Introduction to the 2025 Rolls-Royce Spectre Black Badge
The Black Badge specification offers Rolls-Royce buyers an alternative to the standard model and just a decade after its introduction it accounts for 40 per cent of sales, while at the same time bringing the average age of a Rolls-Royce buyer down.
Arguably the most suited of the British firm's cars to the Black Badge treatment is the Spectre, its large electric coupe. Along with a darker visual makeover, the Spectre Black Badge gets a performance boost - making it the most powerful car the company has ever made - and a few choice chassis changes to enhance driver involvement.
Pros & cons of the 2025 Rolls-Royce Spectre Black Badge
Pros:
• Spectacular quality throughout
• Exception refinement
• Serious performance
Cons:
• Too much choice
• Boot could be larger
• Feels big on country roads
Exterior & design of the 2025 Rolls-Royce Spectre Black Badge
• Black detailing and badging
• Illuminated grille in various colours
• Infinite personalisation
Given how many Rolls-Royce buyers make use of the company's Bespoke services, no two cars out of the factory are likely to have the same specification. Nonetheless, the Black Badge model can be identified by its darker detailing and unique style of alloy wheel.
The latter is a new 23-inch design with five intricate spokes. They can be finished in all black or part polished as shown here. We have a strong preference for the latter look.
All of the regular Spectre's brightwork is darkened as part of the Black Badge specification, extending to the bumper accents, window surrounds, door handles, the RR badging, the periphery of the 'Pantheon Grille' up front and even the iconic 'Spirit of Ecstasy' bonnet ornament.
After that, it comes down to personal preference. The Spectre's grille, for example, is illuminated already, but for the Black Badge, Rolls-Royce introduced new coloured backplate options in a range of hues so buyers could, for example, complement the car's interior or its 'coachline'.
On the subject of which, it was always possible to commission a coachline for the Spectre's shoulder and wings, while what's called a "waft" coachline is also now available, applied to the lower half of the car.
No matter how you specify your Spectre, it remains a huge two-door vehicle with presence to spare. And when the doors are opened, it looks even more special, as they're rear-hinged, allowing elegant access and egress from the cabin.
Dimensions of the 2025 Rolls-Royce Spectre Black Badge
Length: 5,490mm
Width: 2,015mm (2,144mm including mirrors)
Height: 1,573mm
Wheelbase: 3,210mm
Paint colours for the 2025 Rolls-Royce Spectre Black Badge
Rolls-Royce has a massive 44,000 colours in its standard palette, including a special matte-effect it calls 'Iced'. Indeed, an 'Iced Black' bonnet is optional for the black Badge to give it an even moodier look. Oh, and if you really don't fancy any of those 'prêt-à-porter' colours, you can work with Rolls-Royce's designers in the Bespoke department to come up with your own exclusive alternative.
The paint colour is only the starting point, though, as it's possible to commission a very unique car with bespoke coachline motifs and more. Rolls-Royce works on many one-offs each year.
Interior, practicality, tech & comfort of the 2025 Rolls-Royce Spectre Black Badge
• Rear-opening doors
• Sumptuous materials and build
• Starlight headliner and doors
The cabin of the Spectre was already sumptuous and special, but Rolls-Royce didn't leave it at that and gave the Black Badge model plenty of unique features, making sparing use of the sub-brand's 'Infinity' symbol.
Beneath the 'Illuminated Fascia' (featuring 5,500 'stars' of different sizes and brightness in the Piano Black 'sky') is a new 'Technical Fibre' finish. I couldn't describe it any better than Rolls-Royce does:
"This diamond-shaped weave uses 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 to a flawless finish, adding striking depth and clarity."
That hints at the level of detail and perfection Rolls-Royce strives for. Another example is the effort put into, not just the materials and tactility of the switchgear - which is glorious - but the sounds various components make. The metal air vents with their organ-stop operation, for example, are a joy to use. While most owners choose to have the column stalks swathed in hand-stitched leather.
The vast majority of buyers also go for the beautiful starlight headlining and doors, featuring random shooting stars we're told. If you really want to, you can have a glass roof instead, while bespoke headlining is also becoming popular amongst Rolls-Royce's customers.
Getting comfortable in the driver's seat
It might be more appropriate to refer to the driver's seat as a chair, as it's likely more comfortable than any seating you have at home. It adjusts every which way, electrically of course, as does the large-diameter steering wheel.
Conveniently, once you're in, all you have to do is press the brake pedal to close the wide-opening door behind you. And getting out, you tug the lever once to open the door and then hold the lever open for the door to swing open fully, gently pulling you out of the car in the process.
Infotainment and technology
Rolls-Royce owners get exclusive access to a "digital club" called Whispers with its own smartphone app. We suspect this can do a lot more than just remotely check the car's location and state of charge.
