TGIFriday: Rolls-Royce launch event for the new Spectre in Singapore

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars launches the Asian debut of Spectre in an event in Singapore. We were at the event and bring you this brief report.

Rolls-Royce launch event for the new Spectre in Singapore

The Rolls-Royce Spectre will have pricing which starts at SGD 2,138,888 (without COE).

We were at the Singapore launch which was held on 22 August at the Marina Cruise Centre, and it was the first reveal for Southeast Asia, and Spectre will tour the region after. The launch vehicle was in a shade of gold/green – one of the almost infinite palette options that buyers can choose from. As can be seen in our photographs, the Spectre we saw is left hand drive, and not a model which can be registered for use in Singapore.

The release marks Rolls Royce’s entry into the full electric market, though one of the founders Rolls had predicted that the arrival of the electric car some 100 years ago.

“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 Hon Charles Stewart Rolls

Those words, written four years before his historic first meeting with Henry Royce, were to prove prophetic; but it was more than a century later that his vision was finally realised by the company they co-founded.

The Rolls-Royce Spectre

The Spectre was revealed in West Sussex, England in October 2022 and is the first in the journey that Rolls Royce will undertake to completely transition to offering only full electric cars by 2030. Also of interest is that though a company best known not only for their commitment to luxury and attention to detail, but for the smooth, effortless running of their petrol powered engines which they have perfected over the last century. And with this new commitment, will totally abandon internal combustion engines which they made their name on.

The Spectre is the first fully electric Rolls-Royce ever made. The ambition of one of their founders in 1900 could only be fulfilled with the current state of technology. The Spectre is pitched as an entirely new class of motor car. One which they call the ultra-luxury electric super coupé.

The car is generously proportioned, measuring some 5.475m in length, the car is the spiritual successor to the fabled Phantom Coupé. The Phantom Coupé was the first Goodwood-era Rolls-Royce was launched in 2003. The design was in what Rolls-Royce call their then new Bespoke architecture. The Phantom became the Rolls-Royce 1.0. For its successor, an all-aluminium space frame provided the foundations for Cullinan and Ghost – representing Rolls-Royce 2.0. With its fully-electric powertrain, Spectre marks the start of Rolls-Royce 3.0.

Bespoke

The Bespoke architecture comprises an all-aluminium spaceframe that is scalable and modifiable around four fixed points, one at each corner of the motor car. This flexibility allows Rolls-Royce to adjust the bulkhead, floor, crossmembers and sill panels in a way most appropriate to each individual product. And allow bespoke motorcars to be constructed based on special orders. We have also seen these bespoke orders to incorporate fine timepieces. For example, the Bovet Armadeo and the Rolls-Royce Boattail. And more recently Vacheron Constantin’s Les Cabinotiers Armillary Tourbillon designed exclusively for Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail.

With Spectre, Rolls-Royce engineers used the extruded aluminium sections and integration of the battery into the structure make Spectre’s spaceframe 30% stiffer than in any previous Rolls-Royce. The architecture also allowed engineers to place the floor halfway between the sill structures rather than above or underneath them. This allows a low seating position, while moving the bulkhead location deepens the dashboard to create a truly cocooning passenger cabin. This sensation is amplified by Spectre’s dramatically raked windscreen, which also contributes to the car’s exceptional aerodynamics with a drag coefficient of only 0.25, making it the most aerodynamic Rolls-Royce ever built.

The battery’s position gives it a highly beneficial secondary function: fully integrated into the motor car’s architecture, it acts as 700kg of additional acoustic insulation.  

All-electric drivetrain

With Spectre, Rolls-Royce committed to an uncompromised electric future by specifying an all-electric drivetrain rather than a hybrid solution. It is fitted with two Separately Excited Synchronous Motors (SSMs). The front electric motor produces 190kW / 365 Nm, with the rear motor delivering 360kW / 710 Nm. In performance terms, this equates to an internal combustion engine of 430kW (584 hp) with 900Nm of torque. In terms of acceleration, Spectre achieves 0-60mph in 4.4 seconds (0-100km/h in 4.5 seconds).

The batteries 102kWh lithium-ion battery, made using cobalt and lithium from strictly controlled sources in Australia, Morocco and Argentina: the battery cells are produced using 100% green electricity. Charge time from 10-80% is an impressive 34 minutes using a 195 kW (DC) fast charger: this will also produce sufficient charge for 100km in around nine minutes. run at a confirmed range of 530km.

Effortless Doors

The doors on the Spectre are massive. At almost 1.5 metres in length, the aluminium pillarless doors are the largest ever fitted to a Rolls-Royce.

And are fitted with RR’s Effortless Doors power-assisted system. A single pull of the interior handle opens the door to ‘comfort position’, allowing the occupant to check for hazards or obstructions. They then pull and hold the handle to activate full power assistance. When the door has opened sufficiently, they simply release the handle, which engages the door brake. The door can be closed automatically by pushing of a button on the external handle, or manually with power assistance. The driver’s door closes automatically when the driver presses the brake pedal. And of course, the doors also carry the famous Rolls-Royce umbrella.

Exterior

Spectre’s design draws inspiration from worlds far beyond automotive, including haute couture, modernist sculpture, nautical design, tailoring, contemporary art and modern racing yacht styling.

Spectre’s Pantheon grille is the widest ever fitted to a Rolls-Royce and remains as impressive as ever. The polished stainless-steel vanes are smooth and flush-fitting, and softly illuminated with 22 LEDs lighting up the sandblasted rear surface, creating a subtle three-dimensional signature at night.

The Spirit of Ecstasy figurine was specially created for Spectre. With a lower stance and more aerodynamic profile.

The split headlights have been a signature Rolls-Royce feature for many years, and are a direct visual reference to Spectre’s illustrious forebear, Phantom Coupé.

To match Spectre’s generous proportions, it is the first production Rolls-Royce two-door coupé to be equipped with 23-inch wheels in almost 100 years.

Interior 

Spectre’s interior contains a wealth of technologically advanced Bespoke features. For the first time on a series production Rolls-Royce, these include Starlight Doors, a feature which was previously available on the roof. The doors now incorporate 4,796 softly illuminated ‘stars’. But the entire interior is bespoke, and can be specified to almost anything the owner could imagine.

Inspired by British tailoring, the all-new front seat design has lapel sections that can be rendered in contrasting or matching colours to the main base. 

Rolls-Royce Spectre Specifications (RR Spec sheets)