2023 Rolls-Royce Spectre revealed
The new Rolls-Royce Spectre is the luxury brand’s first electric car, offering a range of up to 323 miles. Here’s everything else we know about it so far...
On sale Late 2023 | Price from £275,000 (est)
In James Bond movies, SPECTRE is forever trying to destroy the world. By contrast, its namesake, the new Rolls-Royce Spectre, is on a mission to help save it, because it’s the luxury brand’s first electric car.
A two-door coupé that will be positioned above the conventionally-powered Rolls-Royce Wraith in the company’s range, the Spectre is said to be capable of accelerating from 0-62mph in just 4.5sec and covering a whopping 323 miles on a charge.
Those figures are all the more impressive when you consider that this is the brand’s heaviest car yet; at 2975kg it even makes the giant Rolls-Royce Cullinan SUV look light.
The vast weight is largely down to the Spectre’s 125kWh battery – one of the biggest fitted to any production model – although the car is also stuffed with 700kg of sound deadening material in an effort to ensure the complete absence of engine noise doesn’t make you more aware of wind and road roar.
As for the exterior, there’s a reshaped Spirit of Ecstasy mascot atop the bonnet, which is said to be more aerodynamically efficient, but most of the elements are familiar, including the huge, illuminated front grille, contrasting colour bonnet and roof, and rear-hinged doors.
Just don’t think that this means lots of parts are hand-me-downs; the Spectre’s underpinnings are all-new, instead of being borrowed from another Rolls-Royce or indeed from one of parent company BMW’s models.
Likewise, while the interior looks superficially similar to that of the Wraith, it actually features a new infotainment system called Spirit, instead of redressing BMW’s iDrive system in the way that other Rolls-Royces do. Owners who want to be able to adjust their car’s settings remotely will be able to do so by pairing Spirit with an app called Whispers.
The other big news is that, in addition to the Starlight rooflining familiar from other Rolls-Royces – where lights create the appearance of a starfield at night – the Spectre has a similar effect on the dashboard, thanks to 5500 LEDs. You can also specify Starlight doors, which bring a further 5876 LEDs.
With the Spectre not due to go on sale until late next year, other technical details and pricing are still to be confirmed, but a starting point of around £275,000 seems likely, with most buyers likely to spend the same again on options. After all, they're not exactly short of a bob or two, and unlike James Bond, they’ll only live once.
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