Transportation

I spent a day with Rolls-Royce's newest car and saw why it's worth every penny of its $420,000 price tag

Tim Levin

2023-07-22T10:45:00Z

The 2024 Rolls-Royce Spectre. — The 2024 Rolls-Royce Spectre was the most luxurious vehicle I've ever been in. Tim Levin/Insider

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I spent a day with the Rolls-Royce Spectre and saw what a $420,000 car interior looks and feels like.

Whenever I mention that the electric Rolls-Royce I recently tested costs $420,000 and up, people can't help but burst out laughing in disbelief.

And I can't blame them. It's mind-boggling that a car — with four wheels, a steering wheel, some seats — can cost about as much as the median US home. But the Rolls-Royce Spectre, the British brand's first electric vehicle, is a very special car. So it almost makes sense.

The Spectre is magnificent to look at and drives smoother than just about anything, but here we're zeroing in on its absurdly elegant and comfy interior. Let me show you around.

Rolls-Royce invited me and other journalists out to California to be some of the first to drive the Spectre.

Disclosure: Rolls-Royce got me a discounted stay in a nice hotel and kept me fed while I tested the car.

I'm not some oil tycoon nor did I time the Bitcoin market right, so this was my first time ever driving a Rolls-Royce or spending substantial time in one.

I have driven a lot of other electric cars, though, including some fancy ones from brands like BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, and Audi.

I didn't think the Rolls would be all that much different. That was a mistake.

I found that one of the best parts of the Spectre was its interior, which kept me comfy throughout a day of driving and felt fancy enough to justify the nearly half-million-dollar price tag.

The tester I had was done up in a classy white interior with blue accents.

(I'll be showing the inside of a couple different cars here, but the white-and-blue one is the one I spent the most time in.)

When I got into the Spectre for the first time, I noticed how plush and supportive its seats were.

On the door, I could switch on massaging functions using a little "M" button.

What stood out most as the day went on was the intense attention to detail inside the Spectre. That makes you, the driver or passenger, feel special.

Everything is made from the finest materials (except for some plastic stuff), nothing rattles, and every switch you interact with is sturdy and satisfying.

My test car had substantial slabs of genuine wood all over the place.

The deep brown lent a warm, cozy feeling to the cabin, but Rolls-Royce buyers can pick from practically limitless trim options.

There was soft leather covering the seats, doors, and ceiling.

Even the stalks sticking out from the steering column featured the same white leather and blue stitching as the rest of the cabin.

The dial that controls the fan speed was wrapped in a slim piece of leather.

Ditto for the volume knob. Heaven forbid a Rolls-Royce owner has to touch some plastic.

I was stunned by the amount of actual metal spread throughout the cabin. Most of the time when you see shiny metallic stuff in car interiors, it's plastic.

But not in a Rolls. The air vents were made from solid pieces of aluminum and felt super satisfying to spin around and adjust.

Each vent had a shiny metal plunger for closing it off if needed.

The speaker grates had this cool, flashy pattern.

An analog clock front and center provided a more high-class alternative to the usual digital one.

The window switches, door handles, and mirror joystick were all metal too.

Another thing in the Spectre you won't find in other cars: Switches that swing the doors shut electronically.

There's regular stuff, too. Like a cubby between the seats.

The Spectre has a digital display for the speedometer and such, but it's designed to look like classic analog gauges.

It has a touchscreen up front, too.

Rolls-Royce made sure we all got to ride in the back, and I found it surprisingly spacious for a two-door car.

Maybe I should've expected that, since the Spectre is enormous. It's longer than a Chevy Tahoe.

There are two seats in back, separated by a console with cupholders, air vents, and climate controls.

I'm a pretty tall guy, and I still observed decent amounts of legroom and headroom.

Scrambling in past the front seat wasn't the most elegant maneuver, though.

Rolls-Royce's starry-night headliner was pretty awesome, particularly at night.

The Rolls-Royce Spectre's starlight headliner. Rolls-Royce

For the Spectre, Rolls-Royce is offering the same glimmering stars on the inside of the doors.

EMBARGO 10/18 8 AM ET DNP: The Rolls-Royce Spectre. — The Rolls-Royce Spectre. Rolls-Royce

Nearly $500,000 is a huge chunk of change. But for those who enjoy the finest things in life — and have the bank account to afford it — the Spectre won't disappoint.

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