OK, let’s get something straight right off the bat. This new Spectre Black Badge is the most powerful Rolls-Royce road car ever. If we’re talking the most powerful Rolls-Royce, then we have to delve into the world of aircraft engines and the Rolls-Royce Olympus 593 of Concorde fame, and its 36,000hp, would like a word.
Most potent Rolls road car
In comparison, the new Spectre Black Badge develops 0.183 per cent of the Olympus engine on full reheat, but that still means 659hp from its twin electric motors, and that does indeed make it the most potent Rolls-Royce road car of all time.
The Black Badge appellation denotes the most sporty Rolls-Royce models, and so the Spectre not only has that power figure but also 1,075Nm of torque to play with. That means this mid, 2.6-tonne four-seat coupe can accelerate from 0-100km/h in 4.1 seconds. As Rolls-Royce would once have said, that’s adequate, sir or madam.
“Black Badge Spectre is one of the clearest statements of power and purpose we have ever made. It has been created in the image of our boldest and most audacious clients, with meticulous attention to detail. From the beginning of Black Badge Spectre’s journey, the clients who requested this extraordinary motor car dared us to share their fearless spirit. In response, our engineers combined data science, qualitative feedback, and their own deep knowledge of the brand’s alter ego to craft an intense and uncompromising character, and the most powerful Rolls-Royce in history. Reflecting the Black Badge character, our designers and artisans realised their most dramatic and provocative vision with vivid details and exquisite contemporary crafts. The result is Black Badge Spectre: the alter ego of our brand, amplified,” said Chris Brownridge, Chief Executive of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, at the sportier Spectre’s unveiling.
Inspiration from the Spitfire
To create the Black Badge driving experience for the Spectre, Rolls-Royce has turned to its heritage as an aircraft engine producer and actually gone back into the archives to when it made the famous Merlin V12 engine during the Second World War. According to the operating manual, pilots could obtain a burst of additional power by pushing a switch on the throttle quadrant. According to Rolls-Royce: “While the robust Merlin engine was easily able to accommodate these temporary pulses, pilots were required to report the use of the function on landing as a precaution to flight engineers - a requirement that does not apply to Black Badge Spectre drivers today.”
To mimic this, the Spectre has two driving modes, and neither is as tawdry as a mere ‘Sport’ mode. Instead, there’s ‘Infinity’ mode, which gives you all 659hp all the time until the battery runs dry. Or there’s ‘Spirited’ mode, which is basically launch control and flings the Spectre up to 100km/h before relaxing again. You activate ‘Spirited’ simply by fully depressing the brake and throttle at the same time and then waiting for the command to release…
Needless to say, the Black Badge Spectre has been set up to be a touch more sporting to drive than the standard car, with increased steering weight, while the roll stabilisation is adjusted to create more feedback from steering inputs and reduce body-roll during cornering. Enhanced dampers also increase body control, reducing ‘squatting’ under acceleration or deceleration. However, Rolls claims that nothing that has been done affects the legendary ‘magic carpet’ ride comfort. "The development of Black Badge Spectre began with our deep understanding of engineering the uncompromising nature of the Black Badge character, overlaid with the detailed analysis of client feedback and their driving style. Black Badge owners from around the world permitted our specialists to access their anonymised data, enabling us to create a new driving experience perfectly suited to - and validated by - the way our clients use their motor cars. Following internal development, a small tranche of ‘secret’ Black Badge Spectres was built for a group of clients who requested the earliest possible access to this motor car. They emphatically approved of our engineering response, highlighting the powerful connection between Rolls-Royce and its clients,” said Dr Bernhard Dressler, Rolls’ director of engineering.
New finishes inside and out
The Spectre gets a new Vapour Violet paint finish, which is meant to be redolent of 1980s and 1990s nightclubs. There’s also a black contrast bonnet and the option of a new ‘waft’ coachline colour, which accentuates the lower third of the bodywork. The Spectre rides on massive 23-inch alloy wheels, while of course, the badges and trim are all black-finished. There’s even an illuminated grille to go with the mirror-polished trim.
Inside, there’s an ‘illuminated’ fascia’ for the dashboard with an abstract image of the Spirit of Ecstasy mascot, with fibre-optic backlighting that looks like 5,500 ‘stars’ of varying proportions and intensity.
There’s also a new Technical Fibre surface finish, which comprises carbon and fine metal thread on top of a black Bolivar wood base. The thread is laid by hand in a diamond pattern between layers of carbon fibre, creating a three-dimensional effect. Once cured, each interior piece is sandblasted, sealed with six layers of lacquer, and hand-polished.
Black Badge Spectre’s digital instrument dials can be customised with a choice of five colour themes: Vivid Grellow, Neon Nights, Cyan Fire, Ultraviolet and Synth Wave.
Rolls-Royce reckons that the range of the Black Badge model is the same as that of the standard Spectre, at 530km. Equally, the company quotes the fact that existing Spectre clients seem to be making plenty of use of their cars, covering an average of 6,450km a year (quite a lot by Rolls-Royce standards). Specific owners are doing more, and according to Rolls-Royce: “One client in Dubai has already completed more than 8,000 miles in their Spectre in a single year. Another, a renowned British entrepreneur, regularly drives their motor car on a 300-mile round trip between their business headquarters in Suffolk and the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood to review various commissions. Perhaps the most extensively driven Spectre belongs to a client in Slovakia, who commutes nearly 250 miles to Prague and covered more than 6,000 miles in the first six months of ownership.”