When you think of a Rolls-Royce, you think of someone with a heavy bank balance, someone who doesn’t settle for anything less than ultra-luxury, someone who’s truly arrived in life. With the Spectre, Rolls-Royce has truly arrived in India, this being the brand’s first-ever electric car, but more importantly its first launch event in India. The Spectre, like every Rolls-Royce before it, is all about ultra-luxury, albeit this time in complete silence. Who cares if it carries a price tag of Rs 7.5 crore (ex-showroom)?
The Spectre is powered by two electric motors, together producing 576 bhp and 91.7 kgm of torque. Backed by a 102 kWh battery pack, the Spectre receives a claimed range of 530 km on a single charge. Rolls-Royce says you can charge the Spectre’s battery pack from 0-100% in a claimed time of 5 hours and 30 minutes, via a 22 kW AC charger. A 10-80% charge via a 50 kW DC fast charger will reduce charging times to 95 minutes. The Spectre also receives 195 kW DC fast charging compatibility; however, customers are unlikely to find a charger of said capacity in India as of now.
Like most Rolls-Royce cars, the Spectre features an interior which, if called ‘special’, would be grossly understating it. The Spectre gets starlight doors, featuring 4,796 illuminated ‘stars’ on the inner door pads, while the starlight liner on the roof has also made an appearance here. Alternatively, customers can also choose for wood paneling. The doors are power-assisted and feature soft-close function as well. However, there are buttons placed on the centre console, which do not feature a one-touch function, and you need to keep them pressed in order to open or close the doors.
The passenger-side dashboard is also unique, featuring the illuminated panel which houses over 5,500 star-like illuminated elements and the Spectre nameplate on the left side. This illumination will be completely invisible when the car is turned off. The cabin of the Spectre can be customized to endless possibilities, to fit the exact kind of upholstery or stitching as required by the customer. Rolls-Royce also says the Spectre now gets an all-new ‘Spirit’ digital platform with car connectivity features.
And who can ever forget the exterior? The Spectre retains the familiar-looking shape that is expected on modern Rolls-Royce cars, while also containing some elements that point to the future, which we will talk about in a bit. The Spectre is a two-door fastback coupe, and Rolls-Royce calls it a spiritual successor to the Phantom Coupe, even referencing it directly with the split-headlamp setup, although it has been a typical Rolls-Royce design trademark for years now.
The Pantheon grille consists of stainless steel vanes, illuminated by 22 LEDs, which make the Spectre look even better in the dark. The Spectre also features a lower stance, with the bonnet sloping at a certain angle in the interest of aerodynamic efficiency. The Spirit of Ecstasy has been wind tunnel-tested as well, contributing to the Spectre’s drag coefficient of 0.25.
The Spectre is just the beginning for Rolls-Royce, as the car maker says its entire portfolio will be fully electric by 2030. There aren’t any direct competitors to the Spectre as of now, and looks like things will remain that way for some time.
