Spectral Beauty: The Rolls-Royce Spectre is here

Spectral Beauty: The Rolls-Royce Spectre is here

Rolls-Royce is a brand that prides itself on offering the highest-quality luxury vehicles, with almost every component made with precision and thought. It’s a brand that inspires the youth to dream big and provides business tycoons and wealthy individuals with a driving experience unlike any other. But how does RR keep up with the times? Cue the new, all-electric Spectre.

This following description pretty much captures the essence of the Spectre: it's the first ultra-luxury electric super coupe in history. Because it is a coupe, the Spectre encourages you to drive. Yes, there is a good amount of legroom in the rear, but if you prefer to be driven, you should opt for a RR that's more geared towards chauffeuring, like the Phantom. One can reasonably expect a certain level of performance from the Spectre, given its intent to be driven.

Power is distributed between two electric motors, with the front-mounted motor producing 190kW and 365Nm. The rear wheels, meanwhile, receive 360kW and 710Nm. Rolls-Royce claims that this is comparable to an internal combustion engine producing 430kW and 900Nm. This enables a 4.5-second sprint from 0-100kmh. In contrast to standard EVs' relatively abrupt power delivery, Rolls' Spectre retains a sense of luxury while accelerating.

What makes the Spectre even more impressive is how it helps you drive. The active suspension constantly adjusts the ride height when it recognises road obstacles like speed bumps approaching. It is incredibly intuitive, and the ride quality is nothing short of exemplary. The weight is noticeable, especially considering it has a 102kWh lithium-ion battery, which will get you around 520km of range. Yet the Spectre is by no means a sports car in the traditional sense.

To no surprise, the Spectre is exceptionally silent—so quiet in fact that during testing, the lack of noise made passengers nauseous. So Rolls-Royce added an EV ambience sound under acceleration, which we did notice sounded rather similar to the BMW EV sound output.

Naturally, since this is a Rolls-Royce, there are many different ways to customise the vehicle. For instance, you can change the material of the Spirit of Ecstasy on the bonnet—chrome is a popular choice—but you can also choose to add a crystal ornament if you prefer added exclusivity.

To top it all off, the exterior styling is simply amazing, and the self-opening and self-closing doors guarantee that you make an impression everywhere you go.

Due to the exclusivity of the brand, the Spectre's pricing is only available on request, but we are guessing that the numbers will start around the R10 million mark. Should you possess a substantial sum of money, we recommend visiting Daytona to take a closer look at this stunning vehicle.

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