Quiet is a problem for Rolls-Royce. Didn’t used to be, but now it is. When every electric car has a motor (or motors) aboard as quiet as those in a Rolls, what must Rolls do to distinguish itself from the hoi polloi? And is the massive new 2024 Spectre coupe the right answer?
That’s two too many questions. Because Rolls-Royce is supposed to be unquestionable.
Yup, the Spectre is Rolls-Royce’s first all-electric car. But it doesn’t carry any obvious visual clues as to that. The hood (er, bonnet) still stretches out imperiously, the scale of the thing is utterly regal, and there’s that big “Parthenon” grille up front to announce this vehicle’s majesty. What’s changed is that grille is now solely ornamental—what cooling the car needs comes from underneath it—and that long schnoz only covers some plumbing that is itself under another aluminum shroud.
The quietest Rolls yet. Serenity like this costs half million bucks.
Rolls-Royce
Also, while that new wider “grille” does in fact look like the Greek Parthenon during the day, at night it now lights up like Caesar’s Palace. There should be a bachelorette party going on behind it.
The Spectre’s structure is a variation on the all-aluminum “Architecture of Luxury” platform the company has used since it moved from Crewe to Goodwood back in the early Augts. It’s a spectacularly stolid assembly of extrusions and castings that, claims Rolls, is made even stiffer with the addition of the battery tray and 700 kilograms (1543 pounds) and 102 kilowatt hours of lithium-ion batteries. Rolls’ claim that the Spectre is 30 percent stiffer than previous can’t be tested without some repeated drop testing. The presumption is that Rolls wouldn’t encourage that.
The “Spirit of Ecstasy” has had her wings flattened for better aerodynamics from the Spectre’s prow. Here she is after diving into her security cubby. Swiping her won’t be easy.
There are two BMW-made electric motors aboard the Spectre. Up front is 190-kilowatt (255-hp) unit and in the rear is one rated at 360 kilowatts (483 hp). While straightforward arithmetic suggests that should be a total of 738 hp, Rolls is claiming the output is the equivalent of a 584 hp internal combustion engine. And that owners can expect a 0 to 60 mph clocking of 4.4 seconds. That’s about as quick as an Audi A7 or Mercedes CLS450, quick for a 6371-pound Rolls-Royce. But it’s sedate compared to, say, the nutso Tesla Model S (Plaid or not) and wacko Lucid Air.
That in mind, a Rolls-Royce customer isn’t a mere Tesla or Lucid patron. These are people who have people whose contractors handle mundane tasks like paying for things or charging the electric car. The Spectre’s 260-mile projected range is likely more than enough for someone who has access to private jet aircraft for longer voyages. And who wouldn’t ever be caught embalming themselves with Starbucks while sitting in their Spectre waiting for it to charge. Drinking coffee from a paper cup is almost as bad as flying commercial.
As with all electric cars, the delivery of peak torque (664 lb-ft) starts the moment the accelerator pedal is depressed. Rolls-Royce notoriously and conspicuously used to rate their engines at “adequate.” The combined Spectre motors are “better than adequate” but not thrilling. And Rolls-Royce owners are unlikely to want it any other way.
But even a Rolls-Royce is still a car. And this one is a two-door that rides upon a 126.4-inch wheelbase. That’s the same wheelbase as the Mercedes EQS electric four-door sedan, but the Mercedes is 8.3 inches shorter than the 215.6-inch long Spectre overall.
This is, by far, the largest two-door car currently in production. But by historic standards it’s not that big. The 1976 Cadillac Eldorado, for instance, had a wheelbase a scant tenth of an inch shorter than the Spectre, but was actually 8.5 inches longer overall. The 1979 Lincoln Mark V stretched out 230.3 inches over a 120.4-inch wheelbase. And Rolls’ own 2007-2016 Phantom Drophead Coupe was 220.8 inches long across a 130.7-inch wheelbase. In contrast the Rolls-Royce Wraith coupe which is leaving production this year, and which the Spectre sort of replaces, is a mere waif at 207.4 inches overall on a 122.5-inch wheelbase.
At nearly five feet long, the Spectre’s rear-hinged doors open with theatrical splendor. Since practically every Spectre will be built to its buyer’s whimsy, there’s no ho-hum “standard” interior anyone is likely to actually buy. Instead the seats, dash and starry headliner are easels upon which creativity can be indulged. The car sampled during the press event, for instance, was done up in stark black and white with a definite orca vibe. Other early production vehicles had themes evocative of orchids, British racing cars of the 1930s and, apparently, Barney the dinosaur.
