2.5 million kilometre workout for Spectre ahead of 2023 on-sale

BY 2030 Rolls-Royce will have fully transitioned into an electric car brand – but the first of this new breed will be available to the wealthy within two years.

The pathfinder into grid-replenished power is the Spectre, a large coupe which has been previewed ahead of the 'imminent' start of what will be a highly publicised on-road development programme.

With the car’s final design still under wraps, images shared today don’t give away too much detail: The brand’s development mule has a camouflage wrap featuring quotes from company founder Henry Royce.

While this innovative shroud hides most of the car's details, it seems obvious the brand’s first car that won’t be reliant on large capacity – normally V12, never less than V8 – petrol-hungry combustion engines will be similar in size and style to the Wraith, with a similar long bonnet and low-roof profile. And, of course, the familiar Rolls-Royce grille topped by the Spirit of Ecstasy mascot.

Under the bodywork, the Spectre uses the same 'Architecture of Luxury' platform as the current Phantom.

Though the latter runs s BMW-developed V12, which has featured in Rolls' line-up in various iterations since 1998, the underpinning was designed with electric running gear in mind, although at this early stage there are no details about the Spectre's electric motors, power output, range or charging capability.

Rolls-Royce will now put the Spectre to the test and cover 2.5 million kilometres - the equivalent of 400 years of use for a standard Rolls-Royce - in all extremes of driving, so that it delivers the level of luxury, comfort and performance that its customers have come to expect.

Whether the shakedown includes NZ turf remains to be seen. However, in speaking about the Spectre's unveiling, Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Muller-Otvos says “you will see these test cars on roads, around the world.

“Look out for them - they will be in plain sight. They will be tested in all conditions and over all terrains on their multi-million-mile journey - that will literally accelerate Rolls-Royce into the future.”

This isn't the first time that electrification has been on Rolls-Royce's radar. Henry Royce drove an electric car at the dawn of the motoring era in 1900, when he commented: “The electric car is perfectly noiseless and clean. There is no smell or vibration, and they should become very useful when fixed charging stations can be arranged.

“But for now, I do not anticipate that they will be very serviceable - at least for many years to come.”

The beginning of on-road development comes just over a decade after the firm showed off the experimental Phantom-based 102EX concept (above), with a twin-motor powertrain providing 286kW and a 71kWh battery pack giving a claimed 193km range.

A second concept, the much more radical 103EX (below), came out in 2016 with nearly double that power output and, according to the website for Britain’s Autocar magazine, “a raft of clues as to how the company will adapt its traditional design cues to suit electric cars.”