2027 Rolls-Royce Spectre II First Drive: More Power, More Range, More Luxury
Overview
The Spectre II is a midcycle update to the first electric Rolls-Royce. It offers more power, more range, and more ways to customize the car. The original Spectre launched in 2022 as the fourth modern Rolls-Royce built on the Architecture of Luxury aluminum spaceframe. Its 112.4-kWh (net) battery sits under the floor and is integrated into the structure, boosting torsional rigidity 30 percent over the Ghost, with which it shares suspension elements. A 400-volt system feeds two BMW-designed externally excited synchronous motors, one at each axle.
Design
The coupe body was designed under Anders Warming, with the widest Pantheon grille in Rolls-Royce history and a small Spirit of Ecstasy that took over 830 hours of modeling and wind-tunnel testing. The claimed drag coefficient of 0.25 makes it the most aerodynamic Rolls-Royce ever. The powered rear-hinged coach doors are each 59 inches long.
Practical Upgrades
Revised battery cell technology raises EPA range to between 308 and 324 miles, and charge time drops by 14 percent. The front motor makes up to 255 hp and 269 lb-ft, and the rear 483 hp and 479 lb-ft. Total output is 593 hp for the regular Spectre II and 671 hp for the Black Badge, with peak torque from 749 to 811 lb-ft.
Emotional Upgrades
New Gradient Two-Tone Paint shifts color from front to rear in four colorways and takes four days to complete. The Black Badge introduces the Iced Black exterior package, which gives most of the shiny exterior parts a soft-sheen satin black finish, also available on a new forged multi-spoke 23-inch wheel. The standard car gets its own forged 23-inch wheel with faceted edges that take six hours to hand-finish.
Customization
Inside, a new bamboo-based Duality Twill cloth can use up to 10 miles of thread in up to 50 colors with 2.6 million stitches, taking 25 hours to complete. Leather can be precisely perforated to create custom artwork. A new high-gloss Brindled Walnut veneer combines walnut from non-fruiting trees with residual eucalyptus fibers from paper production for a tiger-stripe pattern. Front passengers get new illuminated artwork made of 8,108 individual illuminations, inspired by mist over the woodlands near the Goodwood factory, on a glass panel that now spans the dash. A new clock sits in its own chamber above a tiny Spirit of Ecstasy, though the reviewer finds it underwhelming, saying the clock looks like a fancy Swatch and the figurine looks like chrome-plated molded plastic.
Driving
With the artificial noisescape composed by Hans Zimmer switched off, the car drives with silken silence. Despite weighing 6,450 pounds, the regular Spectre II reaches 60 mph in 4.4 seconds and the Black Badge in 4.1, with both limited to 155 mph. Getting in means swiveling your hips and ducking under the A-pillar, and the driver sits on top of a bulky battery pack, with about 10 inches between the sill bottom and the floor.
Showing Its Age
Rolls-Royce was first among ultra-luxury brands to launch an EV, but the Spectre II feels a little last generation next to today’s fast Chinese development cycles. It has only two levels of regenerative braking, including a one-pedal mode, and its infotainment and some switchgear look old-school BMW compared with the Neue Klasse EVs. The reviewer argues every Rolls-Royce should have physical analog instruments like the Bugatti Tourbillon, though the mechanical dash vents with their organ-stop mechanism remain. The thick-rimmed steering wheel lacks the fingertip delicacy of the Phantom VII.
Which One to Choose
The reviewer says the regular Spectre II is the better car. Both share the same 23-inch wheels and tires (255/40 front, 295/35 rear Pirelli P Zero) and identical suspension hardware, but the Black Badge’s software reacts faster to increase damping. That gives the Black Badge tighter initial body control but makes it feel short on suspension travel over big bumps. The regular car feels lighter on its feet, breathes better over lumpy roads, and feels more alert on corner entry, since the Black Badge’s heavier steering effort slightly slows response. Keen drivers might like the Black Badge’s quicker accelerator calibration, but the regular Spectre II wafts down any road with a composure that belies its size and weight.