Friday, November 22, 2024

Electric Vehicles—"Tested: 2024 Rolls-Royce Spectre Is Both Absurd and Sublime"

From Car&Driver, November 7:

Rolls-Royce glides confidently into the EV era.

On paper, the 2024 Rolls-Royce Spectre sounds like a rehashing of The Simpsons' Canyonero jingle. It's an electric coupe that's longer than some trucks, but it only seats four people. It's heavier than some of the largest gas cars, the doors are on backward, and it costs as much as a house. Yet, spec-sheet absurdity gives way to a uniquely satisfying driving experience. Over the road, the Spectre is proof positive that Rolls-Royce will have no problems adapting as the automotive world electrifies; if anything, near-silent battery-electric propulsion was made for this sort of application.

Pictures don't really convey the Spectre's sheer presence. Devoid of complex angles, every side is this massive bulwark of clean, shiny sheetmetal invariably leading your eyes frontward to the massive chrome grille and the Spirit of Ecstasy riding atop it. In addition to looking imposing, it positively swallows up space in the lane. The Spectre's 126.4-inch wheelbase is just over two inches shorter than a Ford Ranger's, but at 215.6 inches long overall, the Roller stretches some five inches longer than that mid-size truck. And we all know EVs are heavy, but for some context, the 6443-pound Spectre comes in about 600 pounds heavier than a BMW X7. Sheesh.

....MUCH MORE

Canyonero, performed by Hank Williams, Jr. , lyrics:

Can you name the truck with four wheel drive,
smells like a steak and seats thirty-five..

Canyonero! Canyonero!

Well, it goes real slow with the hammer down,
It's the country-fried truck endorsed by a clown!

Canyonero! (Yah!) Canyonero!
[Krusty:] Hey Hey

The Federal Highway commission has ruled the
Canyonero unsafe for highway or city driving.

Canyonero!

12 yards long, 2 lanes wide,
65 tons of American Pride!

Canyonero! Canyonero!....