From the past to present: The Extraordinary History of the Name Spectre
The process of selecting the name for a new Rolls-Royce motor car is rigorous, important, and heavily influenced by the brand’s distinctive history. All of the current product family’s names—Phantom, Ghost, Dawn, and Wraith—have historical roots that span Rolls-118-year Royce’s history, with the exception of Cullinan, which was given the name of the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found.
Rolls-Royce aimed to maintain and reinforce these significant “genetic” linkages while also indicating a clear transition into a new region characterised by innovation and progress when naming its first battery-electric vehicle. The following brief history describes how it discovered Spectre to be the ideal option.
A Chinese proverb states that “the beginning of wisdom is to call things by their correct names,” which reflects our fundamental desire to categorise and name things in order to make sense of the universe. Of course, this is completely clear in regard to individuals, and for our early predecessors, giving names to things was a vital survival skill.
As old as cars themselves is the habit. Before the First World War, horses and horse-drawn carriages still dominated road transportation, and anyone who could afford a Rolls-Royce would have kept and utilised horses as well. Therefore, naming their new car after a favourite horse would have been totally normal and natural for them to do.
Claude Johnson, the commercial managing director of Rolls-Royce, had a bright business mind and immediately saw the marketing possibilities of this basic human attribute. Between 1905 and 1913, he personally came up with unique names for approximately 50 of the company’s automobiles; the most well-known of these was “The Silver Ghost,” which was developed for the 1907 London Motor Show. Motoring writers and the general public were so taken with the car’s silver paint job and silver-plated brightwork that the term “Silver Ghost” was adopted as the official model designation for all 40/50 H.P. chassis made up until 1925, when the New Phantom was debuted.
Johnson would undoubtedly be pleased that, more than a century later, Rolls-Royce models continue to have the ethereal, otherworldly names that were intended to encapsulate the car’s nearly silent operation.
‘THE SILVER SPECTRE’
(CHASSIS 1601, 1910)
Johnson employed Chassis 1601, which the manufacturer had produced in August 1910, as a trials or demonstrator vehicle. Johnson gave it the designation “The Silver Spectre”; this is the first instance of the word Spectre appearing in company records.
ROLLS-ROYCE 'THE SILVER SPECTRE' (CHASSIS 1601, 1910)
Chassis 1601 was sold to the War Office in 1915, and in 1933, it was last seen at a Sheffield motor engineering company. This car was rebodied at least three times throughout its career. Early coachwork employed materials and methods that, while perfectly suited to horse-drawn vehicles going 10mph, quickly succumbed to the stresses of travelling at 50mph or more in automotive use. This was typical during this period, frequently to suit the new owner’s tastes if the car had changed hands and sometimes for more pragmatic reasons. Chassis 1601’s ultimate fate is still partly unknown, but for more than 20 years, no Rolls-Royce would carry the Spectre name.
THE EXPERIMENTAL PHANTOM III ‘SPECTRE’ CARS (1934-7)
Early in its history, Rolls-Royce created a unique nomenclature for its experimental vehicles, assigning them chassis numbers ending in the tantalising suffix “EX.” These “large-horsepower” research models, starting with the 1EX in 1919 and continuing through the 45EX in 1957, were put on test runs of up to 15,000 miles, frequently travelling 800 miles per day on the harsh French roads. Additionally, they travelled thousands of kilometres across the British countryside and the congested streets of London. The 103EX electric vision car, debuted in 2016, is the most recent example of how the EX designation is still used today.
Sir Henry Royce started working on a new V12 engine in 1930 for a brand-new chassis with independent front suspension. But because he passed away in 1933, he was unable to see the project through to completion. In November 1934, the 30EX, the new automobile, was prepared for testing on the road.
ROLLS-ROYCE 30EX, EXPERIMENTAL PHANTOM III 'SPECTRE' CAR (1934-7)
Maintaining confidentiality about the new V12 engine was crucial for business, as it is with all advancements. Therefore, 30EX received the codename “Spectre” in addition to its chassis number. Before the car went into production as the Phantom III in 1936, nine more EX vehicles with the codename “Spectre” would be produced. Seven of these development chassis would eventually be repurposed for sale to private buyers, who likely were unaware of the earlier secret actions involving their vehicle. Phantom III was able to maintain the reputation of the brand as “The best car in the world,” which was initially created by Silver Ghost in 1907. Testing and refinement were done utilising these “Spectre” cars.
ROLLS-ROYCE SPECTRE (2023-)
The modern Spectre represents a dramatic and tremendously significant leap for Rolls-Royce, both technically and conceptually, similar to the EX automobiles of the past. The debut of the first all-electric Rolls-Royce represents a significant advancement in powertrain technology, maybe even bigger than the introduction of the marque’s original V12 engine, a design that, despite its almost 80-year history, is still employed in every contemporary Rolls-Royce model.
As an evocation of solitude, refinement, and mystery; of something imagined and dreamy that dwells outside of customary boundaries and experiences, the name “Spectre” fits alongside those of “Ghost,” “Phantom,” and “Wraith.” And even though it had previously been used to one-off and experimental vehicles, up until this point no Rolls-Royce in series production had the Spectre badge. For a car of such unique and historic significance, the name Spectre is the ideal combination of innovation and tradition.
Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, says, “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 RollsRoyce 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.”