• Rolls-Royce Motor Cars presents the Black Badge Ghost Tourist Trophy, inspired by The Hon. Charles Stewart Rolls’ victory in the 1906 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy
• Bespoke commission displayed on the Isle of Man in the 120th anniversary year of Rolls’ triumph
• Recalls the Light 20 H.P. Rolls-Royce driven by Rolls and his riding mechanic, Eric Platford, featuring Bespoke details rooted in the history of the race
• Black Badge Ghost gives contemporary form to Rolls’ restless appetite for risk, speed and mechanical possibility

“Charles Rolls lived with an extraordinary sense of adventure. As a racing driver, balloonist, aviation pioneer, engineer and innovator, he helped define the courage and curiosity that still shape Rolls-Royce Motor Cars today. His victory in the 1906 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy was not simply a sporting achievement: it was a test of judgement, nerve and faith in a finely prepared motor car. The Black Badge Ghost Tourist Trophy honours that spirit, recalling both the motor car he drove and the character that made his achievement so significant.”
John Beckley, Regional Director, United Kingdom, Europe and Central Eastern Asia, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

“Charles Rolls was a high-voltage Edwardian: experimental, audacious and moving faster than the world around him. His victory in the 1906 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy demonstrated both courage and discipline – a demanding course, limited fuel, a finely prepared motor car and an absolute belief in what machines could make possible. The Black Badge Ghost Tourist Trophy carries that spirit with restraint. Every Bespoke detail is rooted in the race, yet the overall expression is contemporary, quietly assured and deeply controlled.”
Alistair Barkley, Designer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has presented the Black Badge Ghost Tourist Trophy on the Isle of Man, marking 120 years since Charles Rolls’ victory in the 1906 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy.

The commission takes its inspiration from the Light 20 H.P. Rolls-Royce driven by Rolls and his riding mechanic, Eric Platford. Held over four laps of the Isle of Man course, the Tourist Trophy tested touring motor cars in the most exacting terms: speed had to be balanced with endurance, mechanical sympathy and carefully judged fuel use.

The event took place on the Highroads Course, which was shortened to 40.38 miles. Rolls started fourth and was leading by the end of the opening lap. By the final lap, he had built a 10-minute advantage – a remarkable margin in a race governed by restraint as much as pace. He and Platford completed four laps of the course in 4 hours, 6 minutes, and 0.06 seconds, at an average speed of 39.4 mph. There was just one pint and one ounce of fuel remaining in the 20 H.P. at the end of the race; it is this level of precision, aptitude and attention to detail shown by Rolls and Platford that continues to define Rolls-Royce Motor Cars today.

Charles Rolls was independent in thought, technically fluent and restless in pursuit of what machines could make possible. It was his restless quest for the new and the extraordinary which drew him to the exhilaration of early motor racing, ballooning and aviation. In Black Badge Ghost, that restlessness finds a contemporary form – assertive in character, exacting in detail and disciplined in execution.

The Black Badge Ghost Tourist Trophy carries the memory of the race through quiet, precise Bespoke details – each one connected to the Island, the course, the winning motor car or the man behind the achievement.


THE COLOUR OF VICTORY

The exterior of the commission is finished in Dark Emerald, selected to recall the green hue of the Light 20 H.P. Rolls-Royce driven by Rolls in the 1906 Tourist Trophy. A single Tan Coachline provides a restrained contrast, accompanied by a hand-painted Coachline motif featuring the number 4 in Arctic White. The number references Rolls’ starting position for the race, and the four laps of the course he completed in just over four hours.


A PRIVATE ARCHIVE

Inside, the Black and Tan palette creates an atmosphere of controlled intensity. Black leather and Black Badge Technical Fibre give the cabin a darker, contemporary edge, softened by Tan leather, stitching and seat piping, and the warmth of Mocassin lambswool.

The rear Waterfall carries an embroidered outline of the Isle of Man Short Highroads Course, placing the landscape of the victory within the intimacy of the cabin. Further references are concealed within the central ‘eyeball’ air vents, where engravings record details from the race-winning motor car and the event itself, including the registration number AX157, chassis number 26350B, race date 27.09.1906, and start and finish line coordinates, 54˚09’27.1” N 4°29’ 54.7” W.

