2027 Rolls-Royce Spectre II prototype | PH Review
Not ready for the road just yet - but pretty glorious around Goodwood already
The customer may not always be right, but you do have to give the people what they want. Whether it’s buttons back in Golfs or V8s back in Mercedes-AMGs, customer feedback is important. If they don’t want it, they won’t buy it - and with competition across the board fiercer than ever, getting the details right matters.
That even extends to Rolls-Royce. Slowly but surely, very expensive electric luxury cars are coming to rival the Spectre - see the Luce and the new Bentley for proof. While different shapes and sizes, it’s surely not beyond the realms of possibility for customers to be cross shopping. A multi-million dollar car collection might have more than one air-cooled Porsche in it; probably it’s only going to have one new EV in the climate controlled garage. So Rolls-Royce doesn’t want to be left behind.
Particularly as the Spectre is its biggest seller in Europe. And, you’d have to imagine by now, profitable. So Rolls-Royce has consulted with its customers for this Series II Spectre (far simpler given small numbers by production car standards) to ask about their likes, dislikes and must-do-betters. Apparently there’s real variety, too: average use is around 4,000 miles a year, with charging ‘almost exclusively’ at home, which is comparable with other two-door Rolls-Royce models. But one customer has done 30k in theirs. Another in LA can leave their house at the top of a hill and arrive at their garage below with more range. You don’t get that in most customer feedback forms.
Regardless, Spectre customers love their Rolls-Royce as it is. (So says Rolls-Royce.) Which is why this isn’t a facelift that drastically changes the stunning design, or totally overhauls the underpinnings to introduce combustion, or adds 50 per cent more power. Very much like a conventional television series, this Series II picks up where Series I left off. Or, as one of Rolls-Royce’s drivers so beautifully put it to us, this is a ‘gentle reaffirmation of what came before.’ He’s in the wrong job. Those keen on a Rolls-Royce EV before will likely be even happier; the detractors, meanwhile, will probably still need more convincing.
What the clients really wanted, apparently, was more personalisation possibilities. Which seems staggering, given the custom nature of every Rolls-Royce, but there we are. And it’s why there are now options like a Duality Twill interior - a ‘contemporary interior rayon fabric made from bamboo’ that can take 25 hours - plus the incredible paint finish seen on the black and purple car here. The fade is totally, spectacularly seamless, ensuring even greater presence for the enormous two-door. Rolls-Royce customers wanted the scope to spend more money on their £300k-plus electric car, which is exactly what they now have. And they say money doesn’t buy happiness.
There are some meaningful differences, though, beyond wheels that have six hours spent finishing them, a new Clock Cabinet (which is beautiful, it must be said), and Placed Perforation leather. The latest development of the electric architecture means more range and faster charging than before, which is handy - overall capacity is up from 102kWh to 112. Apparently there’s a reduction in charge time of ‘up to 14 per cent’ (the old car rated at 195kW DC), though what a Spectre does when hooked up to an Ionity charger probably matters as much to customers as current Clubcard prices. Public charging is very much the exception to the norm.
Of more interest will be the jump in range of more than 18 per cent to 390 miles WLTP. Even allowing for the optimistic nature of the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (surely a bit of stretch for 2.9 tonnes), that’s a noticeable gain. There aren’t many UK holiday homes that won’t reach from London. Efficiency has also climbed marginally but usefully, from 2.6-2.8mi/kWh to 2.9-3.1mi/kWh. With more power for both standard Spectre and Black Badge, now rated at 600hp and 680hp respectively (from 585hp and 660hp). See, a little more than meets the eye.
What all that feels like on the road will have to wait for another day. With Series II not yet in production, drives are conducted (that feels like the appropriate word) on the Goodwood Motor Circuit with representative prototypes. Not an exhaustive test, sure, but an intriguing and encouraging one nonetheless, with opportunities to test four-wheel steer, launch control, and brakes seemingly powerful enough to halt longshore drift across the pair of models. The aura of a Spectre may be opulence of the highest order, but there’s undoubtedly some real engineering sophistication going on here also.
