The Spectre Spectacular

The Rolls-Royce Spectre is a magnificent showcase of how an EV can still be ultra-luxury.

- JAMIE NONIS

A historic moment to be savoured in exceedingly lush and luxurious surrounds. That is, ostensibly, how Rolls-Royce intended for journalists from around the world to experience first-hand the first electric Rolls-Royce in history.

Last year, it was in the South of France that the British marque introduced the new Phantom Series II, with Nice and Monaco providing a spectacular backdrop for the drive. This year, it’s in Napa Valley that we were handed the keys to Spectre to testdrive the world’s first ultra-luxury electric super coupé through wine country in the California sunshine over the summer, ahead of customer deliveries slated to begin in Q4 this year.

“It's quite a historic moment for the brand,” Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös tells me during an intimate the Cullinan in the past, about 20 per cent were new clients. With Spectre, it’s 40 per cent and that’s really amazing,” he revealed. Demand is reportedly so strong that there’s already a two-year wait for the two-door, four-seater coupé.

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When Rolls-Royce set out to create its first electric car, the mandate was that it had to be a Rolls-Royce first and an electric car second. After all, a brand at the very pinnacle of automotive excellence, luxury, and performance has to remain at the very pinnacle of automotive excellence, luxury, and performance — without compromise.