But more significant are the advances in functionality promised by Rolls-Royce’s new-generation infotainment platform, called Spirit. Compatible with a dedicated Whispers smartphone app, Spirit allows Spectre owners to control various functions remotely, access live journey and vehicle data and “extend their bespoke commission beyond the physical world and into the digital architecture that underpins Spirit”. This hints at the growing importance of digital personalisation opportunities for Rolls-Royce buyers.
Essentially, Spirit is based on BMW’s eighth-generation iDrive platform, as found in the iX and i7, with a bespoke Rolls-Royce interface applied. However, Müller-Ötvös emphasised that the Spectre is only very loosely linked to its German cousins: “I would call it the sense of our founding father Henry Royce, who said: ‘Take the best that exists and make it even better.’ I think that’s exactly the way we engineer Rolls-Royces in cooperation with the BMW Group. One thing is for sure: this is a Rolls-Royce, not an amended BMW at all.
“Our clients have technical understandings that they can clearly differentiate between what is a mass-manufactured car and what is a true and authentic Rolls-Royce. And for that reason, we clearly decided to go a very, very different route to the BMW Group with their bodies and technology.”
Every future Rolls Royce “will be built in Goodwood”
Rolls-Royce remains ardently committed to its Sussex-based staff and production operations, pledging to stay true to its British roots – even as it ushers in radically different technologies and caters to soaring global demand.
The firm’s Goodwood site employs more than 2000 people and is set to expand further as it nudges the upper limits of its production capacity, with a record-breaking 5586 cars leaving the gates in 2021. But Goodwood and its staff will remain central to any expansion plans, according to CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös.