- Exterior: Instantly Recognizable
- Interior: More Familiarity
- Powertrain: No One Will Miss The V12
- Driving Impressions: Don’t Rock The Boat
- Pricing & Verdict: Unlike Any Other
Whether it's gas-powered or electric, a Rolls-Royce is a Rolls-Royce.
Electric vehicles are quiet, effortless, and serene. You know what that sounds like? A Rolls-Royce. In this regard, electrifying a Rolls-Royce makes so much sense that it's almost baffling why it took so long for the brand to develop its first production EV. Company founder Charles Rolls even predicted more than a century ago that cars would eventually go electric, provided charging stations became common.
The 2024 Roll-Royce Spectre arrives on the market later this year as the first true ultra-luxury EV. And with the two-door Wraith gone from the lineup, the Spectre arrives to stir the pot. The British automaker views the Spectre as a spiritual successor to the legendary Phantom Coupe, not as a replacement for the Wraith, despite it's two-door fastback looks.
There's a very good reason why it took Rolls-Royce more than a decade to sell an EV; after creating the electric 102EX – also called the Phantom Experimental Electric – they had to be sure the timing was right. And the company had to be sure the Spectre felt like a Rolls-Royce first and an EV second, not the other way around. Did it succeed? CarBuzz flew to Napa Valley to find out.
Exterior: Instantly Recognizable
From the second you lay eyes on the Spectre, it's evident you are staring at a Rolls-Royce. Despite taking some design departures from previous Rollers, this car doesn't deviate too far from the brand ethos. The split headlights make a return, harking back to the Phantom Drophead Coupe. At the back, the minimalist trunk area gets very simple taillights and an uncluttered look – the lights themselves are surrounded by bodywork and not connected to anything by more modern lightbars or unnecessary chrome. The rear roofline tapers off, giving the Spectre a properly sleek coupe profile.
Despite being a two-door coupe, the Spectre is massive. It stretches 215.55 inches from hood to trunk, which is five inches longer than a Chevy Tahoe. The Phantom Drophead Coupe was even longer, at 220.8 inches. A massive car deserves massive shoes, which is why the Spectre rides on 22-inch wheels with optional 23-inch wheels available, as pictured below. The 23s come in two patterns, each with silver polished or two-tone coloring, and we personally prefer the simpler seven-spoke design.
This is the most aerodynamic Rolls-Royce ever built with an impressive 0.25 drag coefficient. Rolls achieved the slippery body through clever means, such as reshaping the wings on its iconic Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament. Of course, owners could also lower the ornament, but then how could passersby ever know how rich you are?
The Spectre is gorgeous to behold during the day, but it is sublime to experience at night. This is the widest pantheon grille ever fitted to a Rolls-Royce, and it contains 22 LED lights that shine in the dark. There's more jaw-dropping light work inside, but we'll get to that later.
As for the color palette, Rolls-Royce clearly wants its customers to take some chances with the Spectre. The company added some bold new hues, including Morganite – a soft pink inspired by fashion pictured below – and Chartreuse, which is a mix of green and yellow. We were lucky enough to be handed the keys to a Twilight Purple example, easily the most sought-after Spectre at the drive event. Even in a wealthy place like Napa Valley, the arrival of a purple Rolls-Royce feels like a memorable event. The colors can be paired with an upper two-tone, aero two-tone, or a brushed aluminum bonnet.
Interior: More Familiarity
There's an odd tendency for automakers to either copy Tesla or go in their own weird direction with EV interiors: touchscreens replacing buttons, glass roofs that don't close, and even reinventions of the traditional steering wheel to yokes. Happily, Rolls-Royce hasn't done any of that. When you step into the Spectre, it feels like any other Rolls-Royce. The controls are in the same place, and nothing is overcomplicated. You can still close the rear-hinged coach doors simply by pressing a button, but now the driver's door closes when the brake is depressed for added convenience. And don't worry; the built-in umbrellas are still where you expect them to be.
Rolls-Royce isn't known for class-leading tech, but the Spectre is the first model in the lineup to get an updated infotainment system dubbed 'Spirit.' We didn't have much time to play around with the system on our first drive, but the menus seem logically laid out and the driver can use use the rotating controller or the touchscreen to navigate. A new digital gauge cluster looks simple but more modern than before, and customers can even customize the colors when commissioning their car.
As with the exterior, the Spectre's cabin looks even more brilliant at night. Following the popularity of the Starlight Headliner, the Spectre debuts a new feature called the Starlight Doors. This option puts 4,796 illuminated stars in each of the door panels – stretching to the side panels in the rear – surrounding occupants in a halo of cosmic light. Alternatively, there's also a wood Canadel Paneling option, which includes its own form of soft ambient lighting.