Yes, there are umbrellas in the door jambs. Big ones too.
The doors are so long that a supplementary latch has been added for support. Also, the driver’s door will now automatically close when the brake pedal is depressed. That eliminates the risk and drudgery of pressing a button which can result in a scratch manicure or worse.
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Whatever the color scheme or stitching, the comfort is astonishing. There is seating for four and none of the individual thrones feels severely compromised. It’s better up front, but riding in the rear isn’t a banishment or punishing. Of course, the seats are perfectly shaped, the upholstery is exquisite, and the headliners star field can be configured to represent, say, the constellations as they appeared on the night your akita delivered her first litter of pups. It’s not so much a driving environment as it is a luxury capsule.
And that’s why the interior deserves criticism. The problem with capsules is that they can be confining. The Spectre’s beltline is high, the windshield and rear window are both severely raked, and the seating positions are low. So, the feeling is one of being encased by rather than inside of the car. Even though this is a roomy, pillarless coupe design, there’s no airiness here. Either one likes this sort of bunkered in feeling, or one goes and gets something else. Like another open plan beach house in Malibu. Or a three-masted sailing yacht.
Best vents in the business.
Rolls-Royce
The metal vent vanes are wicked cool and Rolls has avoided the tech overkill that’s gumming up so many luxury cars. But no, even with almost infinite customization of the decorations, the Spectre isn’t for everyone. Come on, a Rolls-Royce shouldn’t be for everyone. In fact, a Rolls should be so exclusive that it’s practically for no one.
Rolls likes to bring up how their vehicles have “waftability” and a “magic carpet ride.” That is the character not of driving, but of confidently and ruthlessly smothering the road. The basic Spectre suspension design is familiar to anyone who has spent time under a recent Roller. The computing power aboard monitors all four wheels and does such radical things as disconnecting the anti-roll bars when the car is headed straight so that each wheel has complete independence when dealing with the road. As on most press previews, the exposure here was limited and that necessarily confines observations to the situations encountered. And in this drive across California’s Napa Valley, there weren’t any situations that came close to upsetting the Spectre.
How big are the wheels? Those are 23-inchers. And the 295/35R23 Pirelli PZero PZ4 Elect tires are about 32-inches in diameter. Funyuns included in photo for scale. Funyuns are the Rolls-Royce of onion-flavored extruded corn snacks.
The steering is surprisingly talkative, if not chatty, turn-in entering corners is nearly instant, and the aid offered by the rear steering system means the Spectre drives a bit smaller than it is. That’s good.
The base price of the Spectre will be $420,000 in the United States. After the expected personalization, most will carry prices above $500,000. A lot. But it’s a lot of electric car.
Rear hinged “suicide” doors are now a tradition at Rolls. So are the gyroscopic wheel center caps that keep the “RR” logo right side up even at speed.
When BMW took over Rolls in the early 2000s, they knocked complacency out of the products. The Phantom and its kin weren’t stodgy, but exciting. The result was a business renaissance for Rolls. But that was 20 years ago. And it’s frustrating—though unsurprising —that the Spectre is a Rolls first and electric car second. Risk averse product planning.
Rolls needs to take bigger swings with its upcoming electrics. Opening that big front hood should reveal something delightful. Bespoke luggage, maybe. An amazing picnic basket would be sweet. As it is, it seems like a lot of hood to cover up almost nothing. In a way, it means the entire front third of the Spectre is decorative.
Under the Spectre’s long bonnet is this aluminum cover that covers… some hoses and stuff. A frunk may not be regal enough for a Rolls-Royce, but this seems like wasted space. Something luxurious should be going on here.
Rolls should play with the form their cars take. Electric propulsion opens up all sorts of possibilities. An electric Rolls-Royce doesn’t necessarily need a long hood at all. Nor must it be so thick shouldered. A native electric vehicle doesn’t have to accommodate all the engineering elements an internal combustion car must.
A Rolls-Royce must be excellent and that the Spectre is. But Rolls-Royce doesn’t need to be this conservative. It should exploit the opportunity electrification has put before it to redefine luxury again. Again.
John Pearley HuffmanSenior Editor
John Pearley Huffman has been writing about cars since 1990 and is getting okay at it. Besides Car and Driver, his work has appeared in the New York Times and more than 100 automotive publications and websites. A graduate of UC Santa Barbara, he still lives near that campus with his wife and two children. He owns a pair of Toyota Tundras and two Siberian huskies. He used to have a Nova and a Camaro.
Keyword: 2024 Rolls-Royce Spectre Is Exactly What You'd Expect an Electric Rolls to Be