Rolls-Royce Specter review: an unforgettable electric car experience

My favorite feature of the new $420,000 all-electric Rolls-Royce Specter isn’t the pleasant ride quality or the illuminated stars embedded in the ceiling of the insanely ornate interior. It’s not about 577 horsepower or 266 miles of range. It’s not the “yeah, this is the place” massage seats or the presence of a vertical chrome front grille at the curb. It’s not even the aerodynamically sophisticated, but classically styled Spirit of Ecstasy figurine located on top.

My favorite feature of the Specter is the sound it makes. Being an electric vehicle, it does not make any engine sounds per se. It is a spinning cocoon that has become inherently anti-acoustic thanks to the tireless work of some big-eared scientists. So, to give the driving experience a little more life, the Specter emits a small digital beep when accelerating.

Yes, almost every modern electric car makes some kind of synthetic buzz or warble when you press the gas pedal, but it doesn’t sound like the Specter. This machine makes the kind of sound you’d expect to hear when an omniscient, omnipotent alien force swoops through the clouds in a sci-fi movie. served.

This heavenly chorus is so subtle that it is almost inaudible, but because this Roller is as quiet as a grave, the result is truly sublime. And that’s just one aspect of a completely refined experience that is a level above any other electric vehicle on the road.

The Rolls-Royce brand has been used on luxury cars since 1904, and it feels like the previous 120 years have been building up to this point.

If you’re lucky enough to see an early Rolls-Royce like the Silver Ghost or Phantom whizzing by, you won’t hear much. Despite massive engines displacing more than seven liters (50 percent larger than the current Ford Mustang GT), these early ultra-luxury cars had exhaust systems designed to minimize powertrain noise.

With the arrival of the Specter, Rolls-Royce’s first battery-electric car, the company’s engineers can finally stop re-engineering the old internal combustion engine to make it smooth and quiet. The Specter relies on two electric motors that combine to produce the aforementioned 577 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque. This thing weighs 6,371 pounds, more than a Cadillac Escalade, but can still hit 60 mph in just 4.4 seconds.

Yes, it’s fast when it needs to be, but when driven quietly, you’ll see a longer range: up to 466 miles per charge from the 102 kWh battery pack.

Relaxed driving is not only more efficient, but also much more enjoyable. The Specter has an overall quiet demeanor, like a gas pedal that requires a deep press to release all that power. The brake pedal is equally set back, as is the slow steering, with just enough feedback to let you know you’re turning the wheels and tires.

More precisely, all four of them. Rear-wheel steering allows this nearly 18-foot-long ultra-coupe to navigate tight parking lots with ease. The 360-degree camera and standard automated parking also help ensure you don’t lock up one of those 23-inch wheels, which I appreciated during the loan since replacing any of them would have certainly bankrupted me.

That 360-degree camera is just some of the technology Rolls-Royce engineers borrowed from parent company BMW, but I wish they’d stolen a little more, like BMW’s self-driving driver assistance system.

The touchscreen infotainment system is also quite modern and offers built-in navigation and charging station locator. It even supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, although strangely I couldn’t get the latter to work. Perhaps the machine thought my last year Samsung Galaxy S23 was too outdated? And while multimedia is played through a bespoke 16-speaker audio system that’s powerful yet beautifully refined, it sadly lacks Dolby Atmos support.

So this most high-tech Rolls-Royce doesn’t have all the world’s specs, but instead you get an astronomically detailed interior, floor mats made from the softest lamb’s wool and a full complement of brushed metal controls designed with the perfect weight and feel.

While you can purchase a Specter for $420,000, you’ll never get through the buying process without checking a few boxes. With options like the chartreuse paint you see here costing $13,100 on its own, expect to spend a lot more. The cost of this car was $560,100 after payment of $2,750.

Justified costs? This is difficult to say to someone with a mere mortal’s budget. The Specter is hardly a performance car, but it is exceptional and made all the more impressive considering it’s a Rolls-Royce. But That Sound’s presence makes it all worthwhile.

There are more electric vehicles to come, but we’ll have to be patient; The SUV is promised to be released in 2027, and in 2030 the brand will become fully electric. How good these future electric cars look and drive is anyone’s guess, but if they all sound this good, they’ll be of a very high standard. good start.