Fully Electric Rolls-Royce Spectre Wraps Up Winter Testing 55km From Arctic Circle

The all-electric Rolls-Royce Spectre has concluded its winter testing program 55km from the Arctic Circle, where the marque’s products are subjected to temperatures as low as -40 degrees centigrade. Rigorous tests in extreme conditions were carried out along with the beginnings of the refinement process. ‘De-escalated time’ on the low traction surfaces of the arctic enables incredible accuracy and control in creating the Rolls-Royce experience using Spectre’s chassis control systems, powertrain management and electronics control. Following more than 500,000km of testing, 25% of this process has now been completed.

OneShift Editorial Team

30 Mar 2022

With the winter testing phase completed, Spectre will continue its global testing programme. The Electric Super Coupé still has to complete nearly two million kilometres before the marque’s engineers will consider this undertaking complete prior to first customer deliveries in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Spectre’s conceptual predecessors included the 2011 fully electric Experimental Phantom named 102EX, followed by 103EX. This undertaking would require the most demanding testing program ever conceived by Rolls-Royce and would span 2.5 million kilometres, simulating more than 400 years of use for a Rolls-Royce, on average.

Rolls-Royce 3.0 represents the beginning of the marque’s bold electric future. The first Goodwood Rolls-Royce was Phantom, and it was underpinned by its own Bespoke architecture. This was Rolls-Royce 1.0. Following this, a new, highly flexible all-aluminium spaceframe architecture was conceived that could be adapted for multiple applications, including the current Phantom, Cullinan, Ghost and Coachbuild projects including Boat Tail. This was Rolls-Royce 2.0. Rolls-Royce 3.0 is the integration of a fully electric power train and Decentralised Intelligence into the marque’s architecture.

Spectre is the most connected Rolls-Royce ever and each component within it is more intelligent than in any previous Rolls-Royce. It features 141,200 sender-receiver relations and has more than 1,000 functions with more than 25,000 sub functions. By comparison, Phantom has 51,000 sender-receiver relations, 456 functions and 647 sub functions.

In creating a design for Spectre, a generously proportioned body style was selected, enabled by the marque’s all-aluminium spaceframe architecture. It is the brand’s belief that there is only one other contemporary product that occupies this space – Phantom Coupé. The marque’s designers consider Spectre to be Phantom Coupé’s spiritual successor.

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