The first electric Rolls-Royce: a luxurious Brit of calm – and, if desired, colorful.

With the Spectre, which translates as ghost, Rolls-Royce introduces the first battery-powered car in the brand’s history. Can this work? In any case, it’s eerily quiet.

Rolls-Royce and electric drives – do they go together? In fact, the heart immediately says no as an impulsive reaction. Such a traditional manufacturer cannot build cars that have been robbed of their good heart, right? After all, known mechanical engineering is part of German automotive engineering. Of course, Rolls-Royce is still British in a way – but the basic design of its excellent twelve-cylinder engines comes from the development department of parent company BMW.

But enough philosophy about the art of driving. Under the lush sheet of the futuristic Spectre, there are now two electric motors based on the design of BMW. These are two units of the synchronous motor type, in which the magnetic field of the rotor is generated by the current flow, which means it does not require permanent magnets (other than the environment). Regarding the performance of the system – previously the manufacturer would use the adjective “adequate”. Which is true considering the 585 horsepower and 900 Newton meters of total torque. Rolls-Royce never aimed for maximum performance, but always for maximum freedom. And in this sense, the models of the brand have never caused a shock with their engines. At least not out loud. Instead, engineers always tried to make sure that the train made as little noise as possible.

Just getting into a Rolls-Royce is special

In this case, an electric Rolls-Royce is fine, right? Went in and tried it. But wait! Luxury cars face their passengers with surprising solutions. One of them is that the stylish coupe doors are connected to the B pillar and open properly in front. Of course, this looks very interesting, but it is not very easy to start with.

But as soon as you sit in a luxury car covered with sheepskin rugs, the memory of this little scarcity quickly disappears. And Rolls-Royce only compensates for other shortcomings caused by the car concept and electric assistants. Close the door with physical force? It doesn’t work because the average arm length isn’t long enough to reach the wide open gate. It doesn’t matter, all you need to do is press a button and the door will lock itself using an electric motor. And it can also be opened electrically.

Electricity is the key word. Time to finally go. And from the first few meters, the heavy Brit with incredibly smooth steering (as intended) feels like a real Rolls-Royce. There is something wonderful about how the gentle giant, resting in the air (the two-door model is 5.45 meters!), stretches its front, including the glorious Spirit of Ecstasy – that’s the name of the hat ornament – towards the sky as it continues. speed. So this silent electric car isn’t all bad. Let’s put it this way, you can do it. It’s fine and somehow the brand does it justice. But anyone who drives an example with a classic twelve cylinder in direct comparison will feel that the feeling has finally been lost.

The whisper-quiet supercharged turbo gives the Rolls-Royce versions a dignity that the electric-powered version lacks. And Goodwood mechanics please note the absolute silence – in the high-speed range, the Brit attracts attention with a slight wind noise from the side window. On the other hand, it is the frameless door construction, which makes things challenging.

The three-ton truck is an athlete

Speaking of speed: The Specter moves at speeds of up to 250 km/h – very impressive for a car that weighs almost three tonnes. And the luxury coupé also pulls hard from a standstill, needing just over five seconds to reach highway speed. That’s more than “enough” to bring the ball back to Rolls-Royce. Traveling instead of racing is the motto of this coupé, which costs around 400,000 euros.

And if you can even begin to understand that a car costs a lot of money, this is a Rolls-Royce. In any case, the manufacturer makes every effort. Those lush upholstery, those almost lavish wooden inlays. Soon it may no longer be veneer, but solid wood. The vents also feel like solid metal. And then stars everywhere on the head – even shooting stars.

Why stars? What did the marketing department come up with? The starry sky in Rolls-Royce is familiar and always attractive – but in both directions. Others see it as kitsch. I find him at least amazing. But Rolls-Royce certainly has a star. A small star even twinkles near the rising speedometer needle, as if Rolls-Royce wanted to enchant its passengers. That is true to some extent.

It’s not a supercharged car

Finally, back to the issue of payment. Sorry, must have a battery-electric vehicle. Rolls-Royce has decided to leave it with a maximum charging capacity of 195 kilowatts, similar to BMW technology. The 400 volt electrical system remains the same. Is that exciting? You can see it either way. The manufacturer may think that Specter customers charge at home anyway. Of course, one might assume that buyers in this price range tend to live in homes with garages – but who knows. Anyone who goes on long trips in a coupe should know that they are not driving a premium car. It usually does not stay at maximum charging power for longer than ten minutes.

In addition, the lightweight two-door car draws a lot of electricity from a 102 kWh storage system for its power consumption. After all, it can be noted that most homeowners in these price ranges now rely on photovoltaics. Seen this way, it’s not bad if the energy demand is higher here. Then it is released by the sun. So the circle closes with the star.