“Ten years ago it wasn’t that the clients weren’t prepared to go for it. We are not defined by engine noise or loud exhaust.” But the 102EX’s range was as short as its charging time was long. “This fits perfectly with what the brand stands for. It was a Rolls-Royce squared: silent, smooth, wafty. Rolls-Royce even made a demo project in 2011, a converted Phantom called 102EX. The feedback on electric propulsion in general is very positive.” So the Spectre doesn’t have to introduce them to the idea of a charge cable instead of a hose of explosive liquid. On average they own seven cars and many already own an electric car. “In comparison between where the clients were then and now, it has changed massively. Müller-Ötvös has been asking them for a decade what they think about EVs. After all, even though their numbers keep growing, there still aren’t that many of them around. Rolls-Royce knows those customers intimately.
“The customers always said: it has to be a Rolls-Royce first, electric second.”
So TopGear asks Rolls-Royce boss Torsten Müller-Ötvös the obvious question: what kept you? His reply is emphatic. But this is changing: in a year’s time, this rather fabulous all-electric Spectre will land with its first customers. Or perhaps more relevant, a 2015 Tesla Model X – a powerful, heavy car that goes a long way and charges fast. After 120 years of trying, no petrol Rolls-Royce has a powertrain as smooth or silent or responsive as that of a 2011 Nissan Leaf. There is no smell or vibration.” Although, presciently, he did add that he had infrastructure concerns. CS Rolls himself said it in 1900: “The electric car is perfectly noiseless and clean. There can hardly be a more suitable drive for a Rolls-Royce than electric motors.
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