Thanks to the car's impressive length, the back seat is actually usable. This is a proper four-seater: We can personally testify to this, having ridden in the back seat on our way to dinner. Those back seats are heated and include their own climate controls, but amenities such as TVs, picnic tables, and massage seats are reserved for the four-door Rollers.
Powertrain: No One Will Miss The V12
Somewhat paradoxically, the whole point of a Rolls-Royce V12 engine is to be completely unnoticeable. So when it gets replaced by electric motors, will anyone really care? In place of the 6.75-liter V12, the Spectre utilizes two electric motors: one at the front, generating 255 horsepower, and the other at the back, producing 483 hp. Together, they waft the Spectre along with 584 horsepower and 664 lb-ft of torque, which is on par with the V12, getting the Spectre up to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds.
A 102 kWh battery pack enables a 260-mile range on the EPA cycle. Yes, there are EVs that can go much further on a charge, but the Spectre's range is perfectly adequate. The average two-door Rolls-Royce is only driven around 3,000 miles per year. That means a Spectre owner would only need to charge up roughly once per month.
The car can charge at up to 190 kW on a DC fast charger, going from 10-80% battery in around 34 minutes. Most Spectre owners will charge at home, though, where the car can rejuice at 11 kW (just under 11 hours for a full charge). The typical Rolls-Royce owner has seven other vehicles they can drive while they wait to charge, and the added convenience of not having to mingle with the proletariat at gas stations is a luxury that no V12 can provide.
Driving Impressions: Don’t Rock The Boat
As with the styling and the interior layout, Rolls-Royce wanted the Spectre's driving experience to be as close to previous models as possible. In terms of comfort, the Spectre is spot on, riding on a cushiony suspension that's aptly named 'Magic Carpet Ride.' The Planar suspension system responds to drive inputs and road conditions using 18 sensors for the steering, braking, accelerator, and dampers, using each one to detect and anticipate anything in the outside world that might disturb occupants. It can even decouple the anti-roll bars, so if one wheel goes over a pothole, it won't be felt elsewhere in the vehicle.
All of the controls, including the steering and braking setup, feel typical of Rolls-Royce. The regenerative brakes were a particular challenge to get right because the engineers were tasked with making them smooth enough not to spill a glass of champagne. The result is a light pedal that takes a heavy foot to slow the car down, but it does come to a halt in a dignified way. There is a “one-pedal” mode, but Rolls-Royce doesn't call it such. By pushing “B” on the gear lever, the Spectre slows down to a standstill, but it does so with less vigor than most one-pedal modes. It's perfect for driving in stop-and-go traffic, but drivers will still need to use the brake pedal when slowing down from cruising speeds.
Accelerating in a Rolls-Royce is all about the feeling of effortlessness, and the Spectre captures that essence perfectly. A quick tap of the throttle can easily leave the road-going peasants in the Spectre's wake. In fact, the electric motors need to be “detuned” so as not to jolt occupants with too much acceleration force. Despite this, the Spectre is still the quickest-feeling Rolls-Royce we've ever driven, since it doesn't need to wait for a transmission to change gears or a turbocharged engine to build up boost.
There's virtually no road noise that intrudes into the cabin, giving Spectre drivers a silent experience. In perhaps the one area where Rolls-Royce “copied” other EVs, the Spectre has an available “Rolls-Royce Sound” that can be turned on when driving. If we had to describe it, it's the noise an apparition might make when floating across a room. It's tasteful and doesn't sound disturbing over long drives.
Pricing & Verdict: Unlike Any Other
The Spectre is an EV like no other, and in the same breath, it's a Rolls-Royce just like every other. After driving nearly every EV on the market, we prefer it when automakers try to make these cars no different than a gas-powered car. Just because a car no longer burns fossil fuel doesn't mean drivers want all touchscreen controls and virtual reality gadgetry. Rolls-Royce built the Spectre to be familiar to its loyal customers, and it just happens to be powered by electricity.
The Spectre is already sold out, so if you want one, you'll be waiting a while – but Rolls-Royce will penalize clients who try to flip theirs to make a quick buck. Pricing for the Spectre starts at $422,750, but most will be optioned to well over half a million dollars. There is nothing even remotely comparable, though the hand-built, $300,000 Cadillac Celestiq could be mentioned here.
If you want a two-door Rolls-Royce, the Spectre is the only option right now. It perfectly encapsulates what it means to be a Rolls-Royce, and it proves that the brand is perfectly prepared for the electric era.
Keyword: 2024 Rolls-Royce Spectre First Drive Review: The Fuel Never Mattered