Rolls-Royce Motor Cars announced that on-road testing of its first fully electric motor car is imminent. The company has decided on a completely new name for this car, Spectre.
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Chief Executive Officer, Torsten Müller-Ötvös, said: “Today is the most significant day in the history of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars since 4th May 1904. On that date, our founding fathers, Charles Rolls and Sir Henry Royce, first met and agreed that they were going to create ‘the best motor car in the world”
“Today, 117 years later, I am proud to announce that Rolls-Royce is to begin the on-road testing programme for an extraordinary new product that will elevate the global all-electric car revolution and create the first – and finest – super-luxury product of its type. This is not a prototype. It’s the real thing, it will be tested in plain sight and our clients will take first deliveries of the car in the fourth quarter of 2023.”
A Prophecy fulfilled
He added that they have been experimenting with an electric powertrain for some time. In 2011 we revealed 102EX, a fully operational all-electric Phantom. We followed this in 2016 with our fully electric 103EX, which represented our vision for the marque several decades into the future.”
“Charles Rolls’ prophecy and my promise have led us to a seminal moment for the marque. Rolls-Royce has embarked on a historic and unique undertaking, which today becomes a reality. Our designers and engineers have worked relentlessly to bring us here: we are now ready to commence road-testing of the first all-electric Rolls-Royce in history.”
In 2017, we debuted Phantom, and with it the marque’s proprietary aluminium architecture: a scalable and flexible spaceframe that would underpin all forthcoming Rolls-Royce motor cars. This unique technology – developed for Rolls-Royce by Rolls-Royce and reserved for the marque’s exclusive use – was created to form the foundation of not just different internal combustion engine models, as it now does with Cullinan and Ghost, but models with completely different powertrains.
The CEO explained that 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,” he added.
“This name perfectly matches the extraordinary Rolls-Royce that we are announcing today – a motor car that makes its presence felt before disappearing into a world inaccessible to all but the very few. As a quintessentially British brand, we have selected the British spelling, however, the meaning is universal.
With this product, the company aims to set its credentials for the full electrification of the 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 Rolls-Royce 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,” Müller-Ötvös concluded.
