After using the Rolls-Royce Spectre for nearly a thousand kilometres over the course of a week in California, is it better than flying?
What is luxury? Ask one hundred people, and you will likely receive one hundred answers. Unquestionably, having time to spend any way you choose is a luxury. Luxury is also ease, convenience, comfort… to waft as it were. A central notion of what it should be like to own and drive a Rolls-Royce is to waft, to pass easily through life, like riding a cloud.
At first, you may think wafting is somewhat at odds with a long EV road trip. Certainly, it’s not contrary to daily-driving an EV that you charge at home. What could be better? But, introduce the prospect of public charging, (public anything), and are you wafting? Can that be luxury? Can that be a Rolls-Royce experience? I set out on a 1,000-kilometre whirlwind business trip to find out. I had a schedule to keep and meetings to attend, so inconvenience and delay weren’t options. Also, naturally, I wanted to arrive refreshed and alert.
California is one of the largest EV markets in the world, with over 20% of the market being EVs versus less than 7% nationwide — which would become significantly less, again, if you were to remove California from the math as it’s the largest car market in the USA. It’s also one of Rolls-Royce’s largest markets, and it’s a lovely place to see, period. See where I’m going here?
Instead of flying into SFA, I took a more comfortable cabin to LAX and drove up to Napa in a Rolls-Royce. In fact, by the end of the trip (to which I added a day, so I could make the big leg up from Los Angeles… the luxury of time), I’d convinced myself that all I ever want to drive again is a Spectre — and I’d rather drive it instead of flying anywhere in North America, charging be damned.
Except, in California, the charging isn’t cursed; at least, it wasn’t for me. If anything, it could not have been a better experience. I picked up the Spectre at LAX with 98% state of charge (SOC), input my destination: the incredible Montage Headelsberg, 465 miles (or 750 kilometres) and two charging stops away — but more on that in a bit. It would be a long, but splendid day of driving.
Charging experience and even range, to some degree, are not likely to be a major concern for people looking to get into an electric Rolls-Royce. Typically, as special-occasion vehicles or even commuters in North America, range need not be a huge concern with an easy 450 km-plus available. In Europe, however, where grand touring is still a thing, Rolls-Royce knew the Spectre needed about a 500 km range to deliver comfortable travel to customers in major city centres. But that obviously works for California, too, and I sincerely hope as many Spectre owners use it as I did, because travelling long distances in a Rolls-Royce is simply sublime. You’re on your own schedule; bring as much as you want and let the scenery and experiences roll in.
The Spectre’s navigation system automatically calculates charging stops and duration, along with evolving traffic flow, to provide a remarkably accurate road trip schedule. While the vehicle can make the trip with one charging stop, the software is clever enough to know that two short charges will be not only quicker, but necessary for such a long trip. In both cases, I stopped for roughly fifteen minutes, which was less time than it took to buy and eat lunch (during the first stop) and get coffee and use the facilities (during the second). Also, both charging spots had plenty of units available on a Monday, midday and in the early evening, and they were updated to be “tap and charge” fast-chargers. It couldn’t have been more seamless.
The Rolls-Royce Spectre is at home on the vast open highways of California, at any speed, and — as you might imagine — there’s no sensation of speed at all. The faintest whisper could be heard over the mirrors, the only indication of speed, and the tires and ride were the quietest I’ve ever experienced. Even on rough, surfaced concrete, the vehicle was all but dead silent. It’s the kind of environment that’s easy to get used to and, as a result, simply spoils all other motor vehicles for you.
A couple of decades ago, I was at a Rolls-Royce gathering in Tuscany for the brand’s launch of the Phantom Drophead. One of the most interesting points of conversation was surrounding how the Rolls-Royce customer differs from most others. Perhaps similar to super yachts, Rolls-Royce buyers are everything from nobles to entrepreneurs: many buy a Rolls-Royce for status, but most buy it as a reward. Collectively, however, they didn’t have a lot of interest in the oily bits that made a Rolls-Royce the finest car in the world. The expectation was that a Rolls-Royce would be the quietest, smoothest ride, but the computer-controlled active air suspension — and the process and engineering behind the fanatical attention to build quality and sound deadening — weren’t important, just expected.
Times have changed. With Rolls-Royce attracting younger customers in increasing numbers, technology, innovation, a peerless drive experience, customization, and craftsmanship are de rigueur. So was having an EV to offer. For existing and more traditional customers, change is a daunting thing. Case in point; replacing the vaunted six-and-three-quarter litre, twelve-cylinder engine. A masterpiece of engineering, it has spent over 120 years doing its best imitation of an electric powertrain, i.e. silent, torquey and powerful. To remain true to their heritage and provide a truly Rolls-Royce driving experience, the two electric motors and the associated software have been tuned to emulate the power curve of the V12 as opposed to the typically jarring power delivery of most EVs.
Make no mistake, however: the Spectre is fleet of foot. It’s easy to drive unerringly smoothly, should you wish (or blisteringly fast, should you wish). The former Phantom Coupe has an “S” button that never officially had a name, certainly not “sport.” I like to think of it as the “swift” button. Spectre fits the bill: it can be driven swiftly in any circumstance, and with AWD, in any condition. While the Spectre doesn’t have an “S” button, it does have a “B” button that increases the amount of regenerative braking provided through one-pedal driving (that’s the amount of braking provided by the electric motors alone, which recharges the battery). I was comfortable with the standard setting in most circumstances, but on winding Napa roads, the “B” button allowed for rapid one-pedal driving, carving the turns, throttle, regen, turn, repeat. With four-wheel steering and air suspension that can predict corners based on navigation data, the Spectre is a formidable companion on a winding road.
Speaking of being in Napa, I stayed at two hotels that week: the Montage and Four Seasons. As one would expect, both had ample EV charging infrastructure. At this point in my journey, there was no longer a need for public charging, as the Spectre woke up each morning with 500kms of legitimate range, far more than I required daily for the rest of my trip. This is luxury. To the best of my knowledge, there isn’t a hotel in the world that has a gas station onsite — let alone a hotel that will take your car to one and fill it.
In fact, there’s virtually nothing the Spectre can’t do. At 6’5”, I fit in the back seat, even behind another over- six-footer. The trunk is commodious; it’s easy to get in and out of, it’s built to a standard I’ve not previously seen in a car, and it’s stunning if not subtle and undeniably elegant. The quality of the interior materials is simply peerless — everything is wood, metal, or leather. In fact, the metal HVAC vents with their lovely organ stops (Google them!) were sweating as condensation gathered on their frigid surfaces in the ceaseless Napa heat.
After the longest test drive of any outlet globally — and perhaps more road trip miles than any customer has ventured yet — the Spectre is unquestionably a Rolls-Royce. Made all the better by being an EV, it’s a scion that heralds a bright future for the brand. If you can’t get over the replacement of the V12 with something objectively better, I’d recommend buying a decommissioned unit and making a coffee table out of it while enjoying the Spectre and the EV future of Rolls-Royce for motoring.
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