The 2024 Rolls-Royce Spectre has been caught testing on public roads and it’s wearing the same fun camouflage that was shown from its first teaser. Debuting in late 2023, the Spectre is the brand’s first move towards full electrification, which it plans to achieve by 2030. That puts it in line with parent company BMW Group’s sustainability goals, which will see every brand in its umbrella go all-electric.
This prototype vehicle is likely the same one from the announcement last year. Its camouflage does everything to make sure everyone sees it knows that the 2024 Rolls-Royce Spectre is a battery-electric vehicle. Phrases like “perfectly noiseless and clean” and “fully electric” are emblazoned across the vehicle. Some of the wordings also hint at Rolls-Royce’s history with electric cars because its founders owned some of the earliest examples. Sentences like “when it doesn’t exist build it” and “make the best and make it better” are also seen written all over the car, hinting that Rolls-Royce is aiming to set the benchmark in the high-end luxury segment.
Rolls-Royce’s first EV wears the body of a Wraith, a coupe produced from 2013 to 2022. The car will likely retain that configuration for the production model based on the shell of the prototype. Like the Wraith, it’ll be a large personal luxury vehicle, likely with seating for four. The car will use a bespoke Rolls-Royce platform that can accommodate a broad range of powertrains from internal combustion to battery-electric. Before it goes on sale, the Spectre will be put through a grueling testing regimen that will see the prototypes cover the equivalent of 1.5 million miles to simulate 400 years of use.
Expect the Rolls-Royce Spectre to get a dual-motor configuration backed by a large battery pack to enable it to travel at least 300 miles on a single charge. Expect it to have no less than 500 hp combined. The car could use a similar 111.5-kWh battery pack as the BMW iX, which has a peak DC charging rate of up to 250 kW in the iX M60. In its most powerful configuration, that crossover makes 532 hp and 749 lb-ft of torque. That increases to 610 hp and 811 lb-ft when using launch control.
The name Spectre was chosen to highlight the car’s status as a high-end product. Additionally, it’s also an indication of the vehicle’s battery-electric powertrain and quick yet silent acceleration. This also puts the car in line with Rolls-Royce’s naming scheme, many of which are based on the supernatural. Some of its recent nameplates include the Wraith, Dawn, Phantom, Silver Seraph, and Ghost.
Rolls-Royce’s first battery-electric vehicle is the culmination of years of development, which took into consideration inputs from enthusiasts, VIPs, and existing Rolls-Royce clients. The first of these experimental vehicles was the 102EX or Phantom EE shown in 2011. This one-off battery-electric Phantom makes 389 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque from two electric motors backed by a 71-kWh lithium-ion battery. Unfortunately, it was only capable of traveling around 124 miles per charge.
The Phantom EE was followed by the 103EX or Vision Next 100 Concept in 2016. This was a 19.4-foot autonomous ultraluxury battery-electric vehicle underpinned by Rolls-Royce’s advanced lightweight platform. It also showed off what the next generation of vehicles from Rolls-Royce could look like, especially the evolution of the brand’s design DNA. Deliveries of the 2024 Rolls-Royce Spectre start in late 2023.
