How Electricity Makes It Even Better

The exit road at the BMW Performance Center parking lot in Spartanburg, South Carolina, was narrow and dotted with tightly spaced orange cones. I carefully guided the 5.5-metre (215.5 inches) long Rolls-Royce Spectre out of this lot before turning onto the highway entry ramp. I sat near the rear axle, with an expansive hood stretching ahead of me. The Spirit of Ecstasy figurine stood at the car’s distant front end.

I merged onto the highway and planted my right foot. A wave of torque pushed me into the backrest as I heard a faint whisper of the wind, but the cabin remained eerily quiet, with no sensation of the road or vibration from underneath. The scenery around me faded away as I sat inside this rolling meditation room.

The Spectre is the first battery-powered model in Rolls-Royce’s gilded 118-year-old history. The sleek two-door coupe ditches the 6.75-liter V-12 engine on the Cullinan SUV and Phantom limousine for a pair of electric motors, marking a seismic shift for the brand. Even as it embraces electrification, the Spectre remains unmistakably Rolls-Royce: opulent, imposing and obsessively refined.

But all Rolls-Royces powered by combustion engines merit that definition. What’s the Spectre’s raison d’être? Does an electric powertrain make it any better? Would owners even care what’s under the hood? I wanted to find out. So when BMW Group—Rolls-Royce’s parent company—invited InsideEVs to sample one, I didn’t walk; I ran.

(Full Disclosure: BMW Group invited me to South Carolina for an all-expenses paid trip to check out its next-generation technology and drive some of its existing cars.)

The British marque went all in to use electrification to its advantage.

It begins with the iconic Spirit of Ecstasy ornament, which is now more athletic, with one leg forward and a bent knee. Combined with the slippery body panels and a flat floor, the automaker says it contributes to the car’s 0.25 coefficient of drag, making this the most aerodynamic Rolls-Royce ever. For reference, the Phantom Coupe, of which the Spectre is a spiritual successor, had a 0.35 Cd.

Photo by: Rolls-Royce

With fewer mechanical components than the V12 engines, the electric Spectre is also roomier than the Phantom Coupe. The experience of ingress and egress imbues a special sense of occasion. Its rear-hinged doors are so heavy with sound-deadening materials that they’re electrically assisted. They close automatically with the press of a button on the center console.

Manual doors would feel vulgar in a car that costs $420,000.

Inside, my dirty sneakers sank into thick “Lambswool Footmats,” part of a $22,500 launch package. That option also included things like the RR monogram engraved on the seat headrests and illuminated treadplates spelling the car’s name. The driver’s seat was the most comfortable throne I’ve been in—not just in a car, but anywhere. The roof was adorned with thousands of illuminated starlights that occasionally mimicked shooting stars.

What truly stood out was the cabin’s refreshing departure from the typical EV minimalism. Unlike most EVs, where screens corrupt the cabin experience, the Spectre is festooned with high-quality, chrome-embellished physical buttons and knurled knobs. It even has the iconic analog clock dial, neatly juxtaposed next to the infotainment screen and metal air vents whose tactile feel may live on my fingers forever. It’s a whole Architectural Digest episode, this interior.

Photo by: Rolls-Royce

It’s easy to get carried away in the material finesse, but the real indulgence began when I started driving. The Spectre doesn’t use the BMW i7’s Cluster Architecture (CLAR). It rides instead on a heavily tweaked version of the all-aluminum space frame that underpins the Cullinan SUV. But at 5.5-metres long, or 215.5 inches, it’s 3.3-inches longer than the i7. Which makes it foolishly long, given that it’s primarily a two-seater. (Technically, it’s a two-plus-two, but the rear seats seemed cramped.)

The e-motors, one on each axle, are borrowed from the i7. They produce a combined 584 horsepower and 660 pound-feet of torque. That’s enough to get this 6,371-pound mass to move with verve. They draw power from a 120-kilowatt-hour battery pack that also doubles up as 1,543 pounds of sound-deadening material. That makes the cabin an isolation chamber, helping deliver that revered floating-on-a-cloud ride quality. 

Going electric is a natural progression for the brand. Electric powertrains are far quieter and infinitely more refined. No noise, no gear shifts, just one seamless wave of torque. The pedal is tuned for a smooth, gradual buildup of speed. It’s always been elegance over theatrics. But don’t mistake this initial restraint for a lack of power. Plant the right foot firmly and the hood elevates as the car squats on its rear wheels to charge ahead. It will deliver this addictive torque all day.

Photo by: Rolls-Royce

Rolls-Royce’s proprietary “planar” suspension works brilliantly. It features self-leveling air springs and active stabilizers. On straight roads, the system automatically decouples the anti-roll bars, which means each wheel deals with road undulations independently, minimizing their ripple effect across the car. When the system detects a corner, the anti-roll bars recouple and the air springs stiffen up for better cornering stability. 

That translates into an immaculate ride quality. The Spectre wafts and wallows over undulations with an uncanny coexistence of motion and stillness. Even over larger bumps, there was no perceptible lateral sway or vertical jolt—as if the car wasn’t reacting to road imperfections but rather preempting them entirely. It was by far the best ride quality I’ve experienced in any car I’ve driven, including the Mercedes-Maybach GLS SUV that I took out for a spin back during my time with Evo India magazine. And frankly I never thought I’d say this, but that car doesn’t even come close. 

Admittedly, at slower speeds, the bumps were slightly more pronounced in the Spectre, but I’m being nitpicky here. That very quickly fades into insignificance with the build-up of speed.

The Spectre commands a starting price of $420,000 before taxes, fees and options. The one I drove had $80,000 worth of options, bringing its total to $500,000. Yet, it doesn’t feature the latest EV tech. It still uses an older generation of BMW’s iDrive infotainment unit. With a 400-volt architecture, it has an underwhelming maximum charging speed of 190 kilowatts—enough for a 10-80% charge in about 34 minutes. 

The maximum driving range of 291 miles on 22-inch wheels isn’t great, either. The trim I drove had 266 miles of range with larger 23-inch rims.

A Hyundai Ioniq 5, priced at one-tenth of the Spectre, charges faster and drives farther. The Lucid Air costs half as much and offers double the range. But in a world fixated on range and kilowatts—things that are undeniably important for the masses—the Spectre gets to rewrite the rulebook. It remains unapologetically Rolls-Royce, leveraging its electric powertrain to become roomier, faster, more efficient and ultimately, better. It’s not like you buy a V-12 Rolls for the fuel economy either.

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Spectre owners will likely have other cars. If they want to travel over 300 miles, they might as well take their jet. They’ll likely have home charging, too. With plenty of range for around-town drives and day trips, they won’t think much about charging at all.

After the drive, it wasn’t the instant torque that left me smitten—it was the craftsmanship and the obsessive attention to detail. It was the drama of the starlit headliner, the flawless wooden door trims, the pop-out umbrella, the electric doors and the soft leather. And that really proves a simple point: even the world’s most traditional brands can embrace change without sacrificing what makes them special. The Spectre has embraced battery power but on its own terms.

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