There can hardly be a more suitable drive for a Rolls-Royce than electric motors. CS Rolls himself said it in 1900: "The electric car is perfectly noiseless and clean. There is no smell or vibration." Although, presciently, he did add that he had infrastructure concerns. After 120 years of trying, no petrol Rolls-Royce has a powertrain as smooth or silent or responsive as that of a 2011 Nissan Leaf. Or perhaps more relevant, a 2015 Tesla Model X - a powerful, heavy car that goes a long way and charges fast. But this is changing: in a year's time, this rather fabulous all-electric Spectre will land with its first customers. So TopGear asks Rolls-Royce boss Torsten Müller-Ötvös the obvious question: what kept you? His reply is emphatic. "The customers always said: it has to be a Rolls-Royce first, electric second."
Rolls-Royce knows those customers intimately. After all, even though their numbers keep growing, there still aren't that many of them around. Müller-Ötvös has been asking them for a decade what they think about EVs. "In comparison between where the clients were then and now, it has changed massively. On average they own seven cars and many already own an electric car. The feedback on electric propulsion, in general, is very positive." So the Spectre doesn't have to introduce them to the idea of a charge cable instead of a hose of explosive liquid.
Denne historien er fra December 2022-utgaven av Top Gear.
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Denne historien er fra December 2022-utgaven av Top Gear.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
INEOS GRENADIER
\"It looks like it could batter its way through anything\"
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HEAD TO HEAD SUPER SALOONS
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REAR OF THE YEAR
What happens when you cross Zagato with Alpine? An A110 that can change its clothes...
SAVE THE WHALES
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...sell on Monday
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GO WITH THE FLOW
The most aerodynamic car Audi has ever made... is a great big executive barge. And when the smoke clears, you'll see it's been a long time coming...
SCRAMBLED SEGG
The Koenigsegg Chimera is a one-off mashup of Agera RS, Jesko and, CC850 - potent, but what exactly is the point?
SIMPLIFLY AND ADD LIGHTNESS
At the peak of Lotus's powers, boss Colin Chapman bought himself the coolest aircraft in motorsport history... 45 years later, TopGear's on a mission to find it again
CANNON BULL
Adrian Newey's RB17 hybrid V10 hypercar is at long last (almost) ready Track car, perfection or pointless?