The first all-electric production automobile from Rolls-Royce has begun on-road testing. The prototypes of the Rolls-Royce Spectre will have traveled 150 million miles in a variety of situations. These tests are equivalent to 400 years of service, according to Rolls-Royce.
The first prototype photographed by Autocar spy photographers looks to be the same car seen in official preview photographs earlier this year, although the styling is considerably clearer here. The Spectre will be a swept-back two-door grand tourer with powerful proportions and an atypically long bonnet.
Although Rolls-Royce has not confirmed intentions to cease the manufacturing of the Wraith, it did pull both the hard-top version and its Dawn soft-top brother from sale in the United States earlier this year, indicating that a phase-out is on the way.
The Wraith and Dawn are the only Rolls-Royce cars to still utilize the F01 5 Series platform, which was designed solely by the parent company BMW.
Rolls-own Royce's Architecture of Luxury platform, which can accommodate a pure-electric drivetrain and will ultimately underlie every Rolls-Royce vehicle, is presently used in the bigger Phantom, Ghost, and Cullinan models.
Rolls-Royce originally hinted at its electrification strategy with the Phantom-based 102EX concept from 2011, which was designed primarily to test the potential of electric power as a replacement for the company's large-capacity petrol engines.
Despite the lack of a petrol engine to cool, Müller-tvös has clearly intimated to Autocar that the firm's iconic towering front grille would continue in some form.
The Spectre will have the Wraith's signature reverse-opening doors, and there's no word yet on whether it'll ride any higher than its petrol-powered predecessor. This would let it keep its luxury coupé billing and, as a result, be essentially unrivaled in its sector from the start.
Although the Spectre has a more traditional shape, the far more radically designed 103EX prototype revealed indications as to the future of Rolls-EV Royce's design ambitions in 2016.
Because of the Architecture of Luxury's versatility, Rolls-Royce may be able to provide combustion alternatives in the Wraith's successor. The prototype's tall hood implies there will be enough room for the twin-turbo 6.75-liter V12 used in all previous vehicles based on this platform.
Rolls-Royce, on the other hand, has been outspoken about its dedication to pure-electric drivetrains, defying the trend of utilizing hybrids as a stopgap measure. As a result, it will not electrify its existing fossil-fuelled powertrains.
Müller-tvös has stated that the transition from gasoline to fully electric would be easy and that the V12 will be in production for a long period.
Nonetheless, when the company becomes all-electric in 2030, it will put an end to 126 years of combustion-engined vehicle manufacture.
The Spectre will be handcrafted in Goodwood on the same assembly line as current Rolls-Royce vehicles. It will not be based on an existing BMW Group vehicle, the company proudly declares.
Hydrogen is widely seen as a better alternative fuel for larger, heavier vehicles, and Rolls-Royces are among the heaviest automobiles on the market, so an FCEV roll-out might benefit them.