Don’t talk numbers.
Among the many threads connecting the Rolls-Royce of the past to the Rolls-Royce of the electric future, one of the most important is the fact that the company’s first production electric car, the Spectre, softens its focus away from the numerical.
In a world of acceleration times, lateral grip, and top-speed bragging rights, not to mention fast-charging specs and range ratings, that may take a bit of adjustment. But it might just lower the blood pressure of the alpha types.
That part is nothing new from a brand that for decades referred to its horsepower as “sufficient.” Luxury buyers entrust this global benchmark for all luxury brands to provide a splendid driving experience, while they find aesthetic satisfaction in their own custom creations, as the word “bespoke” applies to nearly everything else, from options to trim to cabin materials, and more.
Going electric also doesn’t complicate things. As Rolls executives said countless times at an introduction and first drive opportunity this past week in California’s Napa wine country, the Spectre is a Rolls first and an EV second. Yes, it’s a long overdue shift; Charles Stewart Rolls saw the future of the brand as electric back in 1900.
2024 Rolls-Royce Spectre
If you really must know those numbers, here they are. The Spectre has 190-kw front and 360-kw rear excited synchronous motors, making a combined peak of 584 hp and 664 lb-ft of torque. The rear motor can twist out all that torque on its own, while the front motor can contribute up to 524 lb-ft of it.
The battery pack carries 120 kwh of gross capacity, but the Spectre taps into 102 kwh of that as its net (usable) capacity. It’s good for CCS-format DC fast-charging at a peak 195 kw, enabling a 10-80% charge in 34 minutes. That seemingly modest capacity—in a world of 200+ kwh electric pickups—brings an EPA range rating of 260 miles. A massive 22-kw onboard charger means that, given the Level 2 setup to support it, the Spectre can get a full charge in one’s own garage in about five and a half hours.
2024 Rolls-Royce Spectre
Rolls-Royce Spectre performance: No drama
During my drive, I learned quickly that this is an electric car that calms, soothes, and satisfies. It doesn’t produce the gasp-inducing launch experience that generates TikTok reaction videos from the likes of Tesla Performance or Plaid models or other performance-oriented EVs. The Spectre takes off assertively but with an uncanny lack of drama.
Because you expect the front end to lift and the body to shift back, it’s almost as if the Spectre leans into its launch.
There’s a bit of a trick behind that. To avoid the jarring body motions that can accompany high-power EVs, Rolls-Royce intentionally dialed in a delay of a fraction of a second to foot-to-the-floor launches—partly because the nearly instantaneous response of electric propulsion can get ahead of its chassis systems, which act to keep the car level and pleasant-riding.
“Wafting” is the other term that Rolls mentions frequently, and going fully electric maximizes the brand’s signature impression. The combination of a level body, a stoically soft ride, and a super-hushed interior mean that it’s possible to easily blast past the speed limit without feeling like you’ve blasted in any sense. Acceleration and velocity are almost non-events. You also don’t hear sounds outside or the vehicle (with an asterisk I’ll get to). The superbly supportive front seats, with pillowy head support and firm backing where it counts, do their best to limit drama with comfort.
2024 Rolls-Royce Spectre
As with other new Rolls-Royce models, the Spectre rides on a “magic carpet ride” suspension, here with both active damping and a four-corner air suspension. Components work in harmony with sensors for nearly 20 different parameters for suspension behavior, including decoupling the anti-roll bars to prevent undulation on choppy surfaces.
The Spectre takes on choppy, narrow backroads surprisingly well—aided by the light touch of its four-wheel steering—but you can’t expect to defy the realities of the tape measure. Excluding the mirrors, the Spectre is five inches longer than a standard-length Lincoln Navigator and about as wide as that plus-sized SUV. The Spectre rides on gigantic 23-inch wheels shod with low-profile Pirelli P Zero rubber—a key to getting the proportions and ride height all dialed in.
The Spectre follows the same extruded-aluminum space-frame construction as other current Rolls-Royce models, but there are no carryover pieces, and what underpins this massive electric coupe is unique to it—outside of the battery pack, which is mostly shared with the BMW i7. Rolls-Royce built a structure aimed at keeping the center of mass low and around the battery pack, while providing the floor height needed for a spacious cabin. The space-frame is 30% stiffer than that of other Rolls-Royce vehicles, and each motor is mounted on its own subframe.
2024 Rolls-Royce Spectre
Rolls-Royce Spectre range and charging
Based on what I saw over about 140 miles that included a range of speeds and some mountainous topography, trip-computer results suggested a real-world driving range of more than 300 miles in gentle real-world touring in mild temperatures (70s). My drive partner and I averaged 3.0 miles per kwh, so its 260-mile EPA rating appears easy to achieve in less-than-ideal conditions.