Launch Control - apologies, Spirited Mode - in a Black Badge Spectre is like nothing else. The button to engage Infinity mode is easy to miss, for one thing, unassumingly taking up a small space on the steering wheel. And the experience of 811lb ft sending a Spectre to 100mph in what feels like nine seconds (or maybe less) is astonishing, because it’s so much less violent than other high performance EVs yet no less effective. The calibration is so clever, peace (and neck muscles) never disrupted even while the scenery goes a bit blurry. Starting at the kink on the Lavant straight, the BB Spectre reaches 115mph before braking very early for Woodcote.
Around the rest of the lap, at an admittedly polite pace, the Spectre feels much as it always did: immediately familiar as a Rolls-Royce, while also being nicer to drive than anything with a V12 in. All the controls are light, albeit with a meaningful amount of travel to them, so as the driver you feel like you’re actually operating something. And because the chassis itself is so assured, from the alertness of the four-wheel steer to the discipline of the anti-roll, it doesn’t give the impression of heaving at the tiller or anything so unseemly. The Spectre goes, corners and stops with decorum and no little ability, with the driver able to derive a unique satisfaction from guiding it around. All while cocooned in the utmost luxury, totally insulated from the outside world.
A Chinook could have been taking off from Goodwood at the same time we were there and it would have gone unnoticed, such is the refinement of a Spectre. Even with the advances made in EVs, nothing rivals this car for a sense of wellness and splendid isolation; you don’t hear the tyres, the wind - nothing. It would be like driving a cathedral, if cathedrals were anywhere near this silent. Or comfy. Talking with a passenger almost seems rude. It would disturb the calm.
On this brief experience, and as alluded to in Stephen Dobie’s drive earlier this year, the dynamic differences between standard Spectre and Black Badge are minor. You’re buying into the look, the ability to have Iced Black exterior detailing for the first time, as much as anything else. Launch Co… Spirited Mode is fun to use once or twice, though hardly essential. Given Black Badge commands 20 per cent over a standard car, we’d be inclined to spend the tens of thousands on some of those personalisation options. Or, as seems more likely, just get those on a Black Badge for the ultimate Spectre experience. Surely spending £400,000 on a new car isn’t very much different to £350,000 (feel free to correct us on that one).
Either way, those getting their first introduction to the electric Rolls-Royce with this Series II will likely be hugely impressed by the Spectre. Bringing together the best parts of the EV experience with the majesty and swagger of a Rolls-Royce really is a match made in heaven, and now more persuasive than ever with that range and efficiency boost. Objectively speaking, it probably isn’t improved enough to rush to your local Rolls-Royce Private Office and discuss part-exing for the Bespoke Spectre of your dreams - it was already great, this is a little more so - but since when did objectivity come into it? This is Rolls’ most desirable car, made even more so. Don’t expect that top seller status to be going anywhere.
SPECIFICATION | 2027 ROLLS ROYCE BLACK BADGE SPECTRE
Engine: Dual Separately Excited Synchronous Motors, 112.4kWh (usable) battery
Transmission: Single-speed, all-wheel drive
Power (hp): 680 (Infinity Mode)
Torque (lb ft): 811 (Infinity Mode)
0-62mph: 4.3 seconds
Top speed: 155mph
Weight: 2,925kg
Range: 359-390 miles WLTP, 2.9-3.1mi/kWh
Price: TBC, £400,000 est
SPECIFICATION | 2027 ROLLS ROYCE SPECTRE
Engine: Dual Separately Excited Synchronous Motors, 112.4kWh (usable) battery
Transmission: Single-speed, all-wheel drive
Power (hp): 601
Torque (lb ft): 748
0-62mph: 4.5 seconds
Top speed: 155mph
Weight: 2,925kg
Range: 362-390 miles WLTP, 2.9-3.1mi/kWh
Price: TBC, £350,000 est
Ideally, they dump in value as it does look like a nice thing to go and get a pint of milk with. But I fear premium EVs may not dump in value in the same manner as premium ICE as there just isn't going to be the high running costs to be compensated for in the asking. Which is a bit of a shame.
So each of those miles cost you £20 in depreciation. There's really very little point in these things being run by money saving batteries....
Given your concern with costs, I would imagine you are very much not the target market.
I understand an electric Rolls Royce in terms of the NVH don't get me wrong, but it's very difficult to match the "prestige" of a V12 engine with electric power in my eyes though in comparison.
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