Rolls-Royce

ROLLS-ROYCE SPECTRE

The superlative in ultra-luxury motoring, presenting the combined pinnacle of pace at the apex of opulence, the esteemed history of RollsRoyce extends far beyond its modern aura of international business tycoons and superstars. And now, after more than a century in operation, this tailor-made marque is taking its biggest technological leap forward yet: Rolls-Royce is going electric.

WORDS SAM HEXTER PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF ROLLS-ROYCE

PIONEERING PAST

This now iconiclly lavish motorcar maker was actually founded on rather humble grounds. The core of the business was started in 1884 under the steer of Henry Royce, operating as a small electrical and mechanical enterprise. It was in 1904 that Royce and company debuted their first attempt at a motor vehicle, and that was also the year that fate intervened when Royce met a young Charles Rolls, a car salesman based in London.

Rolls-Royce Limited was officially formed in May of 1906 and launched its first production vehicle the same year. The sixcylinder Silver Ghost was an impressive feat of engineering for its era, and received critical acclaim upon its public release. This long-wheelbase, 2+2 opentop motorcar looks like a work of steampunk fiction by modern standards, but must have been a real sight to behold back in its day. Pundits dubbed the Silver Ghost “the best car in the world”, after it completed 27 consecutive trips from London to Glasgow, a journey that covered 14,371 miles, without fault, thus proving its selfdeclared reliability and comfort.

The company took a more nautical approach to the billing of this new luxury tourer, and that’s something that has stuck to the brand for over a century, with continued links between their road-going vehicles and more maritime marketing, which has always held strong ties to a significantly more exclusive and lavish way of living.

Production of the Silver Ghost continued, with increasingly more units being purchased and shipped to a wealthy international audience. But Rolls-Royce Limited was soon to be involved in a worldchanging event of gargantuan proportion. ›

1914 saw an enormous geopolitical shift, and the world would soon be altered forever. The Great War would force the hands of millions of ordinary people and thousands of businesses to shift focus with immediate effect. Rolls-Royce Limited was no exception. Answering the call of the British Empire, Rolls-Royce quickly pivoted methods of manufacturing and began to build a variety of vehicles fit for the new mechanised warfare now at play.

The 1920 Mk 1, as it later became known, borrowed the chassis and underpinnings from the Silver Ghost, but now featured heavy armour plating and a dexterous top-mounted turret housing a Vickers machine gun – which isn’t an image too synonymous with the brand now. A total of 72 of these nimble and readily rugged vehicles were adopted by the Royal Naval Air Service, and were deployed to every theatre and terrain imaginable during the global conflict with great success.

But the support Rolls-Royce gave to the allies wasn’t just on the ground; the company also developed the formidable ‘Eagle’ aero engine, which was used in over half of the aircraft deployed during the war. This pioneering piece of mechanical engineering was also used to make the first transatlantic flight, as well as the first flight spanning England to Australia.

The end of The Great War didn’t mark the end of RollsRoyce’s prestigious military lineage; the company, in tandem with its luxury car production, went on to spearhead many

BY LAND, SEA AND AIR

aeronautical innovations. During the late 1920s, the ‘R’ engine was developed, which went on to set the world air speed record in 1931, with a blistering velocity of over 400mph (or nearly 645km/h). This mighty motor would go on to provide the building blocks for the magnificent Merlin engine, of which various iterations have powered some of history’s most impressive aircraft. Most famously perhaps, the Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire, that came to the nation’s aid during the Battle of Britain.

Innovations didn’t stop there, as Rolls-Royce developed the now iconic Pegasus engines during the late 1950s, later utilised in the ever-impressive Harrier jets. This all-new Pegasus platform allowed for a much shorter take off and an inspiring vertical landing. The Harriers have been in active service since the late 1960s and still endure some use with military units today. The Harrier Jets’ finest hour came during the Falklands War, and these menacing machines were put to use off the coast of Argentina with undeniable effect.

