Rolls-Royce Spectre Series II Hits the Road With 390 Miles of Range and 749 lb-ft
Rolls-Royce drove the updated Spectre on public roads for the first time in Stockholm. New cells add up to 18% range, torque climbs to 749 lb-ft, and charging gets quicker.
Rolls-Royce has driven the Spectre Series II on public roads for the first time, taking the updated electric coupe through Stockholm and along Sweden's coastal highways. The car was revealed in June; this is the first time anyone outside Goodwood has been able to see the revised cells and recalibrated drivetrain do their work in the real world.
The headline change is range. Rolls-Royce says re-engineered battery cells push the WLTP figure to up to 390 miles (628 km), an 18% gain over the 329 miles the original Spectre was rated for. Charging times fall by up to 14%, although the company still hasn't published a peak charging rate or a 10–80% time for either generation. Torque rises from 900 Nm (664 lb-ft) to 1,015 Nm (749 lb-ft), and power from 430 kW (577 hp) to 442 kW (593 hp). The Series II timing is notable: Rolls-Royce's next electric car, the 100-unit Nightingale convertible, only entered its global testing program in September.
The Black Badge version moves further. Infinity Mode now unlocks 500 kW (671 hp), up from 485 kW (650 hp), and Spirited Mode briefly delivers 1,100 Nm (811 lb-ft) against the previous car's 1,075 Nm (793 lb-ft). That keeps Black Badge Spectre Series II the most powerful Rolls-Royce the company has built, by its own count.
What 390 miles means in the US
The WLTP number won't survive an EPA test intact. The original Spectre was rated at 291 miles on 22-inch wheels and 266 miles on 23s by the EPA, according to InsideEVs, against the same car's 329-mile WLTP rating. Apply a similar gap and the Series II should land somewhere around 315–345 miles on the US cycle, depending on wheels. Rolls-Royce hasn't released EPA figures yet, and it hasn't said whether the battery's usable capacity has changed or whether the gain comes entirely from cell chemistry and efficiency.
Pricing for the Series II is also still open. The outgoing Spectre started at $420,000 plus $2,750 destination in the US, with the Black Badge roughly $70,000 above that. For reference, Bentley's first EV, the Torcal, is expected to start at $218,000 when it reaches American buyers.
New paint, new fabric, new clock
Most of the Series II work is visible rather than mechanical. Gradient Two-Tone paint, which fades from one color to another along the length of the body instead of splitting at the beltline, took six months to develop and needs up to four days per car in the paint shop. A new 23-inch forged wheel is hand-finished for up to six hours; a faceted version is pictured on the Stockholm car.
Inside, the Illuminated Fascia now runs the full width of the dash with 8,108 individual light points in a wave pattern, and the clock has been redrawn to look like an aviation instrument. Spectre buyers can also now order Duality Twill, a bamboo-derived fabric embroidered with up to 2.6 million stitches, and Placed Perforation leather, where 78,138 holes in three sizes form a moonlit-cloud pattern across the seats. Rolls-Royce says demand for Bespoke work on Spectre is second only to Phantom, with some clients specifying more than 20 custom elements per car.
The Stockholm drive doubles as a regional marker. Rolls-Royce has just opened a showroom in Copenhagen, and the Nordic market gets its first look at the car before deliveries begin. The company hasn't yet given a US on-sale date, EPA ratings, or pricing for either the standard or Black Badge Series II.
