It’s a brave new world out there, one in which you won’t find a V12 engine under the long and imposing hood of a Rolls-Royce. Debuting October 18, the Spectre will go down in history as Goodwood’s first electric production vehicle. To signal the coupe’s imminent arrival, BMW’s super-luxury brand has released a teaser image depicting the aerodynamically tweaked Spirit of Ecstasy mascot.
Conceived as an electric successor to the Phantom Coupe rather than the Wraith that followed it, the Spectre will be the first coupe since the 1926 Bugatti Royale to ride on 23-inch wheels. It’ll also have one of the most slippery bodies in the segment courtesy of a drag coefficient of just 0.25. Fun fact – the pillarless coach doors are the longest ever installed in a RR, stretching at nearly 1.5 meters (59 inches) in length.
It could very well be the heaviest RR ever as the battery alone will weigh 700 kilograms (1,543 pounds). The pack will serve a double purpose as engineers are putting wiring and piping channels between the floor of the car and roof of the battery to turn the latter into sound deadening.
From the few details shared by Rolls-Royce, we’ve recently learned the 2024 Spectre will use a new suspension technology to deliver the traditional “magic carpet ride.” The system is smart enough to automatically decouple the anti-roll bars so that each wheel can act independently. Doing so prevents the rocking motion generated when one side of the car hits a bumpy road. It also pays dividends in terms of ironing out small road imperfections.
The suspension adjusts itself based on the readouts of 18 sensors during cornering, and the Spectre learns about an upcoming left or right turn through the satellite navigation system. The predictive suspension setup is combined with four-wheel steering to lend the electric coupe a silky smooth ride at all times.
Although it will be unveiled tomorrow, the Spectre won’t be delivered to early adopters until the fourth quarter of 2023. Before shipments begin, the Rolls-Royce of EVs will have completed 2.5 million kilometers (1.5 million miles). It’s a sign of things to come as the Goodwood-based automaker will go purely electric from 2030.
Source: Rolls-Royce
