Rolls-Royce Spectre the start of EV-only era for luxury brand

Rolls-Royce will walk away from V8 and V12 engines as it commits to an EV-only future by 2030.

The first electric car from the BMW-owned brand will be called the Spectre and is due on sale late in 2023.

From then on the Rolls-Royce range will progressively drop petrol for electricity as it embraces the EV shift.

The brand that positions itself as the pinnacle of luxury made the announcement as it released four images of an apparently representative development car for the Rolls-Royce Spectre.

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Describing it as “the most significant day in the history of Rolls-Royce since 4^th May, 1904”, Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Muller-Otvos said the brand would move away from ICE powertrains over the remainder of the decade.

“With this new product, we set out our credentials for the full electrification of our entire product portfolio by 2030,” he said. “By then, Rolls-Royce will no longer be in the business of producing or selling any internal combustion engine products.”

The two-door coupe looks similar in its stance to the Wraith and in the images is plastered with quotes from Rolls-Royce founder Charles Rolls. They include “take the best and make it better” and “strive for perfection in everything you do”.

Muller-Otvos says “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”.

Rolls-Royce says it will cover 2.5 million kilometres during development, which is says will be indicative of 400 years of use of a single car.

Due on sale late in 2023, the new Rolls-Royce Spectre is expected to use a drivetrain derived from parent company BMW. There’s a fair chance it’ll have at least two electric motors and comfortably surpass the ample performance of the existing Rolls-Royce breed.

“I am proud to announce that Rolls-Royce is to begin the on-road testing programme 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,” says Muller-Otvos.

“It is the beginning of a new legacy for our brand. In that spirit, we have decided on a completely new name for this car. It’s a name that perfectly fits the ethereal and other worldly environment within which our products exist – a name that we have reserved especially for this moment: Spectre.”

Few brands are as well suited to electric motoring than Rolls-Royce.

Big torque, effortless pulling power and meticulous refinement are at the core of the brand – and they’re traits of many modern EVs.

“We embark on this bold new future with a huge advantage,” says Muller-Otvos. “Electric drive is uniquely and perfectly suited to Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, more so than any other automotive brand. It is silent, refined and creates torque almost instantly, going on to generate tremendous power. This is what we at Rolls-Royce call ‘waftability’.”

And rather than tune BMW engines then quieten them further for life in a Rolls-Royce – BMW recently committed to an EV version of its 7-Series limousine, to be called iX7 – engineers can use electric motors that should be close to perfect off the shelf.

Not that Rolls-Royce is planning on using the same gear that goes into a BMW.

As it does with its V8 and V12 engines, it will likely tune and tweak them for life in a Rolls-Royce.

The Spectre will also ride on the existing aluminium spaceframe architecture rather than utilising a BMW platform.

No doubt the Rolls-Royce Spectre will also have a suitably long EV range.

Although it could be also argued than any Rolls-Royce driver – or rider – is likely to shorten travel times over big distances by using a helicopter or private jet. Or, at least, snuggle themselves into the pointy end of a commercial plane.

Rolls-Royce has been teasing its electric future for years with cars such as the Phantom Experimental Electric from 2011 adn the Vision Next 100 from 2016.

EV conversion companies are also already transforming classic Rolls-Royces to electric.