What’s it wish to drive Rolls-Royce’s strongest automobile EVER? We check the brand new electrical Black Badge Spectre

‘We could hear the tyres squealing from here,’ said the chap from the Rolls-Royce pit-lane crew as I glided silently to a stop.

So dead-pan was his delivery that I’m still not absolutely sure whether it was voiced in sheer admiration or utter disdain.

But if the world’s greatest automotive manufacturer invites you to drive its most powerful ‘bad boy’ car ever on a fully-fledged motor circuit in Spain, then it would be rude not to give it the full attention and respect it deserves.

And that is exactly what I did when handed the keys to the new Rolls-Royce Black Badge Spectre – the pumped-up version of the firm’s first all-electric fastback – priced from £320,000, or a £50,000 uplift on the standard model.

Complementing a traditional drive on public highways, I would enjoy a far less inhibited spin on the track.

Rolls-Royce says the ‘Black Badge’ treatment appeals to the subversive ‘alter ego’ dark side of their clients – Mr Hyde to Dr Jekyll, or Darth Vader to Anakin Skywalker.

It boasts a couple of new features that the British marque says have been lifted from the legendary Spitfire fighter planes of the Second World War. 

Here’s what it feels like from the pilot’s seat… 

Riding on vast 23-inch wheels, the new all-electric Black Badge Spectre – officially Rolls-Royce’s most powerful car ever – blends the power, dash and derring-do of the legendary Spitfire fighter plane with a flash of Saturday Night Fever and the disco and club scene of the 1980s.

Now, I would not normally seek to push a ‘Royce’ (calling it a ‘Roller’ marks you out immediately as being an unworthy pleb, by the way) to the limit. I would usually consider it unnecessarily brutish and naff to even try.

I have no pretentions to being a racing driver. And while in the course of my work I have been called on to hammer around race and test circuits in all manner of Ferraris, Aston Martins and other assorted supercars, it is not something I do lightly or without great care, and certainly had never done before in a Rolls-Royce.

But the luxury car-firm which employees 2,500 people at its boutique factory at Goodwood in West Sussex had taken over the track near Barcelona, to enable a select group of us to do just that – in controlled surroundings overseen by its expert drivers and engineers – to highlight features that could not be easily replicated on the road. And certainly not without the risk of losing one’s licence.

Even Rolls-Royce Motor Cars CEO Chris Brownridge was there to oversee.

We were here to specifically try out two new innovations introduced as a nod to the legendary Rolls-Royce Merlin engines which powered Spitfires during the last war.

The first new twist is a form of launch-control called ‘Spirited Mode’ which ‘temporarily amplifies’ the car’s pulling-power – to a ‘landmark’ 1075Nm – and unleashes ‘a burst of intense, instantaneous acceleration’. Torque or pulling-power on the standard Spectre is 900Nm.

So at a starting-point out on the track, and with a professional co-driver alongside to coach me, I pressed down flat simultaneously on both the brake AND the throttle peddles. 

As soon as the car signalled – visually and through a noticeable vibration – that it was ready to roll, I gripped the steering wheeI harder and took my foot off the brake to allow the Black Badge Spectre to tear down the track like shot out of a cannon. Whoosh! The Spirit of Ecstasy risked losing her robes.

But all this controlled power wafting down the tarmac in near silence.

As a control experiment, I had earlier covered the same distance in normal driving mode. The ‘Spirited’ launch mode shaved off a good few seconds.

Rolls-Royce says of the Spirited Mode: ‘This temporarily amplifies the torque output to a landmark 1075 Nm, unleashing a surge of force and propelling the motor car from 0-60mph in just 4.1 seconds.’

That’s a third of a second faster than the standard Spectre.

The second feature I tested is a nod to a special button used by wartime Spitfire pilots to give their aeroplane a short burst of enhanced power to get out of sticky situations – like trying to evade the ‘Hun in the Sun’.

On Black Badge Spectre this homage takes the form of a special ‘Infinity Mode’ button on the steering-wheel which unlocks the electric car’s full 659 horse-power (485kW) to boost throttle response and driving dynamics. (That compares to a standard Spectre at 585 horsepower/430kW).

