Swoopy coupe for gajillionaires with environmental conscience.

WHY the ‘prophecy fulfilled’ marketing tagline?

Ah, well, apparently back in 1900 Charles Rolls had seen the benefits of electrification. The co-founder of Rolls-Royce bought himself an electric vehicle and reckoned it met his own expectation being all a luxury conveyance should be, being “perfectly noiseless and clean. There is no smell or vibration. They should become very useful when fixed charging stations can be arranged.”

A century, two decades and two years on … here it is, the Spectre, the first electric Rolls-Royce. Effectively a replacement for the Phantom Coupe, the Phantom Coupe, this precursor to the whole Rolls-Royce range being electrified by 2030 is quite likely set to be a million dollar ride in our market.

Even more if a buyer goes nutsy with the endless personalisations.

The model that sets a new path is still stuck to tradition when it comes to styling and imperious presence. But there’s more change than meets the eye simply in respect to the exterior look. Even the size will deceive; it’s longer and wider than the brand’s Cullinan sports utility.

What appears to be a traditional Rolls-Royce ‘Pantheon’ grille is wider than on any previous model, and it's lit from behind. As there's no engine to cool, the grille's polished stainless-steel vanes are smooth, designed to push air around the car. Spectre has the lowest drag coefficient of any Rolls-Royce yet, at 0.25.

Effort to refine aero included resculpting the famous 'Spirit of Ecstasy' figurine.

Either side of the grille – which illuminates at night - are LED lights, these are daytime running items, the actual headlamps are below, but stay dark when not in use.

The car’s long, sloping profile is pure Rolls-Royce; so too the rear-hinged doors and, for the first time. It’s the first car from the brand to take 23-inch wheels.

A cabin designed for four occupants blends old school and new age; there’s clever use of latest lighting technology. The established Starlight Headlining feature is joined by a similar design on the doors, while the Spectre name on the passenger side of the dashboard is surrounded by 5500 'stars' of its own when the car is switched on.

The dashboard is digital, running the Rolls-Royce 'Spirit' architecture that interfaces with the 'Whispers' smartphone app. The Spectre is the first car from the firm to allow tailoring of the digital side of things via the Bespoke commissioning process. Fancy matching the colours of the digital dials to your Spectre's leather or paint colours? No problem.

Spectre’s specifications have not been finalised, but gone are the days when Rolls-Royce didn't deign to confirm how powerful or fast its cars were.

The brand says there’s to 900Nm of torque and 436kW on tap. A 0-100kmh time of 4.5 seconds is expected by Rolls-Royce, despite the 2975kg weight. A preliminary energy consumption figure of 21.5kWh/100km results in a range of 520 kilometres. That suggests a usable battery pack size of well over 100kWh.

The all-aluminium four-wheel-drive Architecture of Luxury chassis is not bespoke to electric, being a version of the platform that copes with internal-combustion engines in the existing product line-up.

A brand that trades on quietness says the battery being integrated into the chassis will keep noise down.

The car runs with the usual all-independent Planar suspension system to deliver what the maker vows is a magic-carpet ride. The four-wheel steering means a tight turning circle of just 12.7 metres.

The model is being built at the home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, the United Kingdom, with first deliveries expected to be at the end of 2023.