The iconic luxury brand Rolls-Royce is testing its first-ever all-electric vehicle, the 2024 Spectre coupe, which will launch in late 2023. While the company is keeping most details, particularly pricing and the performance metrics of the vehicle under wrap, it is presently engaged in rigorous testing procedures in the French Riviera at the Autodrome de Miramas, and in Sweden, close to the Arctic Circle.
By the time the testing phase has been completed, the two-door, four-seater Spectre will have driven 2.5 million kilometres across the globe in a wide array of extreme climatic conditions. So far, Rolls-Royce is saying only that its Spectre has a drag coefficient of 0.25, making it the company’s most aerodynamic vehicle.
Automotive experts predict that buyers of the Spectre will have a selection of customizable packages offered through Rolls-Royce’s Bespoke design service, and that its electric powertrain will likely contain two or more electric motors and a large, 700kg battery pack that will be integrated into its architecture. What kind of range that battery will yield remains a mystery but according to reports, the vehicle’s suspension system will be able to ‘read’ the road surface quality and make necessary adjustments ahead of time.
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars chief executive Torsten Muller-Otvos commented that the Spectre’s “electrics are silent, they’re torquey, they’re powerful,” and that driving the vehicle will feel like “a private jet taking off.”
The Spectre is the first electric vehicle for Rolls-Royce, but not the last. The company announced in September 2021 that its gas-powered fleet will be fully replaced with electric vehicles by 2030.
Photo by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars