Rolls-Royce Spectre is the British carmaker’s first luxury coupe to be powered entirely by electricity. Let’s see what foreign experts think of this world-leading all-electric luxury coupe.
It’s only when you get in the driver’s seat, buckle up, step on the gas pedal, and turn the wheel of the Spectre that you can acknowledge this: It’s not Mercedes-Benz, Bentley, Ferrari, or Tesla; it’s Rolls-Royce that has gone the furthest in solving the problems of an electric car while maximizing its advantages.
And Rolls-Royce’s engineers do this so well that orders for the Specter are growing rapidly, despite long expected delivery times. It seems that everyone really desires to have this future car, but no one feels any regret for the legendary V12 engine that has gone into the past.
On the road, Spectre will still be the most luxurious vehicle in the world, demonstrating the owner’s spending power and outstanding class like all other Rolls-Royce models.
There will still be the mysterious flying lady Spirit of Ecstasy symbol on the bonnet, the Pantheon vertical grille cluster has been reduced in size but still retains the superior aesthetic level of the aristocratic symbol.
Although lacking the legendary heart – the 6.75L V12 engine under the hood; But the “strong British” soul is still clearly evident on the Rolls-Royce Specter. The car is capable of accelerating from 0 – 100 km/h in 4.4 seconds. This number seems quite modest in comparison, because the market has witnessed many luxury pure electric cars today that only take about 3 seconds to do the same thing.
But remember, the Rolls-Royce Spectre weighs more than 2.8 tons and is more than 5.4m long – that is, heavier and longer than a typical full-size SUV – like the Chevy Tahoe. And of course, the driving experience of the Rolls-Royce Spectre is also very typical compared to other “market” pure electric cars.
A highlight when driving regular EV cars is the ability to provide instant torque (acceleration is very strong, can even be shocking – right at the first throttle). According to Rolls-Royce Technical Director – Dr. Mihiar Ayoubi – the British car company believes this is not suitable for a car model like the Specter.
What Rolls-Royce wanted was for the Spectre to have a certain level of toughness when stepping on the gas. Like a piece of music with enough notes: there must be a gentle prelude, then a fierce climax. Or like the Cullinan using a V12 engine: when the driver steps on the gas, the car will slowly accelerate and the acceleration will be maintained, creating a feeling of “power” for the car.
Indeed, the 584 horsepower and 900 Nm of torque on the Rolls-Royce Spectre is truly impressive! All the power that the car produces is “trained” by Rolls-Royce in a skillful and meticulous manner so that the car can accelerate extremely smoothly. With each step on the gas pedal, the person sitting in the car can feel the car gliding at a terrible speed; but at the same time, it is extremely stable.
The suspension works wonderfully, so that every passenger never feels jerked or pushed back by inertia – something that often happens when accelerating on today’s EVs.
And the ability to accelerate always goes hand in hand with the ability to decelerate. The Rolls-Royce Specter accelerates like a car with the Spirit of Ecstasy on its nose; and deceleration is the same: extremely smooth! The car does not pay too much attention to energy recovery, even when the driver actively selects “B” mode on the gear lever to increase energy recovery. And the car also doesn’t offer a one-pedal driving mode.
Instead, the British engineers focused on perfecting the brake pedal experience. And the result is that every step on the brake pedal is pleasant and smooth. If it is just to gently interrupt the acceleration flow, passengers can “hold a glass of champagne without breaking the bubbles.” But if the car slows down suddenly, every movement of the car is easily predictable and does not cause any inconvenience to passengers.
Besides, although smooth, the pure electric Specter does not emit any acceleration sounds like the muscular V12 engine block makes on other Rolls-Royces. And British engineers have also researched to put simulated engine sounds on the car; creating a familiar atmosphere on the Specter like any other Rolls-Royce.
Dr. Ayoubi said, Rolls-Royce customers responded that they really like the sound that the V12 engine block brings. However, passengers can also choose to completely turn off this simulated sound system to enjoy complete silence on Spectre.
In conventional EVs, placing the battery pack under the floor improves aerodynamics, helps the car operate stably – firmly and reduces noise. On the Rolls-Royce Spectre, this improvement is pushed to a further limit.
An additional layer of padding separates the floor and the battery system, allowing engineers to route electrical wiring and air conditioning ducts neatly. The battery system also acts as a giant soundproofing panel under the floor, creating a super-smooth floor surface.
Rolls-Royce Specter also focuses a lot on aerodynamics: the hood has been designed to drop down, the grille is smaller; The body – side – rear of the car is squeezed to reduce wind resistance. As a result, the Specter has a drag coefficient of only 0.25 Cd even though the face of this model is still horizontal in a “very Rolls-Royce” style.
This is a “revolutionary” figure compared to the 0.35 on the previous Phantom Coupe. It has approached the 0.2 Cd level of the Mercedes-Benz EQS or Tesla Model S – “round” designed cars – completely sacrificing their shape in exchange for energy saving function.
The result of good wind resistance combined with sound-absorbing materials, gives the Rolls-Royce Specter a truly quiet interior. It is not absolute silence; but it’s certainly smoother and quieter than any other car on the road.
Even though the car uses super huge rims of up to 23 inches and equally huge tires with a tire width of up to 315mm; Rolls-Royce Specter also “smooths” all noise whether the car goes through potholes, speed bumps or bad roads.
Behind the feeling of absolute quietness and smoothness, or the ability to accelerate/decelerate with supreme stability; Rolls-Royce Spectre also has a significantly improved chassis system: torsional rigidity increased by up to 30%; active anti-roll bar system limits side impacts that can cause the car to tilt and the 4-wheel steering system makes the car extremely flexible when entering and exiting parking spots.
In fact, when operating at high speeds and on winding mountain passes, the Rolls-Royce Specter provides a surprising driving experience. Despite the lack of Sport mode, the massive and extremely heavy super-luxury pure electric coupe now responds very quickly and accurately to each cornering operation of the driver.
The vehicle’s changing trajectory brings a feeling of firmness and smoothness and creates excitement for the person behind the wheel. However, the large diameter steering wheel, combined with the large rim size, makes the grip easily tiring if you have to drive continuously for a long time.
On the Rolls-Royce Specter , British engineers also removed all mechanical clocks behind the steering wheel for the first time, replacing them with a full electronic screen. In the middle of the dashboard is now also a central touch-screen infotainment screen running the “Spirit” operating system – which in fact is not difficult to recognize as BMW’s famous iDrive7 operating system reworked. look more luxurious.
In addition, Spectre does not modernize any details inside the interior compartment, considering the scope of a Rolls-Royce: Leather, wood and metal details are still meticulously covered to every corner of the cabin; demonstrating the meticulousness and ultimate class of the world’s leading luxury car brand.
The only point that the writer can “dig up” is that most of the dashboard area on the Specter is still just glossy black piano material. This type of surface is unattractive and easily leaves fingerprints. With a car starting at $420,000, customers have the right to be picky and demand more.
Next, based on the “solid” Coupe shape of the Rolls-Royce Specter ; Many people will equate it to an electric version of the Wraith (although the British brand does not encourage this). It’s not until they directly use it that people will probably notice the difference. Despite its 2+2 seating configuration, the Specter actually provides a comfortable seating space for adults in the back seat.
Both legroom and headroom are quite spacious for long-distance travel. The only downside is that getting in and out of the back seat is not convenient, because the front seats have to be moved up quite a bit. But the front seats are impeccable! Despite being 1m8 tall, the writer still feels very “immense” when sitting in the driver’s seat. The visibility is also very open thanks to the large windows.
When receiving the car for testing, this Rolls-Royce Specter was fully charged and the distance traveled to test the car was only about 300 km. Therefore, the writer does not have enough experience to comment on the car’s charging ability or battery life. According to the British super luxury brand, Specter can travel more than 400 km after each full charge.
The maximum charging capacity for the vehicle when using a DC fast charger is 195 kW – enough to charge the battery from 10 – 80% in 34 minutes – similar to BMW models. If a 50 kW DC charger is used, charging time will triple. As for a 22 kW charger using regular AC power, the charging time will be 5.5 hours. These are all very impressive numbers, because regular electric car models will take about 10-12 hours to charge the same level of energy.
And finally, the price. The Rolls-Royce Spectre is listed starting at $420,000. Although not specifically disclosed, the test car appearing in the article is estimated to cost over $500,000. Of course, the Rolls-Royce Spectre cannot go as far or accelerate as fast as the Lucid Air or Tesla Model S – the current top EV models.
But of course, who would mix chalk with lime, right? Rolls-Royce is still Rolls-Royce and people willing to spend enough money to own a Specter also understand what outstanding value it brings compared to a Lucid or Tesla.
And to confirm once again, please allow me to boldly declare that: Up to now, only Rolls-Royce is the only car brand in the world that can create a super smooth electric car, Quiet and pleasant to the point of perfection like Spectre. More importantly, Rolls-Royce Specter meets customers’ desires. And that is a success.
In a big way, the Rolls-Royce Spectre is a statement: the move to electric cars does not compromise the artistry, passion and attention to detail – as many people think. The Spectre is the end of the glorious V12 era; it is also the opening of a new era.
