2027 Rolls-Royce Spectre II: Quick drive

Launched in 2022, the Spectre was the fourth modern Rolls-Royce to be built using the hallowed British brand’s highly flexible ‘Architecture of Luxury’ aluminium spaceframe technology.

Its swooping coupe bodywork, designed under the direction of Anders Warming, featured the widest-yet execution of the fabled Rolls-Royce Pantheon grille, topped with a petite Spirit of Ecstasy figurine that took over 830 hours of design modelling and wind tunnel testing to help make the Spectre the most aerodynamic Rolls-Royce ever built.

More importantly, though, Spectre was also the first-ever electric-powered Rolls-Royce. And that made it a Rolls-Royce of which the company’s founders would have emphatically approved.

Before he and aristocratic entrepreneur Charles Rolls founded Rolls-Royce in 1904, self-taught electrical engineer Henry Royce owned a company that made, among other things, electric motors.

And it was Rolls, after driving an electric vehicle made by the Columbia Automobile Company in April 1900, who saw the potential of EVs.

“The electric car is perfectly noiseless and clean,” he declared 122 years before the Spectre appeared. “There is no smell or vibration, and they should become very useful when fixed charging stations can be arranged.”

Spectre II refreshes Rolls-Royce’s landmark EV with a combination of practical improvements and emotional upgrades.

The practical stuff includes a revised battery pack that delivers more range and takes less time to charge.

The emotional stuff includes the option of what Rolls-Royce calls Gradient Two-Tone Paint, a complex finish that changes the colour of the car from front to rear. Available in four different colourways, it takes four days to complete.

The Black Badge version of the Spectre II also debuts what Rolls-Royce calls the Iced Black exterior trim package that sheaths most of the exterior shiny bits with a soft-sheen semi-matte black finish.

Iced Black is also available on the new forged multi-spoke 23-inch wheel developed for the Spectre II Black Badge. There’s a new wheel for the standard Spectre II, too, a forged 23-inch item with glittering sharp-edged facets that takes six hours to hand-finish.

How much does the Rolls-Royce Spectre II cost?

If you have to ask, you can’t afford one. But if you must know, the regular Spectre II will set you back $815,000 plus on-road costs, while the Black Badge starts at $945,000 plus on-roads.

And, of course, Rolls-Royce’s ability to finish the car in almost any colour and trim combination your heart desires means it doesn’t take too much effort to spend seven figures on one.

To see how the Rolls-Royce Spectre lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What is the Rolls-Royce Spectre II like on the inside?

In a word, sumptuous. If you want leather, Rolls-Royce offers the ability to have precise perforations made in the material to create your own unique artwork.

Spectre II customers can also choose a new cloth trim called Duality Twill that’s made from bamboo and can incorporate up to 10 miles of thread in up to 50 colours and requires 2.6 million stitches and 25 hours to complete.

Spectre II also debuts new high-gloss Brindled Walnut veneer that is created by combining walnut – sourced from non-fruiting trees that would normally be burned – with residual eucalyptus fibres from fine paper production to form a richly layered tiger stripe pattern.

These elements are compressed and then cut into veneers sealed with a lacquer infused with a fine powder of glass flakes, before a final clearcoat is applied.

The glass panel that now stretches right across the dash features artwork on the passenger side composed of 8108 individual illuminations, its directional wave pattern said to be inspired by the shifting mist that settles over the woodlands of countryside near the Rolls-Royce factory near Goodwood. Um, okay.

The revised dash also has a clock that sits in its own little chamber behind the glass above a tiny Spirit of Ecstasy statue.

Unfortunately, the clock, which has cast metal hands and is said to be inspired by precision aviation elements, looks as generic as a fancy Swatch, and the mini-me Spirit of Ecstasy looks as if it’s made of chrome-plated moulded plastic.

And in the context of the screens and features on BMW’s Neue Klasse EVs, the Spectre II’s infotainment system looks and feels rather old-school, as does some of the switchgear in the centre console.

To see how the Rolls-Royce Spectre lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What's under the bonnet?

The Spectre II rolls on what is essentially a skateboard platform with a central underfloor 112.4kWh (net) battery pack bookended by separately excited synchronous magnet e-motors mounted at the front and rear axles to deliver all-wheel drive.

As it is integrated into the ‘Architecture of Luxury’ spaceframe structure, Rolls-Royce claims the battery has boosted torsional rigidity by 30 per cent compared with the Ghost sedan, with which Spectre II shares suspension elements.

Spectre II retains the original’s 400V electrical architecture, but the revised battery cell technology has increased range by a useful 18 per cent to a maximum of 628km on the WLTP test cycle, while charge time has been reduced by 14 per cent.

