One of the prototype compounds for metal−metal multiple bonding, the Re[2]Cl[8][2-] ion, has been studied theoretically using multiconfigurational quantum chemical methods. The molecular structure of the ground state has been determined. It is shown that the effective bond order of the Re−Re bond is close to three, due to the weakness of, in particular, the δ bond. The electronic spectrum has been calculated with the inclusion of spin−orbit coupling. Observed spectral features have been reproduced with good accuracy, and a number of new assignments are suggested.