When a brand has been around for one hundred years, calling any car the most important in its history sounds like hyperbole but, for the upcoming Rolls-Royce Spectre, it’s true. The Spectre will be the brand’s first all-electric car and will reach production as early as next year, kicking off a race to full-electrification by the end of the decade. So as stories as Rolls’ history is, the Spectre will be a turning point, where the brand pivots toward the future.
In BMW’s recent global sales report for the first half of the year, it announced that the Rolls-Royce Spectre will go into production next year, along with the BMW i5 and electric Mini Countryman. The Spectre will join Rolls’ lineup of new vehicles, including the new Ghost, Phantom, and Cullinan but it will be the beginning of a new era for Rolls-Royce. Not only will it be the brand’s first all-electric car, it’s going to be the first of many, as Rolls-Royce plans on becoming an entirely electric automaker by 2030.
Previously, the BMW Group announced that Mini would become a fully-EV automaker by 2030 but now Rolls-Royce shares that same goal. It will be interesting to see what sort of vehicles follow the Spectre. Will Rolls-Royce make EV versions of its existing vehicles, which is certainly possibly considering their “Architecture of Luxury” platform is the same one that underpins the Spectre, or will Rolls develop all-new EVs, just like the Spectre?
Rolls-Royce says the upcoming Spectre isn’t going to be a Wraith replacement but it’s basically an all-electric Wraith replacement. Just like the Wraith, the Spectre will be a two-door, four-seat, grand touring coupe. It even shares a similar shape and overall profile, although the Spectre seems sleeker, more aerodynamic, leaner, and sportier. The Wraith was my favorite Rolls to drive and I love EVs, so I’m extremely excited about this new EV Rolls-Royce Spectre and cannot wait to see where the brand goes from there.
[Source: BMW]
