Luxury is not loud. Not really. The truly luxurious things in life don't scream for attention.
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Luxury is not loud. Not really. The truly luxurious things in life don't scream for attention.
Luxury is not loud. Not really. The truly luxurious things in life don’t scream for attention. They command it, quietly. A cashmere coat on a cold winter morning. The precise click of a Swiss chronograph. The weight of a pen that costs more than your smartphone. Luxury, at its core, is a feeling. A sense of effortlessness, of something done properly, not because it had to be, but because it could be.
That’s what makes the Rolls-Royce Spectre so fascinating to me. This isn’t just another luxury car. It’s a Rolls-Royce stepping into what feels like its ultimate calling. This is the brand’s first-ever fully electric car and who would have thought it? A silent car from a brand already known for its near-silent combustion engines. A machine with no combustion at all… and yet, a machine with no compromise either.
The Rolls Royce Spectre is what happens when the purveyors of old-world opulence use the very latest technology to further their craft. Building a Rolls-Royce is indeed a craft, and using electric motors powered by batteries for propulsion isn’t so much about the technology than it is about how the technology has been use. To quote Philip Toledano’s Another America, “asking how AI changes the way art is made is like asking how a certain brush changes the way art is made. What matters is what you do with that brush. What matters is the thing you create.” BEV technology isn’t new by any means but it’s the way in which Rolls-Royce has used the technology to stellar effect. This is undoubtedly the best electric car I’ve ever driven and certainly, one of the best cars I’ve ever driven.
The Spectre is spectacular. Both in its sheer presence but also in its creation. It’s a car that doesn’t redefine luxury, no. It reminds me and the rest of the world what luxury actually means. It doesn’t so much introduce a new chapter for Rolls-Royce as it underlines its own inevitability. Of course they were going to go electric. Mr Rolls said this more than a century ago. Of course it was going to be magnificent.
Spectre starts on a modular, all-aluminium spaceframe architecture. It’s a smart structure, anchored at four fixed points allowing it to be scaled and shaped in a number of ways. From the position of the bulkhead to the height of the floor, almost every element can be tailored to suit the exact character and purpose of any future Rolls-Royce. In the case of Spectre, a 102kWh battery is fitted in between the sills, built into the structure of the chassis for increased rigidity. But there’s more to it because the battery’s position also acts as a noise blanket for intruding noise and creates a completely flat underfloor as a contributing factor to this Spectre being the most aerodynamic Rolls-Royce ever created. Drag co-efficient? 0.25cd.
The Spectre in fact, represents a number of firsts for the brand and so heed my warning, you will see a few more dotted across these pages. In Rolls-Royce speak, this is their first all-electric car, dubbed the “world’s first ultra-luxury electric super coupé.” Its two-door, fastback design is based on modern yacht styling and nautical design among others. There’s a fluidity to its lines that belies its scale. Follow the roofline over its frameless doors and your eye lands on the rear lights, recessed within the largest single body panel ever fitted to a Rolls-Royce, a sculpted piece that stretches from A-pillar to tailgate without interruption.
Driving the Spectre is where so much of this car’s story is told. Two electric motors sit on each axle, with the front motor developing 190kW and 365Nm, and the rear motor delivering 360kW / 710Nm. This equates to a total usable system output of 430kW and 900Nm of torque. To finish with the numbers, Spectre will sprint from 0 – 100km/h in 4,6-seconds. It’s not so much a sprint though. It’s more like a gentle nudge, cocooned into one of the all time most comfortable drive experiences ever. Nothing in the Spectre is harsh or jarring. There isn’t a vibration to speak of, the cabin noise is so silent that there’s a sense of discomfort in the beginning. Despite the Spectre sitting on 23-inch alloy wheels, the largest ever fitted to a Rolls-Royce for over a century, the ride quality is superb. Chassis magic comes in the form of a rigid structure upon which an upper suspension wishbone has been removed and a smart active anti-roll bar system that can un-couple itself when the car is driving in a straight line. This keeps the most neutral body control and ensures that each side of the car operates independently for maximum comfort. As the wheels turn however, the anti-roll bars lock back in working with rear axle steering to keep the car as flat as possible.
It certainly lives up to the idea of offering a magic carpet ride, mesmeric in how so much of what’s happening under your seat is masked or so refined that it goes unnoticed. The magical comfort and reduced noise levels allow for a real sense of Rolls-Royce bespoke audio, a system that is high on tonal detail and also as refined and as filtered as the actual drive. With this audio, massaging seats, unmatched levels of comfort and refinement propelled by 900Nm of instant torque, the Spectre’s cruising ability is top tier.
