A cooling economy isn't stopping the very wealthy from buying a Rolls Royce.
The British company is coming off a record year, delivering more than six
thousand vehicles in 2022. That is especially promising considering
Rolls-Royce plans to sell only battery powered vehicles by the end of this
decade. Rolls-Royce has finally done it.
They've made an electric vehicle. This is the first Eevee from Rolls-Royce
ever. We're here in Cape Town to drive it.
The first non Rolls-Royce employee to drive it.
Let's do it now. The arrival of Spectre gives Rolls-Royce
a strong first statement among the ultra luxury set.
Bentley, for instance, has some hybrids and plans to produce five all electric
vehicles beginning in 2025. But so far, Rolls Royce beats it to the
punch. Our strategy is clear by the end of
2017, the entire portfolio is fully electrified.
It's been a long time coming. Rolls-Royce hesitated to replace their
signature V12 engine responsible for the world famous quiet and smooth coaches.
But times have changed and BMW, which owns Rolls-Royce, has left no doubt
where all of its brands must go. Last year, the chairman of BMW said he
anticipated that by 2030, 50 percent of all vehicles sold across the group would
be electric set on twenty three inch wheels and with a fast backed body
style. The spectre is heavy.
More than sixty five hundred pounds. And it is so long at nearly 18 feet from
nose to tail that it becomes nearly impossible to see over the hood.
When you're making a tight turn up or downhill, of course he has this massive
carriage door. It's actually the longest carriage style
door in any Rolls-Royce, one and a half metres long.
And then to close it, you put your foot on the
brake. Another cool thing that's a first for
the spectre is this grill. This is the widest grill ever on a Rolls
Royce. And as an option, you can choose to have
it illuminated. So when you drive, you're driving with
sort of a softly illuminated grill. It looks very cool.
A redesigned spirit of ecstasy figurehead on the hood comes crouched
Yoda like lower than its predecessor. What's more, this baby is fast.
Spector produces 577 horsepower and six hundred and sixty four pound feet of
torque. When I drove it in wine country outside
of Cape Town. It registered a zero to 60 mile per hour
sprint time, a four point four seconds, and Rolls Royce tells me it has a top
speed of 155 miles per hour. It feels exactly like a Rolls Royce.
If you've driven any other Rolls Royce, this electric Rolls-Royce will feel
exactly the same. It might even be more Rolls Royce than
any previous Rolls Royce foreign. As for the total driving range, it'll
run on an electric power for 260 miles and it will be able to charge from 10 to
80 percent full and 34 minutes. Pricing for the spectre will hover
around five hundred thousand dollars, which is about the average price of a
Rolls-Royce these days. The company declined to say how many
they'll make in the first year, but more than 300 clients have already been
specially invited to see the car. It's early days in the year 2023, but as
I said, I'm cautiously optimistic. What I'm definitely not seeing is any,
let's say, hesitation when it comes to spec doors.
This is going from strength to strength to strength.
Deliveries begin in the fourth quarter of 2023.