Rolls Royce Has Had It With Buyers Flipping Its Cars

By now, I’m sure you’re as tired as I am of reading reports about those lucky few who get their hands on a shiny new electric vehicle in the first wave of deliveries, only to sell them at an inflated price on platforms like Bring A Trailer and Cars & Bids. It’s a bizarre way to make a buck, and it turns out Rolls Royce is fed up with it, too. Rolls is looking into ways to make sure that its first EV gets into the hands of people who want to keep them.

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According to a new report from Automotive News, the luxury carmaker is hoping to stamp out flippers when deliveries of its new Spectre EV begin later this year. In fact, the site says Rolls Royce has gone so far as to suggest that anyone that sells their Spectre for profit will be “banned for life.”

In an interview with Car Dealer Magazine, Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös said that any attempt to “cash in” on Rolls’ first EV will result in the buyers “being blacklisted.” The site reports:

Speaking at the launch of the new car in California, he said: ‘I can tell you we are really sanitizing the need to prove who you are, what you want to do with the car – you need to qualify for a car and then you might get a slot for an order.

‘[If they sell the car on] they’re going immediately on a blacklist and this is it – you will never ever have the chance to acquire again’.

The Spectre is one of the British firm’s most hotly anticipated models in years. The $420,000 fastback coupe packs a range of 260 miles and, despite weighing 6,559 pounds, manages a 0-60 mph time of 4.4 seconds thanks to its 577 hp electric motors.

We’ll always be together, together in electric Rolls. Photo: Rolls Royce

Inside, it’s filled with all the usual luxury trimmings you’d expect from a six-figure land yacht. And, on reading our review of the new car, I’m sure you can see why rich people around the world are clamoring to get their hands on the Spectre.

But it turns out that Rolls’ attempts to protect its first EV might not have gone far enough just yet. As, despite its threats of blacklists, Car Dealer Magazine uncovered one supercar dealer that is happy to flip a couple of Spectres hot off the production line.

UK-based supercar salesman Tom Hartley has reportedly already secured two Specters that he will buy from customers already on the delivery list at Rolls Royce. Reportedly, he has paid a £50,000 (about $64,000) premium for each model, which means he will have a Spectre on sale at his dealership “within two weeks of it being launched,” the site reports.

The Whac-A-Mole goes on.