How about those enormous coach doors though? They are just under 1.5-metres in length and, once again, are the largest doors ever fitted to a Rolls. They’re another interpretation of the ‘effortless doors’ fitted on Rolls’ motor cars since the Phantom was launched. The idea is that opening and and closing doors shouldn’t be anything so onerous as to break a sweat, let alone cause owners to move too much. Operating the doors is as simple as the push of a button or the slight pull of the door handle which varies the door angle. They are, of course, rear-hinged doors so that means navigating parking spaces where you can gracefully disembark is no easy task. Practicality? Not exactly. But grace, theatre and intent? In spades.
Step aboard the Spectre and you’re greeted by a mix of technology woven into a spectacularly simple user experience. Spectre is not what I expected. It’s not a complex place to be. It’s approachable. Pure. Uncluttered. The large door trim pieces can be finished in starlight, using 4 796 LED stars that complement the starlight roof. Replete with shooting stars and a number of brightness and illumination settings, this feature is quite simply spectacular. As you can see from the test unit reviewed here, this car is instead, finished with Canadel panelling, a large piece of hand-crafted wood that is also spread throughout the dashboard, centre console and rear seat trim. There’s an immense amount of detail in here but it’s easy to engage with and easy on the eye. The celestial theme continues into the passenger’s view panel with a piece of art, the Spectre Illuminated Fascia. It’s quite simply the Spectre name surrounded by a complex constellation of 5 500 stars. They are only visible when the car’s ignition is on, and whilst they don’t actually move, they feel as if they do.
The driver’s display is fully digital, yet it’s simple. There isn’t a litany of customisable drive programmes but rather a digital display of classic dials and elegance in the surrounding space. This display too is flanked by a 12.3-inch infotainment system named ‘Spirit’ within which a personal assistant activated by your voice is available. We hardly use these systems in other cars but it feels right in a Rolls-Royce, like your own personal butler or concierge service. The whole operating experience is seamless, simple to operate and still forms part of a cabin that still has chrome air vents, organ flutes, climate control wheels and soft touch buttons for most operating functions. Many of the button functions are also accessible via the infotainment system but I found that making use of the buttons was more natural in how I engaged with Spectre. I love this cabin. It doesn’t overwhelm. It doesn’t rely on digital gimmickry to feel modern. And best of all, the tactile things, the plaques of heritage, the chrome, the wood, the metal hasn’t been replaced by touchscreens or swipe panels. Rolls-Royce hasn’t tried to reinvent how we interact with a car. They’ve just made it nicer.
Range you ask? In our hands to and from Dullstroom in Mpumalanga, we managed 420-kilometres of real world range and ran the battery quite low to under 8% before recharging. Fast charging the Spectre at an 80kW charger turned out 82% of battery charge after 48-minutes which was fast enough as far as this technology is concerned. For Rolls-Royce owners, this is certainly not the only car they own. In fact, as far as data from the company states, most RR owners have an average of seven other cars in the garage. When consulted on whether 500km of range was suitable for the Spectre, these same customers were quite happy with that level of range ability. Anything beyond that and most commented that they would fly. I’m not quite within that bracket. I would be quite happy sipping my coffee at a rest stop waiting for my Spectre to recharge before continuing on my journey.
The Spectre is also the first option in the bespoke luxury segment with the more exclusive and powerful Spectre Black Badge offering heightened levels of everything. It asks a further few million Rand to the bill but either way, the level of custom design and tailored ownership is perhaps at the very peak with these cars. For some, the Rolls Royce unmatched level of attention spells a problem with some owners really only choosing to drive their cars at times when there is hardly any traffic on the roads. After the full week of my evaluation, I can understand that. The attention became overwhelming certainly, and it explains a lot about certain security brigades in tow when a Rolls Royce product is spotted on the streets.
Driving the Spectre isn’t just about travelling in comfort. It’s about witnessing a brand reach the pinnacle of what it’s always set out to do – to elevate the experience of mobility. With no engine noise, no gears, no delay in torque, this car delivers its wares in complete silence. And somehow, that silence speaks louder than any engine ever could.
Like the finest expressions of luxury, the Spectre simply is luxury. Calm. Considered. Crafted. And that, in a world full of noise, is exactly why it’s so good.
And Expensive. This car’s R16 500 000 price tag dazzles me almost as much as the car itself.
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