In addition, more power and torque have been unlocked from the e-motors. While the front motor can produce a maximum of 190kW of power and 365Nm of torque and the rear motor 360kW and 650Nm, total system output for the regular Spectre II has been set at 442kW, while the sportier Black Badge gives you 500kW to play with. In both cars, peak torque is 1015Nm.

To see how the Rolls-Royce Spectre lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

How does the Rolls-Royce Spectre II drive?

The Spectre II is a big car, but you must swivel your hips and duck your head under the back-swept A-pillar to get behind the wheel.

The exterior design cleverly hides the fact there’s about 10 inches between the bottom of the sills and the upper surface of the floor, and once inside you’re acutely aware you’re sitting on top of a bulky battery pack.

Provided you switch off the silly artificial noisescape composed by Hans Zimmer, the Spectre II drives with a silken silence that Charles Rolls and Henry Royce could have only dreamed about.

There are only two levels of lift-off regenerative braking, the standard setting slowing the car at a slightly faster rate than if you lifted off the throttle in a V12 Rolls-Royce, and a one-pedal drive mode that will bring the car smoothly to a complete halt without the need to even brush the brake pedal.

Although they weigh a hefty 2925kg, the Spectre II will whoosh from 0-00km/h in 4.5 seconds, while the Black Badge takes 4.3 seconds. Both cars are electronically limited to a top speed of 250km/h. The Spectre II Black Badge might have more power and torque and be fractionally quicker, but the regular Spectre II is the better Rolls-Royce.

Both cars roll on the same wheel/tyre combination, their 23-inch rims shod with 255/40 Pirelli P Zero tyres up front and 295/35 items at the rear, and share identical suspension hardware.

But the Black Badge gets unique suspension software tuning that, among other things, reacts to more quickly pull the wheels back from their maximum point of travel on rebound. That gives the Black Badge the initial sensation of having tighter body control, but it also makes the car feel like it lacks suspension travel over bigger humps and heaves.

The regular Spectre II seems lighter on its feet than the Black Badge, its suspension tune allowing the car to breathe better over a lumpy road.

It also feels more alert on initial corner entry, with the heavier rim effort that's artificially dialled into the Black Badge’s steering in the name of ‘sportiness’ fractionally slowing the response time between hand action on the steering wheel rim and tyre reaction on the tarmac.

Keen drivers might want the slightly quicker calibration of the Black Badge’s accelerator pedal, but the regular Spectre II will nonetheless waft down any road with a pace and composure that belies its size and weight.

But the too-thick steering wheel rim robs the car of some of the delicate driving feel that was the hallmark of the Phantom VII.

To see how the Rolls-Royce Spectre lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What do you get?

As you’d expect, pretty much everything.

2027 Rolls-Royce Spectre II standard equipment highlights:

• Adaptive cruise control
• Heated and cooled power front seats
• Heated rear seats
• Four-zone climate control
• Cabin pre-conditioning
• Apple CarPlay
• Android Auto
• Remote unlocking via app
• Remote battery state of charge check via app
• LED headlights
• Keyless entry and start

To see how the Rolls-Royce Spectre lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

Is the Rolls-Royce Spectre II safe?

Its hefty price tag means the Spectre II has not been tested by any independent crash testing authorities.

But as the car has been certified for sale in global markets, it meets all regulatory passive safety requirements. Naturally, the Spectre II is also equipped with a full suite of active safety features such as lane-keep assist, forward collision warning, and automatic emergency braking.

To see how the Rolls-Royce Spectre lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

How much does the Rolls-Royce Spectre II cost to run?

The Spectre II is covered by a four-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty. During that period, all servicing is complimentary, with intervals set at 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first.

The battery is covered by a 10-year warranty, and Rolls-Royce will also provide roadside assistance if you happen to run out of charge during the warranty period.

To see how the Rolls-Royce Spectre lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

CarExpert's Take on the Rolls-Royce Spectre II

Rolls-Royce says the Spectre has, for the past few years, been its second-best selling model globally – after the Cullinan SUV – though it coyly declines to say exactly how many it has sold.

The BMW-owned automaker also says its own customer research has revealed the Spectre to typically be the second Rolls-Royce in a seven-car garage, and is driven an average of 6500km a year, about the same mileage as the combustion-powered Wraith and Phantom coupes.

The ultra-wealthy are said to be little interested in electric cars, but Rolls-Royce’s first-ever EV has clearly found its niche, and the Spectre II’s upgrades and improvements won’t disappoint its exclusive clientele.

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MORE: Explore the Rolls-Royce Spectre showroom