Bespoke Illuminated Treadplates fitted to all four door sills also reference chassis number 26350B. Together, these elements form a discreet private archive within the Black Badge Ghost Tourist Trophy.

• First-ever Bespoke Rolls-Royce inspired by vintage video game culture
• Features ‘Pixel Blaster’ Starlight Headliner and ‘Laser Base’ Illuminated Fascia
• Interior and exterior details based on Bespoke 8-bit ‘Cheeky Alien’ motif
• Arcade-style artwork hand-painted on Technical Fibre interior surfaces
• Hidden retro gaming-inspired details turn the motor car into a game of its own

“The unique privilege of working within Rolls-Royce Bespoke Design is the extraordinary breadth of ideas we’re asked to bring to life. This brief was particularly exciting. Over the course of a month, we immersed ourselves in the 8-bit aesthetic that defined late 70s and early 80s gaming – from the games themselves and archive imagery of arcade halls, to original promotional and cabinet artwork. As well as capturing the distinctive colour palette, mood and atmosphere of this rich source material, we wanted the client to feel that the motor car itself was an immersive experience – and that every time they stepped inside, it would recreate the same thrill they felt when they pressed ‘start’ on an arcade machine for the very first time.”
Joshua McCandless, Bespoke Designer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

Rolls-Royce unveils Black Badge Ghost Gamer: a Bespoke commission inspired by the 8-bit universe of vintage video games. Created for a client with a deep passion for early arcade culture, this nostalgic motor car incorporates intricately crafted references to the dawn of gaming. Coded with details including a hand-painted ‘Cheeky Alien’ exterior Coachline motif, ‘Player One’ seat embroidery, ‘Pixel Blaster’ Starlight Headliner, a unique ‘Laser Base’ Illuminated Fascia, and a hidden cache of joystick-era Easter eggs, the discovery of every feature turns the motor car itself into a stunningly crafted game.


INSERT COIN: A NEW GENERATION OF COLLECTABLES

Black Badge Ghost Gamer is the first-ever Bespoke Rolls-Royce commission to be inspired by arcade gaming culture – a rapidly emerging space in the contemporary collectables landscape, defined by early video games, vintage consoles, and early media formats. Several Rolls-Royce clients are actively engaged in this growing market – their interest driven not only by accelerating value, but a nostalgic personal connection, and a desire to preserve the artefacts of the late 1970s and 1980s.

It is this mindset that inspired Black Badge Ghost Gamer: a motor car that reimagines the 8-bit aesthetics of vintage video games through stunningly immersive Bespoke features. The marque’s designers also placed each detail in such a way that discovering every element, which ranges from bold and expansive to hidden-until-found, becomes an immersive game of its own.


PRESS START: BESPOKE EXTERIOR PAINT

Black Badge Ghost Gamer is presented in a striking two-tone finish, with the main body in Salamanca Blue and the upper body in deep-shimmer Crystal over Diamond Black – a theme that echoes the super-metallic, neon-lit aesthetic of classic arcade hardware.

Rolls-Royce designers worked closely with the client to develop a unique motif to codify the commission. Nicknamed the ‘Cheeky Alien’, it appears as a hand-painted green Coachline motif alongside a pink 8-bit explosion design on one side of the motor car, and yellow and blue on the other. Created from 89 individual ‘pixels’ – each just 3mm by 3mm – it recalls the bitmapped graphics of early video games.

The retro-futurist theme continues with the Illuminated Pantheon Grille. Completing the exterior, black brake callipers complement the 22” seven-spoke forged Black Badge wheels.


READY PLAYER ONE: BESPOKE INTERIOR SUITE

The Black and Casden Tan interior suite of Black Badge Ghost Gamer is a richly layered and tactile homage to the early digital age, and where the game truly begins. Each detail has been designed and crafted to reward exploration, echoing the logic and visual language of a late 1970s video game arcade.