So while doing laps around the track, I was urged by my Rolls-Royce co-pilot to press the infinity symbol on the steering-wheel to unleash ‘Infinity Mode.’ I did. And though there was not a Messerschmitt in sight, I did enjoy the sudden added thrust and power it unleashed.

Once activated, the dashboard dials also became more vibrant to match the change in the motor car’s character.

But unlike Spitfire pilots, who were required to report the use of the function on landing as a precaution to flight engineer, this requirement did not apply to me or other Black Badge Spectre drivers.

Thus emboldened, I decided to push my ‘bad boy’ Black Badge Spectre a bit harder than I would otherwise ever contemplate. It may not be a supercar, but it is a super car. It took those tight bends as if on rails and with graceful aplomb – though the evidence of my actions was there in the ether as the sound of squealing tyres and burning rubber echoed across the circuit and into the pit-lanes.

In truth, I did feel a bit of an uncomfortable hooligan driving so spiritedly in what is a supremely civilised fastback limousine. But Rolls-Royce knows its market. And it includes customers who like to dare to be different. So who am I to question it..

Out on the road and away from the track, I also enjoyed the more spirited ride of the Black Badge though – subversively – the car I drove on the highway had a stand-out Arctic White exterior, with a matching interior with Forge Yellow trim.

Rolls-Royce says the new two-door four-seater Black Badge Spectre is aimed at wealthy non-conformist clients it describes as ‘fearless’, ‘unconventional’ and subversive ‘rule-breakers’ with a ‘disruptive spirit’ – who want to explore their dark-side ‘alter-ego’. It is the latest in a line of Black Badge models targeting rich mavericks.

So while the added raw power may salute the Spitfire, the new Black Badge Spectre’s funky colour and trim palettes – such as Vapour Violet – take their cues from the neon lights of the 1980s and ‘90s club culture and are more evocative of Saturday Night Fever and New York’s infamous ‘Studio 54’ than the White Cliffs of Dover.

To perfect their ‘uncompromising’ new Black Badge Spectre, Rolls-Royce took soundings from existing owners of other Black Badge models. 

Under conditions of secrecy, they also made available to a select group of existing Rolls-Royce customer early prototypes of the new Black Badge Spectre to get and input their feedback ahead of the official launch of the production model.

The new car promises an electric range of between 306 and 329 miles – enough get from London to Newcastle upon Tyne.

Propulsion is from two electric motors – one driving each axle. Charging takes 34 minutes to 80 per cent on a high-powered DC charger or 5 hours 30 minutes on a domestic AC wall-charger.

The new car’s steering weight has been increased and the roll-stabilisation adjusted to improve steering and reduce body-roll during cornering – which I noticed clearly on the track. 

Suspension has been enhanced to improve body control and reduce ‘squatting’ under acceleration or deceleration and ensure the ‘Magic Carpet Ride’ associated with Rolls-Royce cars.

As well as my Arctic White shade, the brooding new Black Badge Spectre makes its global debut in a vivid new paint finish called Vapour Violet ‘inspired by the neon ambience of 1980s and 1990s club culture’ with which its rich clients identify.

The car’s mirror-polished brightwork is presented in a signature dark finish – including the hallmark Pantheon Grille surround, the Spirit of Ecstasy ‘flying lady’ mascot, and the double ‘R’ Badge of Honour, as well as the motor car’s door handles, side window surround and bumper accents.

A vivid new illuminated grille backplate is offered in a range of vibrant colours.

The bold interior is designed to exude a ‘rebellious character’. The illuminated fascia carries an abstract expression of the Spirit of Ecstasy and incorporates the Infinity symbol used across the wider Black Badge family. 

The fascia comprises more than 5,500 fibre-optic ‘stars’ of varying proportions and intensity set against a Piano Black ‘sky’.

Instrument dials have a choice of five vivid colour themes.

The car’s digital SPIRIT operating system allows access to remote charging and location information and Rolls-Royce’s exclusive digital members club, Whispers.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars chief executive Chris Brownridge said: ‘Clients who have Black Badge are a bit more subversive and challenging of convention. Black Badge Spectre has an edge to it. 

‘If any marque could harness the capability of electric power, it is Rolls-Royce. And Spectre is concrete proof.’

What a relief. I now feel far less guilty about those subversive and challenging tyre squeals.