The famous luxury brand Rolls-Royce has announced in 2021 that it will run entirely on electricity by 2030.
That seemed like a particularly bold claim for a brand that had not offered electric vehicles until then. But now that Rolls-Royce’s first all-electric coupe, the Specter coupe, is due for first deliveries later this year, and the brand’s future is much easier to envision.
While I recommend reading my first drive about Rolls-Royce Specter 2024 For more on the inside experience, the basic story of how Specter came to be is equally interesting.
How does a long-standing luxury brand remake products that now revolve around turbo-like V-12 gasoline engines and have for decades focused on internal combustion engine smoothness and power? Strong technical? How can a luxury brand that sells its cars for about half a million dollars each differentiate itself between Teslas in under 2.0 seconds, Lucids over 500 miles, Hyundais charge 18 minutesAnd Ford F-150 Lightning which can power the summer house?
The answer: the same way it always has. Rolls-Royce has never bragged about numbers. Power is “enough” and the cars are more about the distinct expression of each particular build — and a luxurious experience.
Rolls-Royce Specter 2024
Rolls-Royce Specter 2024
Rolls-Royce Specter 2024
Inside the huge hinged rear doors of this coupe, under the twinkling of Starlight headlights and hidden within the extraordinary craftsmanship, comfort and quietness, what I found was one of the simplest and most fun EVs on the market. And don’t get me wrong with that statement: Who says simple means cheap?
To take a step back: The company decided from the start that such a model should first be Rolls-Royce and secondly an EV.
But the team under engineering director Mihiar Ayoubi understands that they also need to innovate EVs to get there.
Read on for some key takeaways from how Rolls works with Specter as more than just bombastic talk about repackaged BMW Group EV technology — and why between a brand that makes sure it doesn’t give up. Falling customers, it really pushes the EV conversation forward.
Dr. Mihiar Ayoubi – Technical Director of Rolls-Royce
Specter is a new category: the spacious EV coupe
As I observed when I first drove the Rolls-Royce Specter 2024, one of the most remarkable technical achievements of this all-electric model is the way it feels like a car. that you sit on, not on. With battery packs that raise the occupants by a few inches, raise the floor and increase the vehicle’s total height, it’s easy to turn a brand’s first EV into a crossover but to turn it into a convincing vehicle is difficult. much more.
Rolls-Royce has taken the more challenging route, and it is proud to point out that the overall height between the Specter and the petrol-powered Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe is less than an inch, while still being able to fit inside. same interior space.
Rolls-Royce Specter 2024
The automaker achieved this height goal by placing the battery pack in the underfloor groove of the bodywork and framing it with extruded aluminum slats that form the four corners. They then redesigned the interior of this model from scratch in white, focusing on the lower seating position while keeping the bulkhead (dash and hood) in place—especially Pay special attention to stiffness at the front and rear axles, which, as Ayoubi puts it, can have a “hinge” effect that reduces steering and handling.
Simply put, you feel like you’re sitting in a long, big car, and I can’t remember any other electric car with that impression with its boxy styling and upright packaging. The long hinged rear doors allow for easy access to the rear seats without twisting, and it’s workable, even comfortable for this 6-foot-6 passenger.
In a world of Expeditions, Escalades and Wagoneers, this isn’t really smaller in terms of footprint, but it is a form factor that the market needs more of for the sake of efficiency and sheer diversity.
Rolls-Royce Specter 2024
Why does this EV keep the ICE form factor
One of the great benefits of electric cars is that the electric motor doesn’t take up much packing space and doesn’t have all the space needed under the hood for the massive V-12 engine in the case of Rolls-Royce, which That can lead to a complete transformation. Look.
As Ayoubi explained to Green Car Reports, the Specter starts with the battery pack and doesn’t require an engine allowance. It was always assumed that the Specter would look like a Rolls, but the intention didn’t always translate to such a long hood.
Ayoubi says that Rolls initially considered a more cab-forward project, in that it could increase front space and have more space inside. But he says the company has met with customers, and some have reacted strongly to the idea of a shorter hood, calling it “a slap in the face.”
The end result is to have the shortest front and rear overhangs of any Rolls ever, as well as the longest doors.
