As you are reading this, a heavily camouflaged all-electric Rolls-Royce is enduring a gruesome 2,500,000 km test. Unnecessarily gruelling, some may say, the 2.5-million-km test is meant to simulate more than 400 years of usage of the marque’s first all-electric car, the Rolls-Royce Spectre.
Not only tasked with this painstaking test, but the Rolls-Royce Spectre also bears the weight of being the first all-electric car by the brand that prides itself as the pinnacle of super-luxury automobiles. Yes, Rolls-Royce has showcased the 102EX and 103EX, but the former was a concept car while the latter was merely a design study.
One of the key highlights of the all-electric Rolls-Royce Spectre is a proprietary smart suspension system that has been confirmed for production. On straight roads, the system can automatically decouple the anti-roll bars, allowing each wheel to act independently. This prevents the rocking motion that occurs when one side of a vehicle hits an undulation in the road. This also dramatically improves high-frequency imperfections in ride caused by smaller, more frequent shortcomings in road surface quality.
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Once a corner is confirmed as imminent by satellite navigation data and the Flagbearer system, the components are recoupled, the suspension dampers stiffen and the four-wheel steering system prepares for activation to ensure effortless entry and exit.
Besides the smart suspension system, the Rolls-Royce Spectre also boasts a 30% increase in rigidity and a 0.25 drag coefficient which makes the Spectre the most aerodynamic Rolls-Royce yet.
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Earlier this year in Arjeplog, Sweden, the Spectre received the first ‘lessons’ in a finishing school that is custom designed to teach the motor car how to behave and react like a Rolls-Royce. Now, it will be driven for 625,000 kilometres on and around the French Côte d’Azur for more formal scrutiny in a location that reflects the motor car’s everyday use.
Split into two phases, the first leg of the test includes irrigation units that create standing water, demanding handling circuits with tight corners and adverse cambers, as well as a heavily banked 3.1-mile three-lane high-speed bowl, enabling the Spectre to be tested at continuous high speeds.
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The second phase of testing in the region occurs in the Provençal countryside surrounding the Autodrome de Miramas. This region is enjoyed by many of the marque’s clients, therefore a significant 55% of testing here has taken place on the very roads that many production Spectres will be driven on following first customer deliveries in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Despite the Spectre debuting in 2023, the electrification of the brand has been long prophesied by Charles Rolls. Quoting the marque’s founder, “The electric car is perfectly noiseless and clean. There is no smell or vibration. They should become very useful when fixed charging stations can be arranged.”
The Electric Super Coupé will still be tested for a further one million kilometres before the marque’s engineers will consider this undertaking complete. First customer deliveries of Spectre will commence in the fourth quarter of 2023.