The seats feature Bespoke embroideries, with ‘Player 1’ and ‘Player 2’ in the front and ‘Player 3’ and ‘Player 4’ in the rear, rendered in an 8-bit-style font. The colours used in the stitching take inspiration from the electric, flickering hues displayed on vintage arcade monitors. This is contrasted with block-colour ‘Cheeky Alien’ embroideries on each headrest. Like the Coachline motifs, the artwork is made up of individual ‘pixels’ – 89 in total per design – creating a richly tactile graphic.

The area between the rear seats, named the Waterfall, is finished in Black Badge Technical Fibre and embellished with another tribute to early gaming iconography: two inlaid stainless steel ‘flying saucer’ spaceships hover above a hand-painted lunar scene with a starscape backdrop; a design inspired by the artwork on early arcade game cabinets.

Crafting this remarkable battle scene required more than two weeks of intensive development, with multiple paint iterations refined to create the final, period-perfect hues. The final artwork was brought to life using a combination of Black and Mandarin paint: a Black background, Mandarin highlights, and blended mid-tones created by mixing the two. The design was then applied entirely by hand using a mix of traditional brushwork, a specialised sponge technique to create texture and depth, and subtle blending with an airbrush.

To add extra celestial intrigue, a subtle silver sparkle has been added to the lacquer of all the Technical Fibre surfaces. Some of these surfaces also include hidden ‘Easter eggs’ – the rear picnic table has a metal ‘Cheeky Alien’ inlay on the upper surface; the 8-bit motif is also engraved on the hidden side of the front black chrome ‘eyeball’ air vent.


HIGH SCORE: ‘PIXEL BLASTER’ STARLIGHT HEADLINER AND ‘LASER BASE’ ILLUMINATED FASCIA

Every hallmark Rolls-Royce illumination is reimagined for this commission, each serving as a tribute to the visual cues of early gaming. The Illuminated Fascia – a feature that debuted on Ghost – is subtly reworked to evoke the ‘Laser Base’ backdrops of many early games. It includes a gunship composed of 85 individual stars, while the constellations themselves are adjusted so the ship appears to surge through the starfield.

Black Badge Ghost Gamer is crowned with a ‘Pixel Blaster’ Starlight Headliner. A formation of 80 bitmapped battlecruisers spans the canopy, each crafted using hand-placed fibre-optic lights. The marque’s signature Shooting Star function has been reprogrammed to simulate laser fire, and beams of light pulse from the ships across the ceiling, adding nostalgic drama to the night sky.

The commission is completed with Bespoke Illuminated Treadplates, visible when the doors are open. Engraved in the same 8-bit graphic lettering as the seat embroidery, they display classic arcade-game prompts: ‘PRESS START’, ‘LOADING…’, ‘LEVEL UP’ and ‘INSERT COIN’.

Delivered to a tech entrepreneur, this commission shows how Black Badge responds to the passions, tastes and cultural codes of a new generation of collectors – who dare to play differently.

Imagery and B-Roll from the Ghost Series II and Black Badge Ghost Series II Global Media Drive, hosted in Provence in November 2024.

Please see below for further background information:

Ghost Series II Launch Release

Black Badge Ghost Series II Launch Release

• Rolls-Royce presents a daring and powerful new expression of Black Badge Ghost
• The most agile, driver-focused and technical Black Badge Rolls-Royce ever
• Uncompromising 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 presented in high-power configuration
• All-wheel-drive, all-wheel-steering chassis with Black Badge Planar Suspension System
• Bespoke coachwork and 22-inch wheels reserved for Black Badge Ghost Series II
• Integrates new digital interface, SPIRIT, and private members app, Whispers
• Available to commission now, alongside Ghost Series II and Ghost Extended Series II

