There can hardly be a more suitable driving for a Rolls-Royce than electric motors. CS Rolls himself said it in 1900: “The electric car is perfectly quiet and clean. There is no smell or vibration. ” Although, prophetically, he added that he had infrastructure problems. After 120 years of testing, no gasoline-powered Rolls-Royce has a powertrain as smooth, quiet or responsive as that of a 2011 Nissan Leaf. Or perhaps more aptly a 2015. X Tesla model: a powerful, heavy car that travels great distances and charges quickly. But this is changing: in a year, this fabulous all-electric Spectre will land with its first customers. Then, Top Gear asks Rolls-Royce boss Torsten Müller: Ötvös the apparent question: what stopped you?Their answer is categorical. ” Customers have said: first you want a Rolls-Royce, then an electric one. “
Rolls-Royce knows these consumers intimately. After all, even if their number helps to continue to grow, there are still not many of them. Müller-Ötvös has been asking them for a decade what they think about electric vehicles. “Compared to where consumers were and now, it’s replaced tremendously. On average, they own seven cars and many already own an electric car. Reviews about electric propulsion in general are very positive. “So the Spectre doesn’t have to provide them with the concept of a charging cable instead of an explosive liquid pipe.
Photo: Mark Fagelson
Rolls-Royce even did a demo task in 2011, a changed Phantom called the 102EX. I still drive it. It was a checkered Rolls-Royce: quiet, soft, playful. “It fits perfectly with what the logo stands for. It’s not explained by engine noise or noisy exhaust. “But the 102EX’s diversity was as short as its loading time. it was long. ” Ten years ago, it wasn’t that consumers weren’t in a position to go. The generation wasn’t in the right spot: battery, propulsion and, most importantly, the software. It is now, in a quality that allows us to build a Rolls-Royce. There is no commitment. This allows for a larger car, space, enough diversity and the right load. And modern software that makes it easy to use and interactive. convert a combustion car. “
To our delight, the first electric Rolls-Royce is a coupe, not a galloping SUV. “The Spectre is for us like the Silver Ghost. “”This is the beginning of a new era for Rolls-Royce and it looks forward to being celebrated. A fastback coupe is an emotional car. ” Its task is to update the impressive Phantom coupe, absent from diversity since 2016.
The Spectre is undoubtedly a full-length Rolls-Royce. I mean, big. These wheels have a diameter of 23 inches, a length that can make a Range Rover look like a Golf. It will travel 320 miles (WLTP) on a charge. Of course, endurance is important, and BMW’s experience through hours of CFDs and endless tunnels has reduced them to a Cd of 0. 25. Great task, guys, but look at the length of this one. We will still have to push a lot in the air. Then you have to think about the empty weight of 2,975 kg. Even so, the Spectre reaches 0 to 62 mph in 4. 5 seconds. That’s what the front and rear engines with a total of 585 hp and 664 lb-ft can do for you.
But most importantly, it’s fabulously decadent.
As well as acting like a Rolls-Royce, the Spectre will have to look like one. In fact, he has the face, that Greek temple grid, and the Spirit of Ecstasy mascot. Except they’re not the same as always. The grille is the widest ever seen in a Rolls-Royce. But it’s largely airtight, as there’s no V12 to cool, and the priority is to decrease turbulent resistance. Its blades are lit at night for an additional rolling theater. sitting in its smartest form is a new interpretation of the symbol of Eleanor Thornton, leaning further forward in the breeze. On both sides are split headlights, last seen on the Phantom coupe. The headlights emerge from an enigmatic darkness full of smoke.
The surfaces of the frame are absolutely safe. Look around at all the cars that have relatively flat surfaces and few characteristic lines. He realizes that it is literally difficult to do: they regularly look weak and fragile. But the blueprints of the Spectre are like that, and the effect is of a monolithic power car. The very few lines that exist are sharp like knives, however, due to the strength of the surface, they look like a forged block of carved metal, rather than what they are, an undeniable bent blade. Chrome trim has the same effect, as does cut and polished dough. These door handles can come from a bank safe.
Go ahead and pull the handle. According to Rolls practice, the doors have rear hinges, so you just want to get in and out. As on the outside, the inside is Rollsy. But better. No one else does it that way. Every Rolls-Royce since the beginning of the Goodwood era in 2003 has carried this self-confident simplicity, a type of furniture that owes little to the traditional automotive vernacular. Owners will recognize the touch-sensitive physical climate controls and iDrive controller. For the first time, tools are rendered on a screen, while thankfully simulating analog dials. But they are configurable in color to adapt to the fabrics and leathers that the customer has ordered.
Pretty wild ornament in this car photo, huh?The seats have what Rolls calls a flap, a padded clamp that gives option to contrasting details. . Or you can opt for giant wood panels. Another significant star panel also covers the passenger-side dashboard.
It’s all a four seater. “It is not a 2+2”, stresses Müller-Ötvös. Space is a luxury, and you may need to bring some decorations. But it’s a coupe and probably wouldn’t be driven by a chauffeur. So how will homeowners use it? He broadcasts that they have seven cars on average. Not a commuter car for them. They ride it for a casual ride, entertainment, a night out, or just “stopping by for a ride. ” He once drove a Phantom Coupe to the finish line in France in one day. I can’t think of a better car for the job, but it still meant a sumptuous early start and too many snacks at the fuel station. A genuine Rolls-Royce owner would not do that. They would warn at the Chateau de Posh hotel on the way and, of course, locate an electric charger there. They have one charger at home and one at work. Etc. Which means the Spectre’s range, around 320 miles WLTP, will actually be more than enough. Or, to reuse an old Rolls-Royce word, enough. “Owners don’t drive from London to Edinburgh all at once. Our cars were never within arm’s reach. ” A Rolls-Royce V12 probably wouldn’t get past 320 miles, “and no one ever asked us for a bigger fuel tank. “
The interior is Rollsy. But better. nobody else does it that way.
The battery uses BMW’s newest mobile type, but the package has a unique shape to have compatibility with Spectre land. The engines also come from BMW, the EESM type that do not use rare earths and are effective at maximum speeds. Spectre is an edition of Goodwood’s unique aluminium architecture. Pure electric propulsion was a component of the disc when it was designed, before launching it for the first time on the Phantom. The Spectre uses air chambers, resonators to attenuate wheel vibration, adaptive surprise shock absorbers, variable roll stiffness and four-wheel steering. But it’s not the hardware they’re most proud of, it’s the algorithms that make it all up, and until we check it out, we can’t know how calibrated everything has been.
The value of all this is “between the Cullinan and the Ghost,” a third of a million pounds, from there, on an upward trajectory of ordered characteristics.
I ask Müller-Ötvös about profits. He says he can now make an electric car for the same value as a V12 car. There’s another important explanation for why they didn’t do it sooner, as it says it’s a bad deal. sell someone an electric vehicle that makes less money than the V12 it replaces. I suspect the timing of the Spectrum’s arrival isn’t just about the availability of technology. I have more confidence in the BMW and RR engineers: in Actually, they may have done it before. They just didn’t want it. As the boss says, Rolls-Royce sells more and more gasoline-powered cars every year. “There was no need to rush. “
The time has come. Buyers need an electric car, and it will make money. Above all, it is feasible according to Rolls-Royce standards. In fact, at first glance, even more than that.
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