Ever driven a Rolls-Royce on a racetrack? Let me guess – your answer is probably “no” followed by “why would I”?
And asking why is reasonable, considering the 120-year history of the luxury motoring brand. For most of that time, these were cars to be driven by a professional chauffeur. But over the past 20 years, things have changed. Now, most owners prefer to be behind the wheel for, perhaps, the smoothest drive to be found anywhere. The brand itself calls it the ‘magic carpet ride’.
While the Rolls-Royce Spectre Black Badge , the newest vehicle in its line-up, still offers the signature magic carpet ride, it is also the most powerful car that the brand has produced. A high-performance version of the all-electric Spectre released in 2023, this is a car begging to be pushed to its limits – complete with two new power-train features that allow drivers to utilise the car’s full capabilities.
The car produces 659hp and 1075Nm of torque, an upgrade from the Spectre’s 576hp and 900Nm. The new Infinity mode allows access to the full power and throttle response, and Spirited mode enables acceleration from 0 to 100km/h in 4.3 seconds. To accommodate those demands, Rolls-Royce has resigned the chassis, given the car a heavier steering feel and enhanced roll stabilisation – with dampers added to enhance body control.
As I drive the car on a racetrack outside of Barcelona, it’s immediately clear that the accomplished engineering can keep up with the brand’s boasts. While this will never be confused with a car built for the track – it’s far too heavy to ever feel natural to that environment – it holds its own, while never losing the road feel that the brand is known for.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
The main question is my mind, however, was not whether the car could live up to its performance claims. I was concerned, rather, that it would have the same neck-snapping acceleration feel of many performance EVs that boast instant torque delivery. Cars such as the Tesla Model S Plaid and Lucid Air Sapphire can go from 0 to 100km/h in 2.07 seconds. And that kind of acceleration isn’t just uncomfortable – it’s apparently dangerous, with Autoevolution reporting that it could even result in mild concussions.
But even in Infinity and Spirited modes – I pushed the acceleration from 0 to 165km/h on the straight – the car preserved the thrilling, joyous feel of a V12 engine. Even as I dodged traffic cones in an obstacle course at 50km/h, the car adapted, slowing to a comfortable speed the more I pushed it back and forth.
Rolls-Royce has always been a brand built on feel. The primary concern has been to make the ride as serene as possible. While it is built to last – an estimated 75 per cent of the Rolls-Royce vehicles ever produced are still on the road today – this brand has also been continuously refined to keep up with the times. The brand’s first two electric vehicles feel like a natural evolution rather than a significant departure, which is an impressive engineering accomplishment.
Even the performance modes in the Spectre Black Badge are in line with the brand’s heritage. They are inspired by the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine found in the Spitfire fighter planes of Second World War, which offered modes that allowed pilots to engage extra thrust in life-and-death situations.
While the loud roar of a combustion engine is so thoroughly missed in other leading luxury brands that have produced electric vehicles, the whisper-quiet Rolls-Royce is built for the EV era. That’s why the brand plans to make all its fleet electric by 2030.
The Rolls-Royce Spectre has passed the first test with flying colours – with some car reviewers even labelling it the best car in the world. The performance-minded Spectre Black Badge is arguably the bigger test and, even at its limits, it measures up. I suppose that makes this the new champion – and a sign that the electric future is probably brighter than some sceptics, myself included, believe it to be.
Pre-orders for Rolls-Royce Spectre Black Badge are open now, with deliveries expected this year.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Match info
Liverpool 3
Hoedt (10' og), Matip (21'), Salah (45 3')
Southampton 0
Honeymoonish
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
Results
2.15pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,200m
Winner: Maqam, Fabrice Veron (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer).
2.45pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,200m
Winner: Mamia Al Reef, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami.
3.15pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 2,000m
Winner: Jaahiz, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel.
3.45pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,000m
Winner: Qanoon, Szczepan Mazur, Irfan Ellahi.
4.15pm: Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Cup Handicap (TB) Dh200,000 1,700m.
Winner: Philosopher, Tadhg O’Shea, Salem bin Ghadayer.
54.45pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,700m
Winner: Jap Al Yassoob, Fernando Jara, Irfan Ellahi.
ATP RANKINGS (NOVEMBER 4)
1. Rafael Nadal (ESP) 9,585 pts ( 1)
2. Novak Djokovic (SRB) 8,945 (-1)
3. Roger Federer (SUI) 6,190
4. Daniil Medvedev (RUS) 5,705
5. Dominic Thiem (AUT) 5,025
6. Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) 4,000 ( 1)
7. Alexander Zverev (GER) 2,945 (-1)
8. Matteo Berrettini (ITA) 2,670 ( 1)
9. Roberto Bautista (ESP) 2,540 ( 1)
10. Gaël Monfils (FRA) 2,530 ( 3)
11. David Goffin (BEL) 2,335 ( 3)
12. Fabio Fognini (ITA) 2,290
13. Kei Nishikori (JPN) 2,180 (-2)
14. Diego Schwartzman (ARG) 2,125 ( 1)
15. Denis Shapovalov (CAN) 2,050 ( 13)
16. Stan Wawrinka (SUI) 2,000
17. Karen Khachanov (RUS) 1,840 (-9)
18. Alex De Minaur (AUS) 1,775
19. John Isner (USA) 1,770 (-2)
20. Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) 1,747 ( 7)
UAE rugby season
FIXTURES
West Asia Premiership
Dubai Hurricanes v Dubai Knights Eagles
Dubai Tigers v Bahrain
Jebel Ali Dragons v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Division 1
Dubai Sharks v Dubai Hurricanes II
Al Ain Amblers v Dubai Knights Eagles II
Dubai Tigers II v Abu Dhabi Saracens
Jebel Ali Dragons II v Abu Dhabi Harlequins II
Sharjah Wanderers v Dubai Exiles II
LAST SEASON
West Asia Premiership
Winners – Bahrain
Runners-up – Dubai Exiles
UAE Premiership
Winners – Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Runners-up – Jebel Ali Dragons
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners – Dubai Hurricanes
Runners-up – Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Conference
Winners – Dubai Tigers
Runners-up – Al Ain Amblers
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Zayed Sustainability Prize
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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