Hi everyone, it’s Alistair

As I write this I’m by the beach of Carbis Bay in Cornwall, where I’ve been checking out the newly face-lifted Rolls-Royce Spectre Series II. Rolls-Royce never does things by halves, so to show off its latest EV it invited journalists for a tour of its factory, on the Goodwood estate in West Sussex. Here, we saw some of the incredible work of its Bespoke department, where no customisation is too much, and past work ranges from unique paint colours, to a wooden marquetry portrait of a customer’s dog between the back seats. Yes, really. The dog’s called Bailey.

As an extra flourish, Rolls-Royce flew us down to Cornwall for an overnight stay and a closer look at the new Spectre, which joined us for dinner (and the England vs Croatia match) in the hotel restaurant. Like I said, they really don’t do things by halves!

Lastly, I’d like to extend our best wishes to Jeremy Clarkson and join the automotive community in wishing him a speedy recovery from his cancer diagnosis.

As mentioned above, I’ve spent a day this week getting to know the Rolls-Royce Spectre Series II. Being an EV, a facelift means less about any visual changes and more about improvements to range and charging. Both are up, with the WLTP figure up from 329 to 390 miles, and charge speed boosted by 14%, although Rolls doesn’t put a precise time on that.

Also new is a gradient paint option that shifts from black at the rear to a choice of blue, violet or gunmetal at the front. There are also more customisation options than ever from the Bespoke department, plus a new perforated interior design and a new fabric called Duality Twill. It’s a modest update for the Spectre, but since this car is subject to more Bespoke customisation than any other model, aside for the ultra-luxe Phantom – leaning that way makes sense for the Series II.

Are you looking for a new car too? Perhaps you just want to show off your daily drive? Or maybe you’ve simply spotted something cool in the classifieds - get in touch and let me know what you’ve found.

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I’ll feature the best spots and stories in future newsletters.

For its 2026 update Porsche this week added a simulated gearbox to the Taycan EV. Likely to work in a similar way to that of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, Porsche’s new E-Shift adds paddles behind the steering wheel, a rev counter with a 7,500 rpm limiter, and eight gears to shift through. The car even jerks when changing gear, and each virtual cog has its own effect on how the Taycan’s power and torque are deployed. There’s also a new soundtrack, inside and out, with each variant of Taycan having its own distinct sound.

I loved the simulated gears of the Ioniq 5 N and I’m fascinated to see (and hear and feel) Porsche’s take with the Taycan.

I spent an enjoyable hour this morning watching Chris Harris document a year at McMurtry, the British startup behind the Spéirling, a tiny, one-seat electric supercar with a huge fan system that generates F1 levels of downforce at any speed. It’s a brilliant insight into what the company is up to, and what it hopes to achieve in the years to come.

Thanks for reading The Next Drive. Catch you here next week!

Until then,

Alistair