Before we plebeians had the opportunity to see the Spectre on October 18 in official press images, Rolls-Royce held a private unveiling at home in Goodwood. Potential buyers were invited to the automaker’s headquarters to see the first-ever RR production model to do away with the combustion engine. Showing the EV behind closed doors was a success as more than 300 buyers from the US alone signed their names on the dotted line.

Over three hundred preorders might not seem much, but let’s keep in mind the Spectre carries an eye-watering starting price of $413,000. Needless to say, virtually no one buys a Rolls-Royce without spending extra on options, which are aplenty. CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös told CNBC “the order book looks strong” and those who saw the car in person were “delighted” with the EV. Early adopters are in for a long wait as deliveries to customers won’t start until the fourth quarter of 2023.

Touted as being the world’s first Ultra-Luxury Electric Super Coupé, the 2024 Spectre “needs to be a Rolls-Royce first,” according to the automaker’s head honcho. Müller-Ötvös went on to explain what that means: “stability, brilliant quality, timeless materials, flight-on-land, silent propulsion.” He refrained from going into details about how many units RR wants to sell but did hint the Cullinan SUV will remain the most popular, followed by the Ghost and then the Spectre. The absolute flagship, the even more expensive Phantom (from $460,000), is naturally the model with the fewest sales.

The stately Spectre is absolutely massive, stretching at 5,453 mm (214.6 inches) long and 2,080 mm (81.8 inches) wide while tipping the scales at 2,975 kilograms (6,558 pounds). The four-seat, two-door electric coupe has a WLTP range of 320 miles (520 kilometers) and uses a dual-motor setup providing a combined 577 hp (430 kW) and 900 Nm (664 lb-ft) of torque. It goes from 0 to 60 mph (96 km/h) in 4.4 seconds and to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 4.5 seconds. There’s no word about top speed, but Rolls-Royce owners typically don’t care about that.

Müller-Ötvös describes the Spectre as being “the most perfect” product Rolls-Royce has ever built. It kickstarts the brand’s EV revolution as the lineup will become purely electric by 2030. MINI will follow suit early in the next decade while the BMW core brand has not set a date for when it will abandon combustion engines.

Source: CNBC