The Black Badge Spectre EV is Rolls-Royce’s most powerful model ever. It has a sport mode and launch control. Got your attention?
Click here to read our full review of the Rolls-Royce Spectre
Spectre is of course R-R’s first-ever pure-electric car. Black Badge is a new kind of sub-brand aimed at younger, more adventurous buyers (introduced on Ghost as a distinct model line in 2022, although there were individual Black Badge models before that). Don’t scoff. R-R has an age demographic most mainstream buyers would kill for: in the 40s, and that includes New Zealand.
Put Spectre and Black Badge together and you get this beauty. The original Spectre has a paltry 430kW/900Nm, but with the Black Badge's sport mode you can unleash 485kW and 0-96km/h (that’s 60mph in English money) in 4.1 seconds.
It’s not called “sport mode” of course. That would be gauche. R-R calls it Infinity Mode and it’s referenced by a tiny infinity symbol on the steering wheel, next to an equally tiny button that makes the performance magic happen.
Launch control isn’t called “launch control” either, of course. That would be gauche. It’s called Spirited Mode, activated by pressing the throttle and brake together to liberate an eye-popping 1075Nm of torque for a brief moment. So yeah, it’s launch control.
If you think this is all a step too far, R-R would like to remind you these bursts of power are inspired by the R-R-Merlin-powered Supermarine Spitfire fighter planes of the Second World War, which could give a short burst of extra power when needed, via a switch on the throttle quadrant.
Black Badge Spectre has been set up this way because R-R studied anonymised driving data from existing customers that revealed “clients exploited maximum power in short pulses more than over extended periods”.
You might spot a Black Badge by its Illuminated Grille backplate, which can introduce a glow in Tailored Purple, Charles Blue, Chartreuse or Forge Yellow.
It also has a unique design of 23-inch wheel, which looks remarkable techy and aggressive.
Yep, we're stalling a bit, because... how much? The answer to that is a blend of “if you must ask” and “please talk to our Bespoke division”. There’s really no such thing as a list price for a Rolls-Royce, because it’s just the starting point for intricate customisation that can add literally hundreds of thousands of dollars to the final cost.
There are 44,000 colours available, for example, but you can also ask for a unique shade of your own creation.
But if you must know, start price for the Black Badge Spectre is $940,000 and we'd be willing to bet not a single one rolls away at that price. It's a million-dollar-plus machine.
Dynamic changes for the Black Badge include increased steering weight and roll stabilisation, with retuned dampers to improve body control and reduce “squatting” under hard acceleration, which can be so undignified.
None of the above mattered a jot on our drive around the block through Auckland rush-hour traffic, but hey, we’ll take what we can get. Any drive in a Rolls is an event, for you as much as others around you.
We can confirm that the signature Magic Carpet Ride remains undisturbed and with a brief stretch of clear motorway onramp in the picture, full noise (or rather no noise) in Infinity Mode is hilarious. Loved it. Need some more.
But is it really that much better than other super-luxury, super-fast super-EVs? Rolls-Royce has long argued that its cars don’t really compete with other cars. Owners are likely to have lots of them already and the means to buy a lot more.
According to the company, Spectre is usually the second Rolls-Royce in the house and part of an at-least 7-car garage.
Having said that, the typical Spectre covers nearly 6500km per year. Not a lot by family-car standards, but more than you'd think. Most journeys are solo, with only a quarter including a front-seat passenger.
Rolls-Royce has plenty of outrageous stories about clients and their wealth, always delivered with a completely straight face. Consider one Spectre owner based in Gstaad, Switzerland, who enjoyed the car so much on the mountain passes of the region that they ordered a second one to keep at another of their homes near Monaco. As you do.
The purchase of a Black Badge Spectre is more likely to be weighed up against a new yacht or additions to the beach house. So perhaps consider a boat with sport mode, or a new guest wing with launch control. Or just get them all.
