LONDON: The Rolls-Royce Spectre electric car has now completed a 2.5-million-kilometre testing programme simulating more than 400 years of use.
In the most demanding development process in the marque’s 119-year history, Spectre has endured temperatures ranging from -40°C to +50°C, and in conditions spanning from Arctic snow and ice to deserts, high mountain passes and the world’s megacities.
En route, every one of Spectre’s 141,200 digital sender-receiver relations and 25,000 performance-related functions has been observed, analysed and tuned by Rolls-Royce engineers, a process representing over 50,000 collective driven hours.
Rolls-Royce said this has resulted in thousands of iterative improvements in everything from Spectre’s acoustic performance, composure under cornering and steering precision to its charge time, electric range and torque delivery.
The Spectre, with a range of up to 520km, has also undergone the marque's unique Lifestyle Analysis process. This additional testing programme is based on the marque's knowledge and understanding of the super-luxury consumer, and continuous intelligence-gathering across the luxury sector.
It enables engineers to anticipate the demands likely to be placed on a new Rolls-Royce and ensure that final engineered and fashioned experience incorporates appropriate features and responses.
Using this knowledge, engineers have considered a range of variables of particular relevance to Rolls-Royce clients.
For example, they have examined how Spectre’s drivetrain performs on specific roads in and around the world’s most exclusive enclaves, including: Sanya on Hainan Island, China; Dubai in the United Arab Emirates; Napa Valley in California; and London, in the marque’s home market.
This testing is not limited to performance under highway speeds.
Specific city centre destinations are also used to ensure that features such as four-wheel steering offer the requisite manoeuvrability benefits to access areas roads and property approaches with limited space.
Testing was also done in and around the boroughs of Mayfair and Kensington and Chelsea, London, to ensure the appropriate rear axle steering for approaching key residential streets and luxury retail locations.
Similarly, given the environments Spectre will be placed in worldwide, a large number of static testing procedures are undertaken that address key client concerns.
These include if it is possible to hold a normal telephone conversation inside the car while it is parked alongside a waiting helicopter, the strength of the car’s in-car Internet connection between specific skyscrapers, and ease of access when placing specific objects inside the car – the long garment bags used to protect formal evening suiting and gowns.
Customer deliveries of the Spectre will start in the fourth quarter of this year.
