Rolls-Royce reveals history behind name of upcoming Spectre

Rolls-Royce revealed the history behind the name of its upcoming battery-electric vehicle (BEV), the Spectre.

And while the moniker sounds like a James Bond movie, the British luxury car brand shares that there’s more to the name.

“The advent of our first battery-electric car marks the start of a bold new era for Rolls-Royce. It is also the culmination of a long, painstaking process, in which every element in creating this landmark car has been considered in the minutest detail, over numerous iterations. But one aspect of this landmark motor car has always been certain: from the very outset, we determined that it would bear the name Spectre — the first series production Rolls-Royce ever to do so. It was a decision initially inspired by our heritage: ‘Spectre’ cars were always associated with ground-breaking technical innovations, the relentless pursuit of perfection, and a sense of mystery and otherworldliness. The motor car we now present to the world embodies all those qualities while making the Spectre name entirely its own,” said Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Chief Executive Torsten Müller-Ötvös.

According to Rolls-Royce, choosing a name for a new vehicle is a crucial, highly considered, and painstaking process, in which the marque's unique heritage plays a central part. Of the current product family, all but Cullinan (named after the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever discovered) bear storied names from the past: Phantom, Ghost, Dawn, and Wraith all have namesakes spanning Rolls-Royce's 118-year history.

The name Spectre started when Claude Johnson, the commercial managing director of Rolls-Royce, came up with the name “Silver Ghost.” It was used for one of the vehicles showcased at the 1907 London Motor Show and was later adopted for all cars using the 40/50 H.P. chassis.

In August 1910, Rolls-Royce built Chassis 1601, which was later dubbed “The Silver Spectre” marking the first time the name “Spectre” was used.

The name would again be applied to a Rolls-Royce car when Sir Henry Royce began developing a brand-new V12 engine for a completely new chassis with independent front suspension in 1930. As with all innovations, maintaining secrecy around the new V12 engine was commercially critical. Therefore, together with its chassis number, 30EX was also assigned a codename: “Spectre.”

Nine further EX (experimental) cars, with the “Spectre” codename would follow before the car entered production as Phantom III in 1936.

Like the EX cars of the past, the present-day Spectre represents a bold and enormously significant shift, both technically and philosophically, for Rolls-Royce. As the first all-electric Rolls-Royce, it marks an evolution in powertrain technology arguably even greater than the introduction of the marque's first V12 engine — the configuration, which after almost 80 years, is still used in every current Rolls-Royce model.

The Spectre name itself sits alongside Ghost, Phantom, and Wraith as an evocation of silence, refinement, and mystery; of something imagined and dreamlike that exists outside normal parameters and experience. And though it has previously been given to individual and experimental cars, no series production Rolls-Royce has worn the Spectre nameplate until now. This meeting of innovation and continuity makes Spectre the perfect name choice for a car of such singular and historic importance.

“There is a pleasing symmetry between the Spectres of the past and the present-day incarnation. In our history, Spectre is a name synonymous with technical innovation and development, and Rolls‑Royce motor cars that go on to change the world. Though separated by almost a century, both the Spectres of the 1930s and our own today are the proving grounds for propulsion technology that will shape our products and clients’ experiences for decades to come,” Müller-Ötvös added.

Photos from Rolls-Royce

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