We've seen the Rolls-Royce Spectre before, but only in static shots. Our spies have now sent us footage depicting the electric coupe undergoing testing near Munich in Germany. While it may look like a Wraith beaten with the EV stick, the folks from Goodwood have said the two stately coupes won't be related. How come? Because the Wraith is one of the two last models to ride on a BMW platform, with the other being its equivalent Dawn convertible.
All the other RR products sit on the pompously called Architecture of Luxury, which will be adopted by the Spectre as well. It technically means the Spectre won't be heavily related to the BMW iX since the electric SUV is based on an adaptation of the CLAR platform. The "perfectly noiseless" EV as written on the prototype's sides is still fully camouflaged, but there’s one interesting detail to point out.
Gallery: Rolls-Royce Spectre new spy photos
Yes, we are talking about split headlights, an increasingly more common design approach. It will be adopted by the parent company BMW as well for the next-generation 7 Series, facelifted X7, and the XM. As befitting for a Rolls-Royce, the Spectre has rear-hinged doors and looks imposingly large. We're fairly certain those won't be the biggest wheels available as the final version will eschew winter tires for summer rubber wrapping a larger set of alloys.
Although company CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös told Autocar a while back Rolls-Royce would never convert an existing BMW, the dual-motor setup will probably be adapted from the iX M60. In the high-performance SUV from Bavaria, the driver has access to 610 horsepower (455 kilowatts) and a colossal 1,015 Newton-meters (749 pound-feet).
Arriving in late 2023, the Spectre will mark the beginning of the end for the combustion engine. As previously announced, Rolls-Royce will gradually phase out the mighty V12 engine to become a purely electric brand by 2030. The BMW Group's MINI will follow suit early in the next decade, while the core BMW brand has yet to formally announce a cut-off date for the good ol' ICE.
