The marque’s first battery-powered automobile is the most anticipated and important release of 2023.
The message “A Rolls-Royce first, an electric car second.” is drummed into me from the moment I arrive at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars HQ in Goodwood. They are referring to a revolutionary new car, the Rolls-Royce Spectre, ahead of its media debut on UK roads.
It is the first electric car in the British coachbuilder’s 119-year history and the first ultra-luxury EV in the world. For better or worse, it will set the benchmark for a luxury sector that has, thus far, promised a lot but delivered little in terms of electrification. Rolls-Royce was still keen to insist that this was business as usual.
Although it may seem like a quantum leap, in many respects an electric motor was a natural next step for a brand renowned for delivering effortless power and smooth performance. Charles Rolls in fact, prophesied that the electric car would eventually be preferred to internal combustion.
Speaking in 1900, four years before co-founding Rolls-Royce with Henry Royce, he said: “The electric car is perfectly noiseless and clean. There is no vibration or smell, and they should become very useful when fixed charging stations can be arranged. At present it is not anticipated that they will be very serviceable, for many years to come.”
The noiselessness and smoothness of the electric car was the inspiration behind the V12 that has been synonymous with Rolls-Royce since the 1930s. The owner of a Rolls-Royce should never have to do anything as vulgar as shifting gears, so the V12 was developed over decades to mimic a one-gear sensation, like a modern-day battery-powered car.
Rolls Royce probably did not expect electrification to take so long, but now Spectre has arrived, it is here to stay. The marque plans to offer a fully electric portfolio by 2030 (although don’t expect the already-near-three-ton Cullinan SUV to get its kWh on any time soon.)
