press of the brake pedal for the motorised slab to swing shut; don’t worry, it will stop if it detects an obstacle.
Rolls Royce Spectre interior and features
As the door clicks shut, it suddenly feels like I’m in a sound vacuum, and using my remaining senses, I soak in the grandeur of the interior. It’s somewhat anticlimactic to find it’s exactly the same as every other Rolls – a few angles and surfaces aside – but that should hardly be a complaint, should it? It isn’t futuristic for the sake of it – a trend legacy carmakers often fall prey to when they make an EV. No, the Spectre’s interior is traditional, sumptuous and excessive, just like those of its stablemates. And it’s all real – from the wood to the metal to the leather. I even welcome back my sense of hearing by flicking the AC vent to listen to its characteristic metallic ‘clang’. A detail I love is the ‘Spectre’ wordmark on the passenger side of the dash, surrounded by a galaxy of ‘stars’, which are not painted or engraved but instead made of individual lighting elements set at different depths inside the dashboard, making for a literal three-dimensional art piece.
Massive doors get their own customisation.
However, make no mistake. This is still the most cutting-edge Rolls ever, and there’s a lot of tech underneath it all, including some debuts like fully digital dials and the latest generation of ‘Spirit’ infotainment system with connected car tech and ADAS features, but it’s designed to never feel overbearing. For example, the auto climate control doesn’t give temperature readouts or numerical fan speeds; a dial simply goes from red to blue, and another goes from ‘soft’ to ‘max’. And yes, there are plenty of physical buttons still, once again proving that real luxury doesn’t bow down to trends that don’t have any real benefit to a customer.
Rear seats are big and comfy enough for adults. Two doors but four windows.
It’s almost become de rigueur to dismiss the rear seats of any two-door coupé as being, at best, just for kids and, at worst, completely unusable. But this is a Rolls-Royce, so, of course, that isn’t the case. The front seats motor forward a fair bit, but it’s still a bit awkward getting past the coach door into the rear of the cabin. Once you do, though, there’s more space here than most four-door sedans and considerably more luxury. There’s four-zone climate control, too, and while rear passengers don’t get their own doors, they can open their own frameless windows. Perhaps some of this space could have been apportioned to the boot, which, at 380 litres – hampered more than likely by the battery pack – is not a whole lot for such a vast vehicle and will undoubtedly hurt its grand touring credentials.
Rolls Royce Spectre range, battery and performance
No frunk under long bonnet, just a silver shroud.
What would potentially hurt it more is its WLTP range of 530 kilometres, despite its big 102kWh battery. The real-world figure could be considerably less, too, judging by the rate at which the readout recedes on my short drive, because 0.25 Cd aside, this is still a 2.9-tonne car. Sure, the V12 cars aren’t noted for their efficiency either, but at least they can be refilled quickly. Should you find a fast-enough charger, the Spectre can feed from a DC plug at up to 195kW, with 10-80 percent being recovered in a claimed 32 minutes. But there’s more to the story than just that, as I will soon find out.
The Spectre is, in some way, the trickiest Rolls to get comfortable with, as I discover while negotiating an oblique sloped U-turn out of our hotel. The seats are low, the dash is high, the windscreen is slim, and worst of all, the nose dips out of view. I can only see the wingtips of the Flying Lady. I nurse it through the tiny town at the bottom of the hill, which is already shutting shop for the night, wondering if I should have just ended my review with that walkaround. Those big wheels wobbling over the cobblestones are only raising my anxiety levels, but as I finally make it onto an open road, it starts becoming clear.
The Rolls-atypical raked windscreen and dipped bonnet make it tricky to position easily.
As with the interior, this powertrain was intended to be a Rolls first and an EV second. To that end, the power delivery has something few other EVs do – a personality. It’s not an on/off switch like the EVs of old, nor is it perfectly linear like most new ones. It grows and swells, like a locomotive building steam, making for a sensation that’s simultaneously familiar and also unlike anything else. It does a spot-on impression of the effortless excess you get with the V12, albeit smoother still.
Sound? It’s digital, of course – an ethereal hum that’s meant to evoke “an orchestra tuning up”. You can turn this off, but even so, they had to engineer some noise in; 700kg of sound deadening made the Spectre so silent that, during development, it was reportedly making people ill! Instead of ‘Low’ in the V12s, the button on the drive stalk says ‘B’, which, like in BMW’s EVs, cranks up both the regen and the power delivery. A quick, firm prod brings the horizon to me, as all 585hp and 900Nm are deployed with the ferocity of the fastest electric cars. It’s a bit unbecoming, so I switch out of it at once, but on the topic, an engineer did reveal that when it’s time for the inevitable Black Badge Spectre, all they’ll need is a laptop to release the extra performance. The hardware has plenty more to give.
It covers ground with the hushed effortlessness expected of a Rolls.
Wider roads and higher speeds reveal there is some dynamism to this near-three-tonne coupé, as it reins its mass in well through some flowing bends. The trick, planar suspension has already proven that it can manage heavy weights with grace and ease, and the floaty behaviour at low speeds settles down admirably as you go faster. What’s only amplified by the silent powertrain, unfortunately, is the road noise, which on a less-than-stellar surface will always filter in; perhaps a size-down to 22-inch wheels will help.
Rolls Royce Spectre price and verdict
With the sun now firmly behind the hills, I have to rush back for that dinner, and I realise I’m way more comfortable with the Spectre. I lean on it while entering and exiting roundabouts, and even the treacherous village from before is despatched in a breeze. As I hoof it up the hill, I’m convinced more than ever that the ultimate application for EVs is luxury.
Wide 23-inch wheels can be felt on bad surfaces.
Range will improve with time and tech, but the blend of refinement and effortlessness is something batteries do even better than petrol. And as the Spectre has shown, there can be character, too. Of course, this level of boundary-pushing doesn’t come cheap, and Rs 7.62 crore (ex-showroom, before options) is what it will set you back by. But in the stratosphere of the market, price matters little if the experience is up to the mark.
EVs have been the great equaliser of the car industry. They have democratised the powertrain across various price points, which forces the rest of the vehicle to excel in order to stand out. What the Spectre does is debunk that theory by delivering not only an exceptional Rolls-Royce but an exceptional EV as well. The time has finally come.
Also see:
New Rolls Royce EV to debut in 2025
Rolls-Royce Ghost facelift price starts at Rs 8.95 crore
2025 Rolls Royce Ghost review: Entry level limo costs Rs 8.95 crore