Rolls-Royce Specter 2024
Could a Specter convertible be one of the first electric droptops?
Mom believes in Specter’s ability to transform. But there are some suggestions that, when taken together, suggest that it is a big possibility.
First, production of the Rolls-Royce Dawn, with its very similar layout, has ended.
Second, referring to roof design director Anders Warming, pointed out the upper dowels that need to be added to the roof to meet the “project objectives” for structural support—an essential part of the structure. safety and strength if such a possibility exists.
Rolls-Royce Specter 2024
Why Rolls-Royce electric cars run light on the range
As Specter product and launch manager Rhodri Good put it, the brand’s customers are “not too concerned with once a year when they have to drive to their wife’s house for Christmas.”
Ayoubi told Green Car Reports that when Rolls looked at its owners to see how many kilometers they had driven, Cullinan SUV owners used their vehicles the most, followed by sedans. Its coupes are the Phantom and the least driven Wraith. Looking at the distribution, people running 100 miles a week are rare.
It was an important consideration when the brand decided on the large (and heavy) packaging it would try to pack in this coupe, and with all the information about its owner, it targets around 300 miles for on a single charge (Spectre reaches 260 miles of EPA range).
Rolls-Royce Specter 2024
Specter’s home battery charging needs to be fast, but not bidirectional
Fast charging is also not a consideration for this elite crowd—some of them, Aroubi predicts, will never fast charge their vehicles. Specter is very respectable, at 34 minutes reaching a peak of 195 kw from 10-80%.
On the other hand, Rolls certainly wants to offer support to owners who “would very much like to charge their batteries at home”. That means a built-in 22 kw charger, capable of fully charging the Specter’s 102 kwh (usable) pack in about 5.5 hours.
Technology like two-way charging is also not on the menu. Owners can have multiple properties, with “more than seven cars to choose from for any occasion”, so it is worthwhile to treat the car as an energy hub for everyday life. argumentative.
Rolls-Royce Specter 2024
Spectre .’s Anti-Ludicrous
The electric propulsion systems deliver power almost instantaneously, and even the Specter’s intelligent chassis control system, for its adaptive damping and air suspension, can’t quite keep up. hair trigger response.
Instead of providing powerful G-forces support, Rolls-Royce employs a little trickery to deliver a more sophisticated experience at launch. It delays power delivery for a fraction of a second so that the chassis system is ready. Instead of moving its body backwards in the first place, the Specter stays flat—giving the immediate impression that it’s actually leaning forward.
As more and more electric vehicles use active suspension and air suspension, and we no longer need amusement park rides to prove the superiority of electric vehicles, it’s a features that more vehicles need.
Rolls-Royce Specter 2024
Rolls-Royce Specter 2024
Rolls-Royce Specter 2024
Rolls cracked the quiet cabin code
The Rolls-Royce Specter is almost certainly the quietest EV Green Car Reports ever driven. And what may sound like bragging rights at first, Ayoubi says that Rolls engineers worked so hard on the project, they created a cabin experience that is simply too quiet.
You don’t hear any hum from the engine or whine from the gearshift in the Specter—or significant road or wind noise around those sharp edges and slightly stooped Spirit of Ecstasy pass. more people. What shockingly makes the achievement all the more impressive is that no active noise cancellation is used in the Specter.
Rolls-Royce Specter 2024
Ayoubi says that the team is working on the electromagnetic excitation of the motor and the regulation of any disturbances. Each motor is also encapsulated in a frequency absorber made of aerospace-grade materials, and it works to select the wheel itself based on minimized road noise. The body itself helps filter out noise with hollow aluminum chambers, while 4.5mm thick insulated double-glazed glass helps block out other noises.
He added that it is necessary to figure out what is the best combination of frequencies to naturally suppress because focusing too much on some frequencies will cause others to bounce and disturb.
Rolls-Royce Specter 2024
He said: “We got to a level of discomfort somehow, it was too quiet. “You don’t feel well—you feel so cramped, the only noise you can hear is the clock…so we have to accept or allow a certain level of noise to return. “
They chose to add back just a little bit. Have the technical resources to realize that you’ve gone too far with the electric NVH and need to add: A problem unique to Rolls-Royce.