To this day, Rolls-Royce is responsible for the research and development of nextgeneration technologies – from the propulsion systems used in nuclear-capable submarines to testing the latest and greatest stealth fighter jets. ›

BEYOND BATTLES

In the years following the Second World War, Rolls-Royce made its entrance into the civil aviation space, applying its expertise from developing leading military-grade hardware into more comparatively consumer applications in ventures with household names in aerospace, like Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

The aero-engineering side of the brand and the luxury automaker were sold separately and divided into two independent entities, but held their impressive, shared past. In 1998, the legendary British marque was purchased by the Volkswagen Group for a cool £40 million, where it remains in operation today under parent company, BMW.

Over the last century, the Rolls-Royce brand has evolved into something truly extraordinary. Bearing a series of sophisticated silhouettes and grand grilles, the Spirit of Ecstasy emblem perched proudly on the hood, all encompass a hand-built quality that remains unrivalled. And all this luxury comes with a cost to match, attracting the uber-rich – members of the monarchy, oil tycoons, sheiks, tzars and beyond – a far cry from the company’s origins, but one perfectly suited to such deserving prestige.

Making inroads from their humble beginnings in Crewe, Manchester, since 2003 RollsRoyce Motor Cars has been situated in a state-of-the-art facility in Goodwood, West Sussex – a quintessentially British landscape that suspends a rich automotive history of its own. With such an expansive tapestry forming the brand’s DNA, it’s no wonder that innovation is at the forefront of everything Rolls-Royce seeks to achieve. Its future is fuelled by the lessons of the past, and that endeavour for superior engineering, design, style, comfort, and luxury, is upheld in every action – from the seemingly minute, to decisions that dictate the route forward and road ahead.

THE LEGACY EVOLVED

In 2016, Rolls-Royce revealed its first endeavour into the electric vehicle sector with the exceptional VISION NEXT 100, codenamed 103EX. This fully functional new-age concept pushed not only the boundaries of contemporary aesthetics, but made use of some truly impressive tech. The 103EX previewed some incredible autonomous driving abilities through advanced artificial intelligence, as well as an all-electric powertrain, paving the way for what comes next.

In conforming to the zeitgeist of this automotive generation, Rolls-Royce have set a target to have its showrooms filled with an all-EV line-up by 2030. And the first car in this electrifying venture, is the newly teased Spectre – which certainly continues the brand’s lineage of using imposing, phantasmal names.

With first deliveries slated for late 2023, the luxury marque is imminently embracing a new dawn. The Spectre will be an ultra-luxurious two-door coupé, and despite an all-new electric powertrain, will share many underpinnings from the latest iterations of the Phantom, Ghost and Cullinan cars. While little has been released to the public regarding the Spectre’s battery and electric motor setup, it’s likely to give the sublime EQS from Mercedes-Benz a run for its money in terms of range, and probably price too. While it could borrow some existing dualmotor electric tech from parent company, BMW, that option may upset prospective and existing clients who have become accustomed to hulking, bespoke V12s. You can’t disagree that if your brand-new Rolls-Royce shared a powertrain with a BMW i4, you’d lose some serious bragging rights at the golf course.

With the marque’s continuous striving for incubated silence in motion, huge amounts of power and torque delivered with smooth, effortless waves, and a focus on weighted, significant, sculpted quality above all else, perhaps Rolls-Royce making the move to a modular, all-electric platform is the next logical step to secure its timeless motorcars into the coming decades. Or arguably with all things considered, this electric move could have come several years sooner, and the luxury brand could have been at the forefront of the EV evolution, applying almost 115 years of innovation in motion. Either way, it’s certainly an exciting proposition, and if it keeps these mighty automotive icons on the roads, who could oppose it? Certainly in theory, all-electric powertrains appear to hold the key to achieve ultimate pace and tranquillity – the company’s mission from the very beginning. e