Rolls-Royce Motor Cars made an historical announcement that it would launch its most important product since 4th May 1904, when the marque’s founders Charles Rolls and Sir Henry Royce agreed that they would create “the best car in the world”.
The Rolls-Royce Spectre, the first all-electric Rolls-Royce in its history. Its conceptual predecessors included the 2011 fully electric Experimental Phantom named 102EX. This was followed by 103EX, a dramatic design study that anticipated a bold electric future for the marque.
This undertaking would require the most demanding testing program ever conceived by Rolls-Royce and would span 2.5 million kilometres, simulating more than 400 years of use for a Rolls-Royce, on average.
The all-Electric Rolls-Royce Spectre has concluded Winter Testing 55km from the Arctic Circle, where the marque’s products are subjected to temperatures as low as -40 degrees centigrade.
Here, rigorous tests in extreme conditions are carried out along with the beginnings of the refinement process – first ‘lessons’ in a finishing school that will form the foundations of a motor car worthy of the marque.
‘De-escalated time’ on the low traction surfaces of the arctic enables incredible accuracy and control in creating the Rolls-Royce experience using Spectre’s chassis control systems, powertrain management and electronics control.
Following more than half a million kilometres of testing, 25% of this process has now been completed.
ROLLS-ROYCE SPECTRE: ROLLS-ROYCE 3.0
Rolls-Royce 3.0 represents the beginning of the marque’s bold electric future. The first Goodwood Rolls-Royce was Phantom, and it was underpinned by its own Bespoke architecture.
This was Rolls-Royce 1.0. Following this, a new, highly flexible all-aluminium spaceframe architecture was conceived that could be adapted for multiple applications, including the current Phantom, Cullinan, Ghost and Coachbuild projects.
This was Rolls-Royce 2.0. Rolls-Royce 3.0 is the integration of a fully electric power train and Decentralised Intelligence into the marque’s architecture. Spectre is the most connected Rolls-Royce ever and each component within it is more intelligent than in any previous Rolls-Royce.
It features 141,200 sender-receiver relations and has more than 1,000 functions with more than 25,000 sub functions. By comparison, Phantom has 51,000 sender-receiver relations, 456 functions and 647 sub functions.
ROLLS-ROYCE SPECTRE: ARCHITECTURE
In creating a design for Spectre, a generously proportioned, highly emotional body style was selected. This could only be enabled with the marque’s all-aluminium spaceframe architecture.
Indeed, the scale is so far beyond other contemporary coupés that it has been designated an Electric Super Coupé. It is the brand’s belief that there is only one other contemporary product that occupies this space – Phantom Coupé. The marque’s designers consider Spectre to be Phantom Coupé’s spiritual successor.
ROLLS-ROYCE SPECTRE: THE EXTRAORDINARY UNDERTAKING CONTINUES
With the winter testing phase completed, Spectre will continue its global testing programme. The Electric Super Coupé still has to complete nearly two million kilometres before the marque’s engineers will consider this undertaking complete prior to first customer deliveries in the fourth quarter of 2023.
