![Rolls-Royce Spectre super coupe passes significant milestone in latest testing program [Images]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/02/Rolls-Royce-Spectre-release.jpeg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
Rolls-Royce Spectre super coupe passes significant milestone in latest testing program [Images]
Rolls-Royce’s first fully electric vehicle, Spectre, is one of the most highly anticipated EVs of the year, not to mention THE MOST anticipated Rolls Royce in the luxury brand’s 118-year history.
Before its release later this year, the Rolls-Royce Spectre has covered over 2.5 million kilometers (about 1.2 million miles) as it finishes up testing.
Rolls-Royce is known for its elegant-looking vehicles that can turn heads on any city block. However, the British luxury automaker is entering a “bold new chapter” after unveiling its first fully electric vehicle, the Rolls-Royce Spectre.
Dating back to 1900, Rolls-Royce’s founder, Charles Royce, proclaimed, “the electric car is perfectly noiseless and clean. There is no smell or vibration, and they should become very useful when fixed charging stations can be arranged.”
Well, fixed charging stations are rolling out in abundance thanks to the NEVI program’s $5 billion in funding to create a national network of EV chargers and many other public and private initiatives.
Mr. Royce could see where the auto industry was headed over 100 years ago. It just took longer than it should have with lobbying and campaigns against fully electric vehicles.
After promising to deliver a 100% electric vehicle by the end of the decade, Rolls-Royce followed through, officially releasing the Spectre in October 2022.
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars CEO, Torsten Müller-Ötvös, explains:
Spectre has already secured its place as the most anticipated Rolls-Royce in history. This remarkable and transformative motor car represents the beginning of the marque’s bold electric era as well as our unquestionable technological leadership of the super-luxury space.
Müller-Ötvös added the Spectre is undergoing various testing ahead of its release later this year to ensure its first EV can carry the brand into a new era.
Rolls-Royce Spectre passes critical tests ahead of its release
The Rolls-Royce Spectre has covered almost two million kilometers (about 1.2 million miles) as it wraps up the “most rigorous testing program” ever developed during the brand’s 118-year history – and it’s still ongoing.
Dr. Mihiar Ayoubi, director of engineering at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, explains:
The reason for our extraordinary and restless global testing process is simple: there has never been a motor car like Spectre before. As the first all-electric Rolls-Royce, Spectre represents not just a new paradigm in our technology, but the entire future direction of our brand.
The Spectre is in South Africa undergoing extreme heat tests at two different locations, with dry conditions in the north and more humid conditions in the south.
In the north, temperatures can exceed 122 degrees Fahrenheit (122 degrees Celsius), while the south offers various terrains, including twisty country roads filled with gravel, dust, and dirt.
During the program, Rolls-Royce engineers inspect every aspect of the Spectre to ensure it can achieve the exact levels of refinement to give that “magic carpet ride” customers are seeking.
The luxury brand is looking for “marginal gains,” like athletes and high-level business people, to produce a significant improvement over time, a similar concept to compounding.
After testing in South Africa is finished, Rolls-Royce says the Spectre’s testing program will be about 80% complete as it heads to its final testing phase before its release. The first Rolls-Royce EV deliveries are planned for the fourth quarter of 2023.
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Slate Auto, a new EV startup backed by Jeff Bezos, has poached a key Tesla manufacturing leader to build its electric pickup truck factory in Indiana.
Napoleon Reyes is a US Marine from Indiana who got a degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue after leaving the force.
He then worked a few years at Subaru and Wabash before joining Tesla’s manufacturing team at the Fremont Factory in 2020.
There, he became part of the Model Y production ramp and was quickly promoted to lead the Model Y General Assembly in Fremont in 2022.
Reyes led Model Y GA, one of the most critical parts of vehicle manufacturing, for more than a year before being promoted again to lead new pilot processes at the factory.
Most recently, he led the launch of the general assembly line for the Model Y refresh.
The new engineering manager announced this week that he is leaving Tesla to join Slate:
A bit late on the post but after nearly 5 years working at Tesla in Fremont, I made the difficult decision to leave the Company and move closer to home with my family. It was an incredible experience being part of multiple line expansions and multiple Model Y program launches. Leading and managing the Model Y Refresh launch for GA in Fremont this year tested me professionally however we ultimately succeeded due to our amazing cross functional team collaboration. It’s been an absolute pleasure working with such great people, and I will forever be proud and thankful for everything we accomplished together.
I will be taking on a new role as Senior Manager, Plant Vehicle Engineering at Slate Auto in Warsaw, In.
Slate emerged from stealth mode earlier this year to unveil a new type of electric pickup truck featuring modular customization and an affordable price.
The company raised over $700 million through two rounds of investments from several different investors, including Jeff Bezos. It is currently raising more, which basically guarantees that it will be able to reach production.
The startup acquired a former printing plant in Warsaw, Indiana. It is currently converting to manufacture its electric pickup with a team from legacy automakers and also several former engineers and leaders from Tesla.
Rich Schmidt, an early Tesla manufacturing director, is the head of manufacturing.
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Genesis is preparing to shake things up with its most luxurious SUV yet, the GV90. Thanks to a new patent filing, we are getting a detailed look at how its Rolls-Royce-style coach doors will work.
New patent reveals Genesis GV90 coach door system
When Genesis first unveiled the full-size SUV at the NY Auto Show last March, it wasn’t the stunning design or advanced tech that caught everyone’s attention. It was the coach doors.
Although we were worried it wouldn’t make it to the production model, like many concepts, the Genesis GV90 will be offered with coach doors.
The ultra-luxe electric SUV was first caught with coach doors earlier this year on a car carrier in South Korea. Just last month, the GV90 was spotted in California with a hinge at the rear to open the coach doors.
After several new patents were filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for new door latching devices, we are getting a sneak peek at how they are expected to work.
The patents, titled “Cinching Device For Door Latches in Vehicle,” and “Door Latch Device for Vehicles,” give a pretty detailed explanation of how the Genesis GV90’s coach doors will operate. The “Door Latch Device” uses a door striker on the lower side of the door, which is opened or closed by a hinge unit.
Unlike traditional doors, which use the B-pillar for support, the device is attached directly to the door itself, allowing for hinge-like movement.
The cinching device works in a similar way. It’s also attached to the door and part of the vehicle. However, unlike most of its kind, Genesis found a way to use a single cinching device to control multiple units. Again, the device is used for B-pillarless doors that swing open.
Genesis already said that B-pillarless coach doors are now feasible in production vehicles. The patent reveals a glimpse into how the luxury automaker could make it a reality.
Although the Genesis GV90 is expected to be offered with coach doors, they will likely not be standard. Other variants, with traditional door handles, have also been spotted testing in the US and South Korea.
Genesis is expected to launch the GV90 in mid-2026. It will be built at Hyundai’s Ulsan plant in South Korea. The flagship Genesis SUV is scheduled to debut on Hyundai’s new eM platform, which the company said will “provide 50% improvement in driving range.” It will also be loaded with the latest technology, software, connectivity, and Level 3 or higher autonomous driving capabilities.
Source: USPTO
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Environment
Podcast: Tesla Model YL, more Tesla probes and lawsuits, new Nissan Leaf pricing, and more
In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss the launch of the Tesla Model YL, more Tesla probes and lawsuits, new Nissan Leaf pricing, and more.
The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.
As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.
After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:
We now have a Patreon if you want to help us avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.
Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:
Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET:
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