Of all the automakers making the move to electrification, one has to assume that it's less of an issue for Rolls-Royce than for, say, Dodge. From the Ghost to the Cullinan, every Rolls prioritizes refinement, effortless power, and comfort rather than agility. These are all qualities that complement an electric powertrain perfectly. The Rolls-Royce Spectre electric coupe is, therefore, expected to embody all the traditional strengths associated with the brand. The Spectre, officially announced in September last year, has been spied several times before and now Rolls has shared more details about the car's winter testing regimen that recently concluded just 34 or so miles from the Arctic Circle, a popular testing region for new EVs. We also now know more about why the brand is calling this its most connected, technologically advanced car yet.

Rolls is taking no chances with the Spectre which is why the coupe is being subjected to a testing program that covers over 1.5 million miles. So far, 25% of this distance has been covered. Included in this is testing at a specialist facility in Arjeplog, Sweden, where the Spectre was subjected to temperatures of -104 degrees Fahrenheit. According to Rolls-Royce, every new model begins testing in winter conditions. Here, engineers will evaluate the functioning of door rubbers, fastening materials, bonding agents, and bushing compounds. Unsurprisingly, it is also an opportunity to test the effectiveness of the vehicle's ventilation system.

Driving at low speeds on low traction surfaces like snow and ice also gives the engineers an opportunity to create dynamic scenarios that would normally occur at high speeds. Besides tuning the car for stability, the Spectre must also achieve the 'waftability' that is part of every Rolls-Royce driving experience. Torsten Muller-Otvos, Rolls-Royce's CEO, said that the results have so far met the team's "most ambitious expectations."

Besides the distinctive fastback silhouette, the Spectre's sense of occasion will be enhanced by the fitment of 23-inch wheels. This is the first time since 1926 that a Rolls-Royce will come with wheels of this size. Rolls also highlights the low windscreen rake and the split lamps that harken back to the manufacturer's roots, touting this as the "definitive spiritual successor" to the Phantom Coupe. Underlining this presence, it will be the first Rolls coupe to feature 23-inch wheels since 1926.

The Spectre is also a new technological benchmark for the British marque since its renaissance in the early 2000s, under the banner of Rolls-Royce 3.0. The Phantom represented Rolls-Royce 1.0, the aluminium spaceframe architecture underpinning models like the current Cullinan was Rolls-Royce 2.0, and now Rolls-Royce 3.0 has been conceived as the company steps into the electrification era. To that end, the Spectre is the most connected Rolls ever. It uses 141,200 sender-receiver relations with over 1,000 electronically controlled functions and more than 25,000 sub-functions. By comparison, the Phantom's figures are 51,000, 456, and 647, respectively.

As a result of the car's increased intelligence with no centralized processing, the length of cabling has increased from about 1.2 miles in existing products to around 4.3 miles in the case of the Spectre. Another advancement that stems from electrification is that the 1,543-pound battery pack plays a second role, also functioning as an effective sound-deadening system.

"Refining the all-electric drivetrain that underpins Spectre challenges the very definition of engineering," said Mihiar Ayoubi, Director of Engineering, Rolls-Royce. "The departure from internal combustion engines allows us to significantly increase the processing power of our individual components and create a Decentralized Intelligence. We refer to this unprecedented era, where we benefit from a multi-control, multi-channel and highly interconnected electronic and electric powertrain architecture, as 'Rolls-Royce 3.0'."

The Spectre is expected to be revealed in the second half of 2023. Brand loyalists will hope that the revolutionary technical wizardry has not in any way come at the expense of the serene driving experience that has positioned Rolls-Royce as the epitome of automotive luxury.