- The Rolls-Royce Spectre has a new Black Badge variant that adds 73 horsepower, making it the most powerful Rolls ever.
- The additional power is accessible with a new Infinity drive mode, while a new Spirited mode enables launch control.
- Rolls-Royce claims that client demand for a sportier Spectre prompted the creation of a secret fleet of early Black Badge models.
The most powerful Rolls-Royce to ever saunter down the motorways is here and isn’t powered by a silky-smooth V-12. Instead, the crown goes to the new Black Badge version of the Rolls-Royce Spectre electric coupe. The legendary automaker has been using the Black Badge moniker to denote its high-performance models for nearly a decade, but the Spectre is the first EV to get the title.
As with the standard Spectre (if anything about the Spectre can be called standard), the Black Badge comes with all-wheel drive and a pair of electric motors. The standard car’s 577 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque are more than enough to hustle the grand two-door down the boulevard, and the performance version should be even quicker, as it packs 650 horsepower and 793 pound-feet of torque.
The maximum number of horses is only accessible via the new Infinity driving mode that improves accelerator response and gives the gauge display a sportier arrangement. The max torque comes into play with a new Spirited drive mode that essentially acts as a launch-control system. The mode is engaged by pressing the brake and accelerator to the floor at the same time, waiting for the go-ahead from the car, and then letting it rip. Rolls says that the increase in power and the launch system mean the Spectre Black Badge can sprint to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds, but considering we managed just 3.7 seconds in our testing of the standard car, we expect the performance model to do even better.
To “inspire clients to wield the unprecedented power of Black Badge Spectre with confidence,” Rolls-Royce engineers increased the steering weight and fiddled with the dampers to reduce body roll and squatting under acceleration.
We’re not sure exactly how much Rolls-Royce is asking for the Black Badge version of its EV coupe, but we imagine it’s a sizable increase compared with the 2025 Spectre’s $422,750 starting price.
Jack Fitzgerald’s love for cars stems from his as yet unshakable addiction to Formula 1.
After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealership group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn’t afford and decided to pursue a career in auto writing. By hounding his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel Wisconsin seeking out stories in the auto world before landing his dream job at Car and Driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf.
Source: Motor - aranddriver.com