The battery pack and range were chosen to optimize packaging with the needs of those who might actually take their Spectre on a longer road trip, Rolls-Royce director of engineering Mihiar Ayoubi explained to Motor Authority. According to the brand, its owners drive their Rolls-Royces about 3,200 miles a year and have an average of “more than seven cars to choose from for any occasion.”
Tech such as bidirectional charging isn’t on the menu, either. Owners are likely to have multiple properties, with different vehicles at each one, and their own energy master plan for each, so thinking of the car as a hub for daily life is something of a moot point.
2024 Rolls-Royce Spectre
2024 Rolls-Royce Spectre
2024 Rolls-Royce Spectre
That leads directly to one of two elements that stood out to me as great engineering achievements in the Spectre. To put it simply, Rolls-Royce managed to make this coupe feel like you’re sitting in it, not on it. That’s a challenge with any electric vehicle that’s not an SUV, and here some careful work with the car’s seating and overall packaging yielded a lower, more carlike feel—even relative to other gasoline Rolls-Royce models.
Only after driving the Spectre, when I immediately hopped into a Black Badge Ghost, did that difference stand out so starkly. While it may involve some trickery in shifting the cowl up a bit relative to the seats’ hip point, it feels like you sit lower in the Spectre.
Rolls Spectre interior: A packaging triumph
That packaging triumph extends to the back seat, where I managed to fit comfortably behind several different 6-footers—and I’m 6-foot-6. There are places to put your toes beneath the front seat, and getting in and out doesn’t require bracing on the seat or door thanks to the rear-hinged door. It’s smartly laid out.
2024 Rolls-Royce Spectre
The other breathtaking engineering achievement is how Rolls-Royce managed to imbue stunning silence and quiet within the cabin without the use of electronic means such as active noise cancellation. It took lots of methodical engineering work, Ayoubi admitted, including thick glass and extra pounds of sound-deadening materials, but the end result is you hear no motor whine or reduction gear hum, let alone road or wind noise.
That’s not bad at all for a vehicle that, in following Rolls-Royce tradition, is shaped like a brick. Looks are a bit deceiving as is its coefficient of drag of just 0.25, despite the blocky frontal area.
Taking a final walk around this beauty and sizing it all up, it’s far more practical than I had expected. It has the requisite bins and cupholders front and rear. Trunk space is good for a couple large suitcases as well as several more bags, with extra room in a rearmost well. Oddly, there’s no frunk space. Rolls execs said owners won’t miss it, but why not take advantage of the EV layout to add every bit more space?
2024 Rolls-Royce Spectre
Rolls-Royce interface: Simplicity is very posh
The Spectre’s control interface points feel charmingly simple, in everything from the gauge cluster layout to the climate controls, and to the real metal vents you aim yourself with mechanical pulls. The infotainment system is managed via a controller or by touch, and an owner-exclusive app called Whispers can remotely manage many functions.
In stark contrast to the vehicles from Rolls’ cousins at BMW, there are no driving modes here. Buying a Rolls-Royce means entrusting its engineers to calibrate the car for the most enjoyable experience. There are just two things you can do to modify the driving behavior: Hit the “Low” toggle on the shifter to engage stronger regenerative braking, or engage brake hold, which means the car no longer creeps ahead when you lift off the brake pedal. The car is at its best in its default setting, where it scrubs off just a little more velocity in coasting than a gasoline model might.
However, I did have an issue with the power-opening feature of the massive doors, which simply stopped when partly open on a few occasions. It was unclear if the culprit was uneven ground, the tilt of the vehicle, or the wind. Conversely, a hold of the brake pedal from the driver seat or the toggle of a switch from the front passenger seat always consistently closed the doors.
2024 Rolls-Royce Spectre
The cabin isn’t always so quiet if you don’t want it to be. The Spectre allows a cabin-based supplemental sound. As design director Anders Warming described, it’s based on a mix of sounds and isn’t meant to sound like the V-12 of a Rolls’ other vehicles, or to replace it, but rather to provide a different experience. I found it a bit ominous and unnecessary—think Gregorian monastery hum, with a growl mixed in—and I suggest you just celebrate the quiet.
Likewise, if you need to think too much about the price of the Spectre, you probably can’t afford it (it starts at $422,750 in the U.S., including a destination fee of $2,750, and my test vehicle likely added up to more than a half-million).
2024 Rolls-Royce Spectre
Rolls-Royce Spectre takeaways
In terms of driving and the overall experience, the Spectre is one of the more delightfully simple EVs on the market (trick doors aside). But who said simple was cheap?
Much like the transcendence that Rolls’ gasoline vehicles accomplish in and of themselves, the Spectre takes you to a mental space that allows you to forget about the numbers, and simply take in the experience.
Whether you’re so fortunate to be able to afford a Rolls-Royce or not, isn’t that what life’s about?
Rolls-Royce paid for travel and lodging for Motor Authority to bring you this firsthand report.
