The updated Rolls-Royce Spectre EV offers more personalisation than beforeStephan Bauer / Rolls-Royce Motor CarsFour years have already passed since Rolls-Royce revealed its first all-electric production car, the Spectre. A lot has happened right across the EV landscape in that time, but Rolls customers are unlike any other – and the company knows them better than anyone else – so instead of going all-out on a major new model, the Spectre Series II is as restrained as updates come.In fact, while other car companies race to roll out 800-volt architectures, new motors, upgraded computers, bigger batteries and faster charging, even for just a mid-cycle facelift, Rolls-Royce has instead doubled-down on its bespoke offerings.The company's aptly named Bespoke department has been busy since the original Spectre landed. Rolls-Royce says its EV is the most personalized car it sells, save for the Phantom, an ultra-expensive limousine that operates in a different world. In other words, more is spent (both time and money) by customers creating their own unique Spectre than on the Ghost and the Cullinan.AdvertisementAdvertisementIt's also the brand's second most popular model, only outsold by the Cullinan SUV – and, crucially, Rolls says Spectre owners drive the EV themselves. Unlike Phantom and often Cullinan too, this isn't one for the chauffeur to enjoy.Before we get to exactly what Bespoke can do to your Spectre Series II, the car itself features a few choice improvements over its predecessor. Range has been increased from 329 to 390 miles, and Rolls says the charging time has been cut by 14 percent. And, while it's unlikely you'll ever see a Spectre driver waiting in line at a public charger – most Spectres are almost exclusively charged at home – extra range, and less time charging, is always welcome.The Spectre Series-II can be equipped with a new seat fabric called Duality Twill.There's more power, too. The standard car now produces 592 bhp and 1,015 Nm of torque, up from Series I's 577 bhp and 900 Nm. The sportier Black Badge is now even more muscular, with 670 bhp in Infinity Mode and an enormous 1,100 Nm when using Spirited Mode. It remains the most powerful production Rolls-Royce ever made, and for the Series II now comes with Iced Black exterior trim, where all the brightwork usually finished in chrome or gloss black now has a satin look.More obvious changes are found with a new set of 23-inch forged wheels, highly polished and designed to scatter sunlight as they rotate. And unlike so many of today's EVs, they're actually designed to look good, and expose more of the powerful brakes behind, rather than optimized solely to slip through the air more cleanly to aid range.AdvertisementAdvertisementChris Brownridge, chief executive of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, described the Spectre as "one of the most compelling canvases for Bespoke in our contemporary product portfolio, inspiring clients to pursue ever more individual and ambitious commissions. With Spectre Series II, we extend those possibilities ever further."Then there's the personalization. This is where Rolls-Royce has really stepped up a gear with the Spectre Series II – and to find out more, I recently drove down to the Goodwood factory near England's south coast for a tour.New paint options for Spectre Series-II include finishes that shift from black at the rear to colour at the front.Visiting a car factory is always fascinating, no matter the manufacturer. But to visit the home of Rolls-Royce is a real treat. This is where every single Rolls-Royce sold since 2003 is assembled, and where employees across the paint, coachwork and interior trim departments are constantly working on unique vehicles commissioned through the Bespoke department.More Spectres will soon come through here, since the Series II now lets buyers spec a new bamboo-derived interior fabric called Duality Twill, which comprises 2.2 million stitches and 12 hours of labor per car. There's also a new leather pattern called Placed Perforation, a new dashboard veneer called Brindled Walnut, and new exterior paint options too. The latter includes the new Ethereal Blue, plus the striking option of a graduated finish that shifts from black at the rear to one of three colors – blue, violet and gunmetal – at the front, as pictured above.AdvertisementAdvertisementThis particular process is the result of six months of engineers programming robots to get the gradient just right, adjusting the distance and velocity until the correct method was discovered.One of Rolls-Royce's most dramatic paint options is called LunaflairExterior paint is an incredibly important part of the build at Rolls-Royce. I'm told how some more complex paints require 14 layers, and that some one-off jobs take so long the car is worked on over weekends to avoid disrupting the normal schedule of the production line. I was also told during my factory tour how, sometimes, a particularly complex candy color can get to the 13th layer before a fault is discovered, meaning the entire process has to start again. In one case, such a fault was caused by a single 3mm piece of fiber landing on the paint.To cater for the increased Bespoke options for Spectre Series II – and help clients access the 44,000 paint colors Rolls-Royce offers – a new paint shop is currently under construction at the Goodwood facility. It's part of a £300 million ($405 million) investment, the single biggest cash injection into the site since it opened in 2003, that will expand the Bespoke and Coachwork divisions, and help prepare the company for its electric future.A star of the Bespoke department is Bailey, a long-standing customer's Labrador-Golden Retriever mix who in 2025 had a Spectre built as a tribute to him. A portrait of Bailey appears in marquetry form on the rear 'Waterfall' section of the car, a wooden panel between the two rear seats. Made of 180 pieces and surprisingly lifelike, the portrait comprised nine veneers – four of which had never been used by Rolls-Royce before – representing 22 natural shades.The Spectre Bailey features a marquetry portrait of the owner's dog between the rear seats.This is joined by a paw print, also in marquetry, on the passenger panel, and repeated in hand-painted rose gold on the exterior coachline. The paw print appears again as an engraving on the surround of the car's rose gold door sill treadplates, visible every time the doors are opened.AdvertisementAdvertisementPhil Fabre de la Grange, head of Bespoke at Rolls-Royce, said when the Bailey Spectre was revealed, "One of the great joys of a Bespoke commission is becoming immersed in the client's world and the unique story behind their vision. This is perfectly captured by Spectre Bailey, a charming commission that reaffirms that inspiration can come from anywhere. Our team was absolutely delighted to collaborate with our long-standing clients to bring this concept to life in a playful yet timeless manner, reflecting the special place Bailey holds in their hearts."Rolls-Royce interiors are no longer exclusively exercises in wood, leather and metal. A new bespoke option for the Spectre Series II is a sustainable, man-made veneer made of walnut sourced from the fruit industry. Another veneer is made of eucalyptus from the paper industry, which is formed into a block then sliced into the veneer during a ten-week process. The result is an ash color with purple stain and a fine silver pigment that Rolls-Royce assures won't go green with UV exposure. Lastly, we're told how tinted carbon weaves are also coming to the Spectre Series II, with green and blue options initially and more to come.Options from the Bespoke department include hand-painted crests, coastlines and other exterior details.So while the new Spectre still shares much with its predecessor – something owners of the original will likely be happy about – it demonstrates the direction in which Rolls-Royce is increasingly headed. Like rivals in the ultra-luxe automotive space, it knows there is money to be made in personalization, in offering clients the opportunity to own something unique.For Rolls-Royce, it seems, the future of the electric car is as much about individuality as it is battery technology.This article was originally published on Forbes.com