When one thinks of gliding onto the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House in a Rolls-Royce Spectre, one expects a full-orchestra “Arrival of the Queen of Sheba” to greet one. Then one expects to step gracefully from the ludicrous suicide door onto a red Axminster runner crafted in a single roll 200 metres long.
Our correspondent at Goodwood drove Rolls-Royce’s first EV like he stole it.
At 5.5 metres long and weighing in at a ponderous 2,923 kilograms, it’s longer than a Judge Jeffreys’ sentence and heavier than a Dassault Falcon 10X. And my dears, it’s all-electric. Goodwood’s first proper EV, and proof that the ultra-rich will be juuuust fine in the front seat as long as they don’t have to line up to charge. The hoi polloi still doesn’t wash, so one is told.
The Looks
The Spectre is weaponised Art Deco.
One expects every panel, a vast slab of sheetmetal, is lovingly shaped over an English wheel by aged craftsmen, and the leather comes from hand-reared cows who mooed only in the softest of tones. One imagines each stitch applied by the dim light of flickering gas lamps and the coachlines to be painted freehand by a single man with a soft squirrel brush. Actually, that last bit is true and his name is Mark Court.
Up front sits that preposterous chrome grille. The Palladian masterpiece of polished stainless steel is topped by the glinting Spirit of Ecstasy, still flying after all these years, and now leads the charge into a silent future Sykes would marvel at.
Inside?
A Zen sanctuary of leather and open-pore wood. Our test car was slathered in bright white hide, and it is the sort of interior that puckers your nethers at the mere mention of red wine. Children are banned, of course. The metal trim stays cool to the touch, and is as cool as the wood veneer is warm. The dashboard DNA stretches back to the Silver Shadow, and the climate dials are still manual — because when you’ve spent half a million dollars, you’ve earned the right to twist a knob like a civilised person. Although as hard as it may try, the BMW roots are there just below the surface, especially once the screens come to life.
Above: Lexus GX550 Review
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ABOVE: Spectre in LHD
The brolly-equipped rear-hinged suicide doors are motorised, closing via a button and opening with a double tug of the handle. Very dramatic. Also excellent for bashing your shins until your muscle memory catches up. The back seats only fit two, thanks to a centre console the size of a small Tuscan Villa, but the space is genuinely generous for ordinary adult humans — not that most Spectre passengers have ever been described as “ordinary.”
The Drive
On the move it’s quiet. Obscenely quiet. Cone-of-silence quiet. At idle, 34 decibels. At full throttle, 65 — less noise than a home dishwasher. If the lack of sound gives you existential dread, you can enable a Hans Zimmer–crafted soundscape that adds seven decibels and makes you feel like you’re docking at the ISS. Worth it for the drama alone.
Despite its planetary mass, the Spectre gets along at a cracking pace. The two motors dumping 430 kW, 900 Nm through four tyres are good for a 0-100 in a “rather swift” 3.7 seconds. The quarter-mile vaporises in 12 seconds flat. The nose lifts, the rear hunkers, and before you’ve finished adjusting your cravat, you’re doing 186 km/h in a whisper. It stops well too — 70-0 in 48 metres — but the regenerative braking is the real sorcery. The personal sports gentleman’s coupé does pitch-perfect, head-bob-free limo stops every single time. It makes your own feet feel inadequate.
And the ride? Imagine floating on the soothing lilts of Joanna Lumley. Rolls-Royce’s air springs and adaptive dampers iron out everything. Potholes? Beneath you. Literally.
Range and Charging
Range? 428 km on the official estimate, 418 km on highway test. For a car this size, with a hefty 102 kWh battery, the possible distance is borderline miraculous. Hook it to a 350 kW charger and you’ll add 160 km in 14 minutes — enough for a macchiato out of sight of the peasants in the queue. Limited to 190kw though, the Roller’s DC max lags behind the Koreans, some of the Germans, and most of the Chinese. That’s an abominable oversight in a lavish conveyance costing ten to twenty times as much.
The starting price is $760,000 in Australia. Ticking a few boxes gets you closer to a million. A million dollars. For an electric two-door coupé that seats four and has queer backwards doors. It is, by any rational measure, bonkers.
If you’ve banked the bucks for a Spectre, you’re not shopping on logic, you’re shopping on class. There’s an urban myth; “if you have to ask the price, you probably can’t afford one”. Stuff and nonsense! I have arrived, and I am plugged in. The Spectre is ludicrous, theatrical, and utterly magnificent — like a big blousy, bodacious, Broadway spectacular with sequins.
The future is electric, and at Goodwood, it’s also got a chandelier.
Rolls-Royce Spectre Specifications
Price
- From $760,000 (Australia)
Powertrain
- Type: Dual motor, all-wheel drive
- Front Motor: 190 kW, 365 Nm
- Rear Motor: 360 kW, 710 Nm
- Combined Output: 430 kW / 900 Nm
- Transmission: Single-speed direct drive
- Battery: 102.0 kWh lithium-ion, liquid-cooled
Performance
- 0-100 km/h: 3.7 seconds
- Quarter-mile: 12.0 sec @ 187 km/h
- Top Speed: 250 km/h (limited)
Range & Charging
- Range: 428 km (WLTP)
- DC Fast-Charge Peak: 195 kW
- 10-90% Charge Time: 44 minutes
- Onboard Charger: 11 kW AC
Dimensions
- Length: 5,476 mm
- Width: 2,017 mm
- Height: 1,572 mm
- Wheelbase: 3,211 mm
- Boot Capacity: 283 litres
- Kerb Weight: 2,923 kg
Chassis
- Front Suspension: Double wishbone, air springs, adaptive dampers
- Rear Suspension: Multi-link, air springs, adaptive dampers
- Brakes: 409 mm front / 401 mm rear ventilated discs
- Wheels: 23-inch standard
- Tyres: Pirelli P Zero PZ4 (255/40 R23 front, 295/35 R23 rear)
Features
- Starlight Headliner
- Rear-hinged coach doors (powered)
- Spirit of Ecstasy illuminated
- Bespoke Audio by Rolls-Royce (18 speakers)
- Planar Suspension System
- Four-wheel steering
- Hans Zimmer EV soundscape (optional)
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Alan Zurvas is the founder and editor of Gay Car Boys, Australia's leading LGBTQI+ automotive publication. Before launching GCB in 2008, Alan's automotive writing was published in SameSame.com.au and the Star Observer. With over 16 years of hands-on car reviewing experience, Alan brings an honest, irreverent voice to every review — championing value and innovation over brand loyalty.
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