Sure, The Rolls-Royce Spectre Costs $400,000, But At Least It Now Comes With A $5,000 EV Lease Credit

When Republicans tossed the electric vehicle tax credit to give the oil and gas industry another $40 billion in subsidies, we knew it would probably hurt mainstream automakers such as Ford, General Motors, and Hyundai. But you wouldn’t think it would hurt luxury and even ultra-luxury automakers nearly as much. After all, if you want a new Porsche Taycan and make “buy a new Taycan” money, what difference does a few thousand dollars make? And yet, CarsDirect reports that even Rolls-Royce, with its far wealthier client base, is now offering a $5,000 discount if you lease a new $400,000 Spectre EV.

For the typical Rolls-Royce customer, $5,000 may as well be nothing — one night at a decent hotel, a decent bottle of wine, perhaps Tuesday’s mid-morning skiing habit — but despite belonging to the ownership class, they’re still human. And what human doesn’t love feeling like they’re getting a deal, even if it’s a deal on a car that’s so expensive, the base price really doesn’t matter? Humans love deals, which is why it feels like so many stores are constantly running sales instead of just selling things at a more realistic price. Plus, anyone who’s worked with the wealthy can tell you they’re usually the stingiest people you’ll ever have the displeasure of dealing with.

Will a $5,000 discount actually increase the number of Spectre leases, though? Who’s to say. The ownership class is an enigma wrapped in a mystery, and it’s also not like Rolls-Royce builds that many Spectres in a year in the first place (though it is the brand’s second-most-popular model). But it’s always nice to get a little discount. 

As we all know, billionaires only have all that money because they’re the best business people to ever do business, and assuming the razor-sharp business instincts they honed in the trenches of inheriting Father’s company are still working, they may not like the details of this particular deal. According to CarsDirect, Rolls-Royce used to offer a $7,500 discount on the Spectre but changed it to $5,000 after September 30, when Republicans murdered the EV tax credit. That means they’ll actually be paying $2,500 more than they would have if they’d leased a Spectre back in September. On top of that, the money factor on these leases is set at 0.00190, which works out to a not-so-great 4.6% APR. And if there’s one thing Rolls-Royce buyers care about, it’s competitive interest rates.

And what does one of these leases look like? Well, here’s a 2025 Rolls-Royce Black Badge Spectre in Sapphire Black and Arctic White that’s listed at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Beverly Hills for $5,599 a month. Of course, that’s with a mere $49,999 down, and you only get 2,500 miles per year on a 48-month lease. If you go over, each mile will cost you $2.50. The real cost, though, is the shame you’ll be forced to endure driving a Rolls-Royce Spectre that someone else spec’d instead of one you commissioned exactly to your taste. At that point, you might as well just lease an S-Class like a poor.