Rolls-Royce Motor Cars released the Spectre in 2023, consisting of a lot of firsts for the storied English automaker. Most obviously, it was an electric vehicle—but this was not a surprise, given the direction the industry had been going. What was unexpected was its form factor—it was not a wide, elongated, ultra-luxury four-door cruiser, as the marque is most famous for. Instead, it was a wide, elongated, ultra-luxury two-door cruiser. The Spectre is a grand tourer, and the message was clear: Rolls-Royce wasn’t just taking advantage of the quietness and predictability of an electric powertrain. It was also leveraging its instantaneous power and torque to create something meant for drivers and not passengers.
Well, the Spectre is no longer the most driver-centric product in the portfolio, because the Black Badge Spectre has arrived. The Black Badge sub-line has been part of the Rolls-Royce stable since 2016—championed as a darker, edgier alter-ego for its more daring and less classically inclined clientele. Although moodier colourways and blacked-out metals are a key part of Black Badge, it means under-the-hood changes as well, including differences in handling and, of course, more power.
The Black Badge Spectre was unveiled globally in Barcelona, Spain. Why there? The abundance of paella and cava, for one. It is also a city that combines history, vibrancy, and a booming luxury sector—the number of beds of five-star hotels has increased by some 50 per cent in the past decade. Between the food, the coastal views, and the architecture, it’s just the kind of place to visit if one were driving a Rolls-Royce. There are a few luxury boutique hotels to keep in mind, as well, such as the Wittmore, tucked away among the alleys of the Gothic Quarter, one of the city’s oldest areas. The hotel is classic in comfort but contemporary in outlook; laid-back in intent but vibrant in approach. It is the home base for Rolls-Royce’s media demonstrations of the Black Badge Spectre, and it makes a lot of sense.
There are also some nice, well-kept roads. Traffic can be heavy—are there any major cities that don’t have this problem?—but there are far worse places to be stuck in than a Rolls-Royce cabin. Forget the power and performance—the Spectre and the Black Badge Spectre remain, first and foremost, Rolls-Royce motor cars, and possess every luxury that this implies. Few coupes on the market are as roomy as the Spectre, and the seats are beyond fully featured, with ventilation, heating, massage, and everything in between. The centre console is refreshingly straightforward, with buttons and knobs aplenty, while the infotainment system is uncomplicated and unobtrusive. The interior trim is, of course, palatial, and with Rolls-Royce’s expansive bespoke programme, anything you want it to be—as long as it’s hand-made and of the highest quality. And, yes, the doors still open under their own power.
And there’s a distinct feeling to being in the Spectre, something not shared by its stablemates. From the long, swooping bonnet to tapered fastback, it is by far Rolls-Royce’s most dynamic-looking car—even as the Pantheon grille and distinctive shoulder-line preserve the marque’s signature. It has a different sort of aura, one that seems more at home in Black Badge than not.
On to the open highways, the natural habitat of the grand tourer, it goes without saying that the Black Badge Spectre keeps the marque’s famed ‘magic carpet’ ride intact, with the smart and self-adjusting suspension system doing most of the work. An all-electric Rolls-Royce is about as quiet a vehicle as one can possibly expect on the road—all the better to appreciate the sublime, in-house sound system. There are no surprises from the Spectre—it is an incredibly easy and laid-back drive, as long as you want it to be.
As the highways give way to the winding roads of the Catalan mountains, it is a chance to see just how extreme the Black Badge has made the Spectre. And the answer is—not that much. None of the adjustments in suspension and tweaks in power can overcome the three-tonne weight of the car. You would need something lighter, lower, and shorter, but Black Badge or not, the Spectre never claimed to be a sports car.
Still, it is telling of Rolls-Royce’s confidence that the final stop of the media drive is Parcmotor CastellolÃ, a 4km racing circuit less than an hour away from Barcelona—a surprisingly involving one, at that, with a few spicy corners, dips and rises, and even a crossover. In these conditions, with higher speeds, wider turns, no blind corners, and no concerns of tumbling down a cliffside in a car worth more than a house, the dynamic adjustments made to the Spectre can be fully appreciated. The Black Badge Spectre has a heavier steering than its counterpart, while the roll stabilisation has been adjusted to allow more feedback and reduce body roll during turns. The dampers have also been retooled to better compensate for weight transfers during heavy acceleration and braking. These changes are subtle, but add up to a more intuitive touch and increased confidence to the car’s handling.
And then there’s the power. The original Spectre found 577bhp and 900Nm of torque from its two electric motors. The Black Badge Spectre finds about the same, but only at first. Now, you will find nothing as gauche as a drive mode selector switch on a Rolls-Royce steering wheel, but there is an unobtrusive button marked with an infinity symbol (∞). Push this, and the Black Badge Spectre’s full power is unlocked: 650bhp. And there’s even one final trick. Rolls-Royce calls it ‘Spirited Mode’, which is activated by hitting both brake and throttle at the same time while the car is stationary. It is specifically not referred to as a launch control, though it seems to function as one. Readiness is signified by a literal, physical shudder—just about the most vibration you’ll ever feel in a Rolls-Royce. Then, lift off the brake and the Black Badge Spectre treats you to the unbridled might of its 1,050Nm of torque. It is good enough to achieve a 0-100km/h time of 4.1 seconds, some 0.3 seconds faster than the original. It is also the most powerful Rolls-Royce ever made.
Is the Spectre fast? The answer is a rather lukewarm ‘sort of’. In the grand scheme of things today, 650bhp is considerable but not titanic, especially in a car this heavy. Flat out on a straight for a few seconds, and there is some feeling of hitting a limit. Rather, what impresses is the immediacy of the immense torque to overcome that weight and provide an unparalleled responsiveness via quick pulses of acceleration. It is just the sort of thing that comes in handy when making snap decisions on the road, or for a cheeky surprise to an unsuspecting passenger. Certainly, it helps to pass a lorry going uphill.
In the past, Black Badge came down to a choice of emotion—vibes, if you will. But it feels like less of a choice with the Spectre. Black Badge styling is usually presented as a trendy nightclub, but it can be configured as demurely or as classically as the buyer desires. The handling is a bit more involving, but drive it easy, and it responds in kind—and the additional power is there, but entirely optional. Unless you’re married to the idea of chrome hardware, the Black Badge version of the Spectre is, quite simply, a straight upgrade.
