The Rolls-Royce Spectre - the first ever all-electric car from the famous British brand - is being put through its paces ahead of its imminent arrival.
The Spectre is a stunning two-door coupe that sees Rolls-Royce moving into a new era.
There’s 585 PS of power, a range of up to 320 miles between charges, and the widest grille ever to adorn a Rolls-Royce - a grille that’s also ‘softly illuminated’ with 22 LED lights.
The Spectre isn’t cheap - with a price tag estimated to be around £300,000.
And seeing as it costs as much as a nice three-bed semi in Cheshire, Rolls-Royce realises the Spectre needs to be tested - and then tested again - to ensure it meets its customers’ high expectations.
To that effect, Rolls-Royce has committed to ensuring the Spectre covers 1.5 million test miles ahead of delivery to punters at the back end of the year.
The Spectre is currently undergoing ‘extreme hot weather testing’ in South Africa, with the mercury hitting 50°C, while it’ll also have to deal with roads covered in gravel, dust and dirt.
Cold weather testing has also previously taken place in sub-zero Arjeplog, Sweden, located just 40 miles from the Arctic Circle. And cold weather, of course, adversely affects EV battery performance, so represents a crucial stage in the car’s evaluation process.
Meanwhile the assessment in general is designed to put the Spectre through the equivalent of 400 years of normal use.
Dr. Mihiar Ayoubi, Director of Engineering, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, explains: “The reason for our extraordinary and restless global testing process is simple: there has never been a motor car like Spectre before. As the first all-electric Rolls-Royce, Spectre represents not just a new paradigm in our technology, but the entire future direction of our brand.”
Rolls-Royce says it’s the most rigorous testing programme ever devised in the marque’s 118-year history.
One of the things the people in white coats at Rolls-Royce are focusing on is how the Spectre handles.
The Spectre is a sporty coupe, so it needs to perform well in the twisties, but it also needs to possess Rolls-Royce’s ‘Magic Carpet Ride’ quality.
It’s a tricky balancing act - one the manufacturer says will be achieved through a ‘meticulous attention-to-detail’.
We’ll bring you more news about the Spectre when it arrives.
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