In the Spectre is the Spirit operating system, which we assume is related to BMW's as there is some similarity between them when it comes to the touchscreen menu logic. However, the Spectre's interface looks different, while its digital instruments can be had in a variety of colours, too.
There's wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto built in, as well.
Rear-seat passenger space
Although the Spectre is a two-door car, it's nearly 5.5 metres long (for reference, that's still over 200mm longer than the long-wheelbase Range Rover), so it shouldn't be surprising to find decent space in the two rear seats.
Adults will easily get comfortable back there, and there's no shortage of headroom, either. There are even ISOFIX mountings for child seats.
Boot space in the Rolls-Royce Spectre
Rolls-Royce knows its customers better than we do, so it must have made a conscious decision to optimise the Spectre's cabin room rather than its boot volume. It holds 380 litres of luggage, which is no more than a C-segment hatchback can accommodate, though still plenty for most owners' needs, we're sure.
Performance of the 2025 Rolls-Royce Spectre Black Badge
• Most powerful Rolls-Royce yet
• Never scrabbles for traction
• Composed at all times
The layout of the Spectre's powertrain is unchanged, using electric motors front and rear for all-wheel drive. But while the standard car's produce up to 584hp and 900Nm of torque, the Black Badge peaks at 659hp and 1,075Nm, making it the most powerful Rolls-Royce car yet.
Driving the Rolls-Royce Spectre Black Badge in the UK
Pull away in the Spectre, and there's not a whisper from the car's electric powertrain. There's little in the way of wind noise, too, courtesy of its slippery bodywork and acoustic glazing, and road noise is also kept in check despite the fitment of massive tyres.
This civility allows you to enjoy some of the more intricate sounds found in the Spectre's cabin, such as the 'clink' of the indicators, reminiscent of ice hitting the side of a glass tumbler we're told. It's this level of detail that really brings home what you're paying for when buying an ultra-luxury car such as this.
As in the standard Spectre, there is air suspension at all four corners, while Rolls-Royce's 'PlanarSystem' uses cameras to read the road ahead, decoupling the anti-roll bars for straight-line comfort, but reactivating them and firming up the adaptive dampers for faster, more stable cornering.
Rear-wheel steering turns in the opposite direction to the front wheels to boost agility in corners and manoeuvrability at low speeds (which has to be experienced to be believed), while they turn in line with the fronts at higher speeds to aid stability.
For the Black Badge model, the steering is 'heavier', while the roll-stabilisation and damping have been tweaked in the name of body control. These changes haven't dramatically altered the character of the Spectre on the road, thankfully.
It's still a luxury coupe at heart, but now it's subtly more enjoyable to drive. And while the Spectre is no sports car, obviously given its size and weight, it copes with 'enthusiastic' driving in a more assured manner than the non-Black-Badge variant.
Somewhat surprisingly, given the headline power and torque figures, the extra performance doesn't dominate proceedings. Yes, it's undoubtedly rapid, but the car deploys its considerable grunt with such finesse - even on wet roads - that it never feels ragged or extreme.
Obviously, there's performance when you need it. Four-wheel drive helps the Spectre sprint from 0-100km/h in just over four seconds even in the damp, and the Black Badge model is the first to get the so-called Spirited mode ('launch control' to you and me), to go along with the Infinity setting unlocked by pressing the appropriate symbol on the steering wheel. This unleashes the peak outputs for when the owner wants to really stretch the car's legs.
Range, battery and charging of the 2025 Rolls-Royce Spectre Black Badge
• Sufficient range
• Large battery makes for heavy car
• Can charge up quickly
Officially, there's a range of around 500 kilometres (depending on specification) for the Spectre Black Badge between charge ups, but buyers aren't going to be troubled by such a figure, because the typical owner will have at least seven other cars at their disposal, possibly even a helicopter or boat, too. To achieve that range figure requires a big battery, however, which partially explains the weight of the Spectre. It's a 102kWh unit.
We doubt you'll spot many Spectre owners hanging out at an Ionity charging station, but it can accept DC power at up to 195kW, so they won't be delayed for long if they have to charge in public. The Spectre can also be charged at 22kW on three-phase AC outlets, which we suspect might get installed at an owner's residence to maximise convenience.
Verdict - should you buy the Rolls-Royce Spectre Black Badge?
The more pertinent question is: why would you not have the Black Badge version of the Spectre if you've already decided you're going to buy the Rolls-Royce EV? It does everything as well as the regular car and yet it's a little more fun to drive. The biggest issue is deciding on how to commission it to your liking.
Want to know more about the 2025 Rolls-Royce Spectre Black Badge?
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