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Thanks: GREATS | Deluxe Auto Gallery @GREATS_MSK Review: Every EV Concern Melts Away in the Rolls-Royce Spectre Our correspondent spent three days in the half-million-dollar coupe and found out why Rolls-Royce is the ideal brand for electrification The executives, designers and engineers of Rolls-Royce throughout the years have disapproved of the term “performance” when applied to their elite creations. They leave such a concept to brands they might consider too flashy, proud and noisy, like Ferrari, Lamborghini or Koenigsegg. Rolls-Royce prefers words and concepts such as “comfort,” “sophistication,” “poise,” “dignity” and “luxury,” all applied to the maximum level in automotive terms. Boasting a sinister name declaring its kinship with the Phantom, Ghost and Wraith, the 2024 Rolls-Royce Spectre is a half-million-dollar, all-electric, ultra-luxury coupe that floats along honoring all of the stately descriptors its builders insist on in every model coming out the Goodwood estate in the U.K. According to Martin Fritsches, president and CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars North America, naturally it’s the electrification that made Spectre different in the family, though the car had to qualify first as hyper-luxury to wear the RR badge. “The ultimate objective is to make a Rolls-Royce motor car luxurious and effortless,” Fritsches says, steering clear of that forbidden “performance” tag. “Especially in Spectre, we focused on ensuring it was a pure Rolls-Royce first, and then an electric car.” From the ground up, the Spectre employs a 255-horsepower front motor and 483-hp rear motor, which produces a total of 584 hp on tap — the car pours out ample, smooth power on demand. I’d give you a 0-60 mph time, but I can’t escapAe the image in my mind of a Rolls-Royce engineer staring disapprovingly down their nose at me for even asking such a question. I can report a top speed of 155 mph, however. A full charge promises a range of about 260 miles, which is shorter than some luxury rides that pack a distance of more than 300 miles, but not unacceptable for a supreme comfort conveyance weighing a sturdy 6,559 pounds curbside. With some automakers that focus more on average consumers like Ford, Toyota or GM slowing down the transition to full electrification, the opportunity to drive via electrons still skews toward the wealthy. Many middle-of-the-road buyers struggle within a public charging environment that suffers from dubious infrastructure and too few plug-in points on the road. Meanwhile, a Spectre buyer’s resources easily allow for an in-house charger in a temperature-controlled garage — and high-end vehicles like it are the immediate future of EVs. “I can only speak about Rolls-Royce and why this is a perfect fit [for electrification],” Fritsches says. “Rolls-Royce motor cars are known for their silence, their power with controlled torque and the special feeling of the ‘magic carpet ride.’ Electric is even better suited to provide this than internal combustion engines for Rolls-Royce in every factor.” Read More
