LONDON: Rolls-Royce has finished road testing of its first all-electric production car, the Spectre, near the Arctic Circle ahead of a market debut in 2023, the British company has announced.
Enduring temperatures of up to -40° Celcius, the car has now completed 25% of its 2.5-million-km testing programme said to simulate 400 years of use.
The Spectre is a two-door grand tourer with a long bonnet and muscular proportions and is shaping up to replace the Wraith, which first appeared 2013.
The gruelling tests are essential to ensure the legendary reliability of the brand, says Rolls-Royce, which prides itself on the reputation that its cars "never break down."
Despite the pledge, models can still occasionally be seen on the hook of a tow truck.
Among the legendary tales of Roller reliability is the story told about "Jungle Book" author Rudyard Kipling.
His pre-war Phantom once suddenly "failed to proceed," prompting a call to the firm's Paris distributor.
A day later, Kipling is said to have complained that no one had come to fix his vehicle, only to be told by the manager that a team of Rolls-Royce engineers arrived in the early hours, repaired the Phantom and discreetly left before dawn so as not to disturb the owner.
Rolls-Royce's first all-electric car wraps up winter tests
By dpa | 31 March 2022
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