As more auto manufacturers are expanding into the EV world, the latest to do so is super luxury carmaker Rolls-Royce.
The company recently announced that on-road testing of the Spectre, its first fully-electric car, has begun, and also released photos of the camouflaged vehicle.
Global testing of the Spectre will cover 2.5 million vehicles, said Rolls-Royce Motor Cars CEO Torsten Muller-Otvos.
“I am proud to announce that Rolls-Royce is to begin the on-road testing program for an extraordinary new product that will elevate the global all-electric car revolution and create the first – and finest – super-luxury product of its type. This is not a prototype. It’s the real thing, it will be tested in plain sight and our clients will take first deliveries of the car in the fourth quarter of 2023,” he said.
“We embark on this bold new future with a huge advantage. Electric drive is uniquely and perfectly suited to Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, more so than any other automotive brand. It is silent, refined and creates torque almost instantly, going on to generate tremendous power. This is what we at Rolls-Royce call ‘waftability’.
Previously, Rolls-Royce has been experimenting with an electric powertrain for some time. In 2011 it revealed the 102EX, a fully operational all-electric Phantom, followed by the 103EX.
“These extraordinary products prompted a huge amount of interest in electric powertrain technology amongst our clients. They considered it as the perfect fit for Rolls-Royce. And, over the past decade, I have been repeatedly asked, ‘When will Rolls-Royce go electric?’ and ‘When will you produce your first electric car?’
“I answered with an unambiguous promise: ‘Rolls-Royce will go electric, starting this decade.’ Today, I’m keeping my word,” Muller-Otvos stated.
“Free of any group platform sharing strategy, we were able to integrate our plans for an electric powertrain into the architecture’s initial design and ensure that this extraordinary new product meets the extremely high expectations of our clients,” he added.
He also said Rolls-Royce will electrify its entire product range within 2030, and quit producing and selling any internal combustion engine products.
