As the hype of electrification wanes in the faces of growing lifestyle realities, so my admiration grows for one of its most perfectly executed proponents.
Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against electrification at all, but rather the staunch all-encompassing polarising viewpoints that its arrival has birthed. For me the answer is quite simple really, electric cars are good for some people, and not for others—and that’s okay.
One marque it definitely does work well for is Rolls-Royce, in part due to their existing mantra yes, but most certainly due to their execution of their first fully electric automobile, the Rolls-Royce Spectre. As with all Rolls-Royce launches, the Spectre was launched amidst a flurry of intrigue and anticipation, being both a new model and also—in modern times at least—a new powertrain.
Historically speaking, Charles Rolls had actually wanted to make his cars electric as far back as 1933, but due to technological constraints—some of which we are still facing now—was unable to do so. However, despite these challenges and after much consultation with their client base, the first fully electric Rolls-Royce motor car was released in 2023 to much fanfare and acclaim.
“The electric car is perfectly noiseless and clean. There is no smell or vibration. They should become very useful when fixed charging stations can be arranged”
The Hon Charles Stewart Rolls
Then just in a blink of an eye, we’re in 2025 and the sentiment to electrification has very much changed. That once almost arrogant optimism has been replaced with practical realism as the well documented infrastructural challenges remain. Not overly a concern for Rolls-Royce though, as their customers have always operated under a different set of rules.
Rolls-Royce created electric cars, perhaps because it was the right thing to do, but more pertinently—because their customers thought it was the right time for them to do it.
And so it was with the arrival of the Rolls-Royce Black Badge program in 2016, when conversations with customers highlighted a recurring desire for a more sporty, urban aesthetic for their Rolls-Royce cars, coupled with a more aggressive driving dynamic. Rolls-Royce delivered, and to such an extent that the Black Badge Editions now represent around 40% of all Rolls-Royce car sales.
“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.”
Chris Brownridge, Chief Executive, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
This year saw the supreme execution of the Spectre combined with the Black Badge mantra, and so I headed to Wales to assess the visual it’s visual presence and to test out the drive, of the most powerful Rolls-Royce ever.
While the drive was incentivised—a dinner at Gareth Ward’s two-Michelin‑star restaurant Ynyshir awaited —Spectre Black Badge needed very little encouragement to swift me there, with the near 3 tonne mass ever willing to respond to the pedal. Instant torque is one thing but in Spectre Black Badge it’s delivered with a grace that belies its scale.
In addition to the reverse blacked out “RR” badge, and the contrast black doorhandles and window surrounds seen on the other latest Black Badge releases, Spectre has its own unique personality within the range, with a new ‘waft’ coachline option; a crisp line drawn on the lower third of the super coupé, subtly emphasising its commanding poise and generous proportions. Underneath, the staggering 23inch wheels are now a five-spoke forged aluminium design, available in a part-polished or all-black finish and alluding to the technicality and complexity of Spectre Black badge.
Rather selfishly, being of a driver focussed mentality it’s always the interior that excites me the most, and the most luxurious of cockpits doesn’t disappoint, encased with starlights by the doors and from the headliner above while the reassuringly sporty technical fibre veneer greets you on every surface.
Another new addition is the new Infinity Mode, a tribute to the Black Badge symbol and activated by pressing the Infinity ∞ button on the steering wheel. Your reward is the full 485 kW (659 PS) at your service, ready to add even more potency to an already potent force. For even more torque there is a new Spirited Mode—Rolls-Royce’s answer to launch control if you will—inspired by Rolls-Royce Merlin engine feature, unlocks landmark 1075 Nm of torque.
Not to seem uncouth on the roads, we took to a private airfield to test out the full extent of Spirited Mode, extracting every millisecond of that 4.1 second 0-60mph propelling power. At first it felt somewhat disrespectful to treat a Rolls-Royce in this manner, but by the end I had to concede it was rightfully exhilarating, and everything the Rolls-Royce Black Badge was designed to be.
In many ways Spectre Black Badge is the realisation of their customers’ combined desires; futurism and dynamism combined to create a serenely spectacular drive that is every bit a Rolls-Royce. Well, an angry Rolls-Royce.
