Avoid cliches like potholes. That’s pretty much my mantra as I begin punching out this review of the Black Badge Spectre, the most powerful Rolls-Royce ever produced. However, just like those proliferating B-road rimdingers, it’ll be tough to avoid playing Aladdin, not sparing the horses or wafting, especially with a car built from superlatives, infinite sufficiency and deep-pile lambswool carpeting.
Every Rolls-Royce is special. Of the 74.6 million cars sold in 2024, just 5700 of those emerged from the brand’s Goodwood facility; each one conceived – as gifted abacus users will attest – for fewer than one percent of the one percenters. Yet, upon first sight, parked beneath 40-odd neon violet lightbulbs in the showroom, it’s clear this latest Black Badge iteration will broaden the marque’s model palette in even more extraordinary ways than the ‘standard’ Spectre already has. [See our earlier review here]
While the creation of the Rolls-Royce Black Badge Spectre doesn’t involve any exterior sheetmetal mods or add-ons, meaning it shares the standard badge Spectre’s handsome monolithic main body and sleek fastback coupe glasshouse, there are distinct differences. Visual cues include the dramatically darkened Spirit of Ecstasy mascot, grille surround, side window trims, door handles, bumper accents and reversed-out ‘RR’ badges.
Based on earlier Black Badge models, these touches were to be expected. However, new forged aluminium wheels in an aggressively geometric, part-polished or fully black five-spoke design are a new and blatant statement of sporting intent – something hitherto foreign to the brand.
Mention of an illuminated coloured panel behind the Pantheon Grille conjures horrifically inappropriate thoughts of Japanese Dekotora. Thankfully though, this new model-specific feature, available in various colours such as Tailored Purple and Chartreuse is instead, stylishly subtle at night. Also new is the option of an ‘Iced Black’ bonnet (think BMW’s ‘frozen’ paint finish) that will contrast superbly with any other body colour you might imagine. With 44,000 hues on file, the Rolls-Royce paint shop should have you covered. If not, there’s always Bespoke.
That the paint colour chosen for the Black Badge Spectre’s global debut – a deep purple called Vapour Violet – is said to have been inspired by neon-lit 1980s and ’90s club culture suggests a bolder, more playful and even a little rebellious target clientele. Evidence of a company that is not just future-proofing by going electric, it has also gone in search of conquest sales. How? By offering a model with more visual edge and a performance bent that is a core element of its marketing message. Shouting about performance: now that’s not something you’d expect from Rolls-Royce.
What you do expect is effortless progress, sheer opulence and supreme comfort, which the Black Badge Spectre delivers in 40-foot containers from the first metre of our 120-mile drive to the very last.
For the unpracticed (that’s me), the 1.5m-long, reverse-hinged, powered doors facilitate a unique genre of access theatre. Despite the gaping aperture I still manage to make getting in look awkward while being especially wary of scuffing the illuminated Black Badge treadplate. Ingress negotiated, a broad, cosseting chair awaits, with strikingly pure digital instruments in the deep binnacle ahead. To the left lies the central display screen, customary clock and a star-strewn illuminated piano black ‘sky’ fascia bearing the Black Badge Infinity symbol. The main dash, centre console and steering wheel inserts feature a complex diamond-shaped weave comprising layers of carbonfibre and fine metal thread, heavily lacquered. Perfectly polished, the final effect is rich and fittingly sporty!
Shallow side glass, very high window sills and huge side mirrors create a blind spot that could blot out a Range Rover. Given more time behind the wheel, I’m sure you’d acclimatise, but my initial thought was that if ever a car could benefit from external wing cameras and internal monitors it’d be this one.
I can’t think of a justification for why the Start Stop button still advertises an ‘Engine’ but pressing it awakens the fascia stars and connects the mains. Pull the gear selector lever towards you and down and drift smoothly away. The combination of a large diameter steering wheel, high sills, unapologetically substantial dimensions and a floating ride are pure Riva Aquarama on a perfectly calm Venetian canal. The boating analogy falls flat thought at the first corner. For starters, the still-mute but now weightier steering’s micrometer precise and the expected body roll fails to register, at least at urban speeds. Rolls-Royce says it has enhanced the dampers and adjusted the suspension’s roll stabilisation. Physics does come into play if you press on when the limit allows and the roads turn twisty, but, given the car’s near-three-ton mass, the body control on offer while traversing sinuous Welsh blacktop is still astonishing.
The route to our overnight destination, the fabulous Ynyshir Two Star Michelin restaurant and hotel in west Wales, took in several small towns, allowing ample opportunities to practise champagne-friendly stops. Perfectly pointless in a coupé that’ll almost always be driven by its owner, but you never know when top chauffeur skills might come in handy.
Dinner started early and ended late, courtesy of chef and owner Gareth Ward’s delivery of a tastebud tantalising 29 courses. On the menu? Balfegó Bluefin tuna presented three ways, Kaluga caviar, French pigeon, Japanese madai, A5 Wagyu and Dyfi lobster among others. Personal highlight was a sensational pairing of a 2013 Grand Tokaji Eszencia with duck liver, smoked eel and Périgord truffle – ‘going out for a bite’ will never be the same.
The following morning we were ferried via Cullinan to Sleap Airfield, home of the Shropshire Aeroclub, for a little runway chicanery in the form of slalom runs and acceleration tests. A Rolls-Royce media event involving drag-strip-style launches? What is the world coming to?
We kick off the runway antics playing 25-30mph zig-zag through tightly spaced cones. Where you might expect Bulldog levels of dog trial slalom agility, the Black Badge Spectre exhibits something more akin to a Border Collie. It’s reasonable to surmise that the dynamic performance would deteriorate at higher speeds but again, the relative body control is remarkable. All cones intact, we head to the starting gates…
Left foot hard on the brake pedal, right foot through the bulkhead, wait for the feline-style butt wiggle, release the brake and launch. No drama, no wheel slip, just a hunkered-down rear and a rocket’s whoosh as you’re hurled violently down the runway in 2.9 tons of muted thunder. But please don’t call it launch control. In Rolls-Royce parlance it’s Spirited Mode and it’s hugely addictive. One, because something this large and heavy shouldn’t get off the line this quickly – you can thank the cleverly controlled dual-motor four-wheel-drive setup, the mode’s temporary torque boost (up to 1075Nm) and clever suspension electronics for that; and two, because at 4.1 seconds from 0-60mph, it’s almost indecently fast. The brakes, too, deserve a shout-out for reining in all that momentum with confidence-inspiring ease. In Spirited Mode at least, back-seat champagne quaffing is strictly verboten.
That roughly four-second time is only possible in Infinity Mode. Accessed via an appropriately marked button on the steering wheel, which when activated unleashes the full 485kW of system power, sharpens the throttle response and provides a visibly more vibrant instrument display.
Bizarrely, none of these gentleman racer antics feels out of place in the Black Badge Spectre, which at all times retains an innate ability to combine effortless and immediate progress with epic comfort and parallel-universe luxury.
A car this special absolutely ruins you. English rock band James, in a lyric from their 1990 smash hit Sit Down, captured the feeling perfectly: If I hadn’t seen such riches I could live with being poor. Road trips will never feel the same. Grand touring has a new benchmark.
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