Rolls-Royce Spectre

ROLLS-ROYCE SPECTRE 14 EVERYTHING WE KNOW ABOUT THE ROLLS-ROYCE

SPECTRE

Rolls-Royce’s very first electric car is just around the corner, with the fully electric ‘Spectre’ scheduled for release next year. In this feature, we break down everything we already know about the manufacturer’s first EV.

THE ROLLS-ROYCE SPECTRE WILL COMPLETE NEARLY TWO MILLION KILOMETRES ACROSS ITS ENTIRE TESTING PROGRAMME

THE NAME

The world had waited patiently for the very first fully electric Rolls Royce, and after more than a decade since the luxury manufacturer teased us with the Phantom-based 102EX concept, the first electric Rolls, named Spectre, was finally unveiled. “This name perfectly matches the extraordinary Rolls-Royce that we are announcing,” RollsRoyce Motor Cars Chief Executive Officer, Torsten Müller-Ötvös, said when he made the historic announcement in September last year. “A motor car that makes its presence felt before disappearing into a world inaccessible to all but the very few. “Spectre is a name given to otherworldly beings synonymous with great power and apparition; creatures of an alternative realm that make their presence felt through fleeting manifestation. A spectre forces the world to pause. It dominates the space it occupies. Then, as quickly as it appears, it dissipates, leaving a wake of exhilaration, energy, and intrigue.” DESIGN

Although the pictures that have been released do not give too many details away, the silhouette of the Spectre is at least reminiscent of the Phantombased 102EX concept and is quintessentially Rolls-Royce in design. In creating a design for Spectre, a “generously proportioned, highly emotional body style” was selected, with an all-aluminium spaceframe architecture. The Spectre will also have a wheel size of 23-inches, making it the first coupé equipped with wheels of that size since 1926. Whilst Müller-Ötvös insists that the Spectre is around 25% ready at this stage, he did confirm earlier this year that “what you basically see is what you will later get.” This means the Spectre will be “fastback orientated” with its coupé styling. Unfortunately, specific details of the cars design have been masked by the camouflage printing on the test models. WINTER TESTING

In March this year, the Rolls-Royce Spectre concluded its winter testing programme, just 55km from the Arctic Circle. Temperatures at the bespoke facility used by the marque, located in Arjeplog, Sweden, dropped to -26 degrees

ROLLSROYCE HAS REDESIGNED ITS CLASSIC ‘SPIRIT OF ECSTASY’ FIGURINE FOR ITS FIRST ELECTRIC CAR

centigrade and were further cooled to -40 degrees centigrade. Engineers performed a series of very basic tests in extreme conditions to ensure that each system is operational and functions at a basic level in a cold weather environment, such as noise, vibration and harshness tests. The variables that affect this range from the materials selected for major hardware components to the density of the door rubbers, bushing compounds, fastening materials and even properties of bonding agents. The performance of these variables can change considerably when subjected to extreme temperatures, potentially impacting the efficiency of the motor car’s heating, ventilation, air conditioning and cooling systems. Rolls-Royce’s testing programme featured an additional component known as ‘de-escalated time’, which enables high levels of accuracy and control using Spectre’s chassis control systems, powertrain management and electronics control. By driving on low traction surfaces such as snow and ice and wilfully destabilising Spectre, the engineers can create dynamic circumstances at low speeds that would ordinarily occur at high speeds. This can be reviewed and guided in situ and in slow motion, in doing so parametrising and finessing cold-weather vehicle performance in areas such as handling, controllability, stability, predictability and the ‘waftability’ that RollsRoyce looks to create. De-escalated time enables engineers to create unparalleled detail in the motor car’s response, in doing so schooling Spectre to think, behave and communicate like a true Rolls-Royce.

TECH

According to the manufacturer, Spectre is the most connected Rolls-Royce ever and each component within it is more intelligent than in any previous car. It features 141,200 sender-receiver relations and has more than 1,000 functions with more than 25,000 sub functions. By comparison, Phantom has 51,000 sender-receiver relations, 456 functions and 647 sub functions. The intelligence of Spectre’s electronic and electric powertrain architecture enables a free and direct exchange of detailed information between these 1,000+ functions with no centralised processing. This has required engineers to increase the length of cabling from around 2 kilometres in existing Rolls-Royce products to 7 kilometres in Spectre, and to write more than 25 times more algorithms. A dedicated control can be created for each set of functions which enables unprecedented levels of detail and refinement, allowing for what RollsRoyce chassis specialists are already calling “Rolls-Royce in high definition.” SPIRIT OF ECSTASY

Rolls-Royce has also reimagined its iconic Spirit of Ecstasy figurine to grace the bonnet of its new all-electric car. The changes to the stance of the figurine have both practical and stylistic benefits, with the earliest Spectre prototypes having a drag coefficient (cd) of just 0.26, making it the most aerodynamic Rolls-Royce ever created. The figure is expected to improve during the product’s exhaustive testing protocols undertaken in 2022. Torsten Müller-Ötvös said: “The Spirit of Ecstasy is the most famous and desirable automotive mascot in the world. More than just a symbol, she is the embodiment of our brand, and a constant source of inspiration and pride for the marque and its clients. “Like our brand, she has always moved with the times while staying true to her nature and character. In her new form she is more streamlined and graceful than ever before – the perfect emblem for the most aerodynamic RollsRoyce ever created, and for gracing the prow of our bold electric future.” RELEASE DATE

With the winter testing phase completed, Spectre will continue its global testing programme. The Electric Super Coupé still has to complete nearly two million kilometres before the marque’s engineers will consider this undertaking complete prior to first customer deliveries in the fourth quarter of 2023. BIGGER PICTURE

The Rolls-Royce Spectre marks the beginning of a new era of electrification for the luxury manufacturer, with the brand confirming that all RR products will be fully electric by the end of the decade. Müller-Ötvös added: “With this new product we set out our credentials for the full electrification of our entire product portfolio by 2030. By then, Rolls-Royce will no longer be in the business of producing or selling any internal combustion engine products. “Spectre is the living fulfilment of Charles Rolls’ Prophecy. My Promise, made on behalf of RollsRoyce Motor Cars, is kept. Now we begin a remarkable undertaking. I am proud that we will continue to propel the world’s most progressive and influential women and men into a brilliant, electrified future.”