Currently reading: Rolls-Royce launches 593bhp Dawn Black Badge special edition

Luxury marque to reveal customised version of convertible at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend

Rolls-Royce has expanded its line of customisable models with a new and more powerful Rolls-Royce Dawn Black Badge convertible, which is on show at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

The special edition of the Rolls-Royce Dawn follows Black Badge’ versions of the Rolls-Royce Ghost and Rolls-Royce Wraith, that were unveiled at the 2016 Geneva motor show. The models are designed to appeal to younger luxury car buyers.

Goodwood Festival of Speed 2017 guide

The Dawn Black Badge features a revamped version of Rolls-Royce's 6.6-litre twin-turbocharged V12 engine, which produces 593bhp, a 30bhp increase over the standard Dawn. An extra 15lb ft of torque means the Dawn Black Badge produces 620lb ft at 1500rpm.

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The extra power means the Dawn Black Badge is capable of going from 0-62mph in 4.9sec, with an electronically limited top speed of 155mph.

The car also gets a new exhaust system, which features a Low button to produce a “menacing bass baritone”, while the gearbox and accelerator have been reworked to give the Dawn quicker downshifts and more urgency. The suspension has also been reworked to give flatter cornering at high speeds, while the steering rack has been quickened to offer more feedback.

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The Dawn Black Badge is painted in a “deeply intense" shade of black, which has been hand-polished. The roof is finished in black canvas, with the rear deck finished in black leather.

The Rolls-Royce Spirit of Ecstasy has been finished in high-gloss black chrome, a treatment also applied to features including the car's front grille surrounds, boot lid finisher and exhaust pipes.

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The interior surfaces are covered in ultra-thin threads of aircraft-grade aluminium, which are woven together and bonded in carbonfibre, finished with six coats of lacquer and then hand-polished. The seats are finished in black leather with mandarin highlights.

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James Attwood

James Attwood, digital editor
Title: Acting magazine editor

James is Autocar's acting magazine editor. Having served in that role since June 2023, he is in charge of the day-to-day running of the world's oldest car magazine, and regularly interviews some of the biggest names in the industry to secure news and features, such as his world exclusive look into production of Volkswagen currywurst. Really.

Before first joining Autocar in 2017, James spent more than a decade in motorsport journalist, working on Autosport, autosport.com, F1 Racing and Motorsport News, covering everything from club rallying to top-level international events. He also spent 18 months running Move Electric, Haymarket's e-mobility title, where he developed knowledge of the e-bike and e-scooter markets. 

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rare 28 June 2017

It's not a special edition.

It's not a special edition. It's a model which sits alongside the 'standard' car.
rmcondo 28 June 2017

Aren't all RRs supposed to be

Aren't all RRs supposed to be infinitely customisable and one-off hand-crafted? What's a special edition?
Bullfinch 28 June 2017

Who cares?

This obsession over ur-bespoke and limited edition models from certain premium and luxury editions provides an easy source of filler for websites like this but it's not news and I'd be amazed if many readers spent more than 10 seconds glancing at the results.
beechie 28 June 2017

Au contraire

I spent an hour dribbling over my tablet...