Rolls-Royce Spectre is brand's first all-electric vehicle

Ultra-luxury automotive brand Rolls-Royce has finally revealed its first fully electric vehicle: the Spectre.

Said Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Chief Executive Officer Torsten Müller-Ötvös, “Today, 117 years later, I am proud to announce that Rolls-Royce is to begin the on-road testing program for an extraordinary new product that will elevate the global all-electric car revolution and create the first — and finest — super-luxury product of its type. This is not a prototype. It’s the real thing, it will be tested in plain sight and our clients will take first deliveries of the car in the fourth quarter of 2023."

According to Müller-Ötvös, the name represents the newest cars’ capabilities. “Spectre is a name given to otherworldly beings synonymous with great power and apparition; creatures of an alternative realm that make their presence felt through fleeting manifestation. A spectre forces the world to pause. It dominates the space it occupies. Then, as quickly as it appears, it dissipates, leaving a wake of exhilaration, energy, and intrigue,” he explained.

“This name perfectly matches the extraordinary Rolls-Royce that we are announcing today — a motor car that makes its presence felt before disappearing into a world inaccessible to all but the very few. As a quintessentially British brand, we have selected the British spelling, however the meaning is universal,” Müller-Ötvös added.

He said that while Henry Royce, one of the founders of the brand, “was fascinated by all things electrified, it was Charles Rolls who truly prophesied an electrified future for automobiles... In April 1900, he experienced an early electric motor car named the Columbia and declared its electric drive to be ideal."

Müller-Ötvös further stated that the Spectre's electric drive is uniquely and perfectly suited to Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, as such vehicles are “silent, refined and creates torque almost instantly, going on to generate tremendous power.”

Back in 2011, the company started its electric powertrain experiments with the 102EX, all-electric Rolls-Royce Phantom. It also revealed the fully electric 103EX in 2016.

Further, the Rolls-Royce Spectre will be tested by covering 2.5 million kilometers (the most demanding testing in the brand’s history), which is a simulation of more than 400 years of use for a Rolls-Royce, on average.

“You will see these test cars on roads, around the world. Look out for them – they will be in plain sight. They will be tested in all conditions and over all terrains on their multi-million-mile journey – that will literally accelerate Rolls-Royce into the future,” Müller-Ötvös noted.

Photos from Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

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