While Rolls-Royce has a reputation for using an internal combustion engine to manufacture what has been called "the best car in the world," the concept of electrification was not a whim for the brand. Henry Royce, who started out as an electrical engineer, spent much of his life building an internal combustion engine that mimics the characteristics of an electric car— running silently, with instant torque and the smooth handling feel of an endless gear.
When Charles Rolls drove an electric car called Columbia in 1900, he made a prediction: "Electric cars are completely noise-free and clean. No odor or vibration. They should become very useful when fixed charging stations can be arranged." The new electric version of spectre spectre is the fulfillment of this prophecy.
Spectre also stands for Keeping promises. In 2011, Rolls-Royce presented an all-electric experimental phantom concept car called the 102EX. It was followed by the 103EX, a compelling design study that is expected to have a bold electric future for the brand. These experimental vehicles have aroused great interest from Rolls-Royce customers. They believe that the characteristics of the electric powertrain fit perfectly with the brand. Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Müller-tv s has made a clear commitment to this: Rolls-Royce will electrify from this decade.
A new Rolls-Royce car always begins its life cycle in the winter, entering the freezing cold of testing to start. The Brand's Bespoke test facility, located in Arjeplog, Sweden, just 55 kilometers from the Arctic Circle, dropped to -26 degrees Celsius and cooled further to -40 degrees Celsius.
There are several reasons why the brand's products are subjected to such extreme testing. When building the first prototypes, engineers perform very basic tests under extreme conditions to ensure that each system works properly and performs basic functions in cold weather conditions. This starts with processes common in the automotive industry, such as noise, vibration and roughness testing. The variables that affect this are manifold, from the material chosen for the main hardware component to the density of the door rubber, the bushing compound, the fastening material, and even the properties of the adhesive. At extreme temperatures, the performance of these variables changes significantly – as does the efficiency of the car's heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and cooling systems.
As a true luxury brand, winter testing has an additional component that is very important for Rolls-Royce. This is defined by the brand's engineers as "downgrade time," which gives the incredible accuracy and control to create a Rolls-Royce experience using Spectre's chassis control system, powertrain management, and electronic controls.
By driving on low-traction roads such as snow and ice and deliberately destabilizing the Spectre, engineers can create dynamic environments that typically occur at high speeds at low speeds. This can be checked and guided in both in-situ and slow motion, parameterizing and fine-tuning the performance of cold weather vehicles in areas such as handling, controllability, stability, predictability and the "flowability" that defines the Rolls-Royce experience.
This extreme test environment allows engineers to create unparalleled detail in the car's response, allowing Spectre to think, act and communicate like Rolls-Royce. After more than 500,000 kilometers of testing, the process is now 25% complete. With the completion of the winter testing phase, Spectre will continue its global testing program. The Electric Super Coupé still has nearly 2 million kilometers to travel before the brand's engineers consider completing the job before it is first delivered to customers in the fourth quarter of 2023.