Rolls-Royce Spectre Black Badge: Bright sparks, dark dreams
The typical Rolls-Royce buyer – if such a person exists – is now 42 years old. For the Spectre, the average age drops to just 35. Given that I recently celebrated my 46th birthday and drive a 19-year-old Golf, those feel like sobering statistics. Clearly, I should have worked harder at school.
Rolls-Royce’s shifting demographic means its customers are now as likely to be influencers or reality TV stars as old-money aristocrats. And it’s these “boldest and most audacious clients” at whom the company’s Black Badge models are targeted. Chief executive Chris Brownridge calls them: “the alter ego of our brand, amplified”.
That brings us to the most powerful car in Rolls-Royce’s 120 years of history – and the most overtly sporting, too. The Spectre Black Badge is an electric coupe with 659 horsepower, launch control and something called ‘Infinity mode’. Amplified? Turned up to 11, more like.
A numbers game
Let’s talk numbers first. The Black Badge employs the same 120kWh battery as before – 102kWh of which is usable – with four-wheel drive provided by a motor on each axle. Power rises by 75hp to achieve that record-breaking 659hp, bolstered by 664lb ft of instantly available electric torque.
Select ‘Spirited’ launch mode and torque momentarily swells to 793lb ft: enough to thrust the 2,900kg Black Badge to 62mph in 4.3 seconds (two tenths quicker than a ‘standard’ Spectre). Top speed remains electronically limited to 155mph, while the official range is also unaffected, at between 306 and 329 miles on a full battery.
By far the biggest number on the spec sheet is £386,065: a premium of around £50,000 for this ultimate EV. Nonetheless, with the near-limitless array of bespoke finishes available, I’d be amazed if a single Spectre Black Badge left Goodwood – home of the Rolls-Royce factory in West Sussex – for a figure starting with less than a ‘4’.
Designed for drivers
You can identify the sportier Spectre by its darkened chrome trim, which covers the grille surround, door handles and Spirit of Ecstasy mascot. The grille itself is illuminated (more subtle than parent company BMW’s garish efforts, thankfully), while a new 23-inch alloy wheel design is unique to the Black Badge. Other new-for-2025 options include an ‘Iced Black’ bonnet and painted ‘waft’ coachlines along the lower body sides.
The Spectre is more radical than its traditional coupe silhouette suggests, with an aluminium spaceframe and a double-layer floor to sandwich its enormous battery pack. However, Rolls-Royce opted for a 400-volt architecture, rather than the 800v systems that underpin some performance EVs, which limits the maximum charging speed to 195kW. In ideal conditions, a 10-80 percent top-up can take half an hour.
Dynamic hardware includes adaptive air suspension, active anti-roll bars and four-wheel steering, all of which are recalibrated to enhance precision and driver feedback. The Black Badge’s new Infinity mode heightens this sense of alertness, sharpening throttle response, adding heft to the steering and brightening the digital dials with a splash of vivid purple.