“As an authentic House of Luxury, we are driven by the desires of our clients. Our Black Badge series of motor cars is a space that we have created within our brand for them to make the most daring and self-confident statements. Black Badge Ghost responds to a very specific demand among these individuals – those who wish to enjoy the potency of this motor car’s uncompromising engine and inherent agility almost exclusively from the driver’s seat. For Black Badge Ghost Series II, we have enhanced its owner-driver appeal by incorporating a high-power expression of our legendary engine along with an even more assertive and technical design treatment and textile palette. This motor car, which is the most powerful and driver-focused V12 Rolls-Royce ever, signals our ongoing commitment to the world’s boldest and most dynamic super-luxury consumers.”
Chris Brownridge, Chief Executive, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

“With Black Badge Ghost Series II we have introduced subtle but impactful design impulses that clearly signal this motor car’s incredible agility and power, while upholding the purity and presence of our overarching design approach. These restrained but disruptive styling details, reserved exclusively for Black Badge Ghost Series II, reflect our clients’ desire to command attention with their Bespoke commissions, and experience every journey with a bold sense of purpose.”
Juliane Blasi, Head of Exterior Design, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

The most powerful, agile and technical expression of Black Badge, Rolls-Royce’s disruptive alter ego, is embodied by Ghost. Today, the marque presents a daring evolution of this unapologetic and uniquely driver-focused motor car with Black Badge Ghost Series II, meticulously redesigned to provide this rebellious group of clients with a dramatic canvas for their bold Bespoke commissions.


BLACK BADGE GHOST SERIES II: EXTERIOR

Black Badge Ghost Series II’s daring is in its subtle yet impactful exterior design. The most significant styling statement is the lower grille, marking the first time Black Badge Ghost has received a unique styling treatment. The lower brake air intake now features a new geometry, with two darkened chrome strips running longitudinally to functional air ducts, surrounded by technical black chrome frames. These pieces emphasise the verticality and solidity of the motor car’s Pantheon Grille, behind which lies the centrepiece of this motor car – the uncompromising and potent V12 engine.

Black Badge Ghost Series II retains the Black Badge-defining black chrome treatment, where Rolls-Royce hallmarks such as the Spirit of Ecstasy, Pantheon Grille and side-mounted ‘Badge of Honour’ are darkened. To create the effect, a specific chrome electrolyte is introduced to the traditional chrome plating process that is co-deposited on the stainless-steel substrate, darkening the finish. Each darkened component is precision-polished by hand to achieve a mirror-black finish. For the first time on Black Badge Ghost, the door handles are completed with a black finish, further extending the noir effect that captivates the world’s most disruptive super-luxury consumers.


BLACK BADGE GHOST SERIES II: A DRAMATIC WHEEL TREATMENT

Black Badge Ghost Series II’s most dramatic exterior statement is a 22-inch part-polished, seven-spoke forged wheelset. Styled to project the mechanical complexity of its legendary high-power V12 engine and chassis technology, the reduced visual mass of the wheel and slender spoke geometry provide a clear view of the powerful disc brakes. This design signals the motor car’s potency and extraordinary dynamic abilities – a defining aspect of Black Badge Ghost’s character that draws an increasing number of clients to the Rolls-Royce brand and inspires the boldest Bespoke commissions.


BLACK BADGE GHOST SERIES II: INTERIOR

The dark, technical surfaces that codify Black Badge are used discreetly yet extensively within the interior of Black Badge Ghost Series II. Perhaps the subtlest illustration of Rolls-Royce’s alter ego is within the new Clock Cabinet; the vitrine houses an analogue timepiece and an up-lit Spirit of Ecstasy figurine, presented in black chrome rather than a mirror-polished finish. This elegant expression of contemporary craft is placed alongside the uprated Central Information Display, which now integrates the marque’s new advanced SPIRIT operating system.


BLACK BADGE GHOST SERIES II: CRAFTING CARBON FIBRE

Below the glass fascia and throughout the interior, Black Badge Ghost Series II features a meticulously crafted Technical Carbon surface finish. The marque’s craftspeople developed a complex but restrained diamond-shaped weave using carbon and metallic fibres on top of a black Bolivar wood base. Leaves woven from resin-coated carbon and contrasting metal-coated thread are laid by hand in a diamond pattern, which creates a three-dimensional effect. Each component is then cured for one hour under pressure at 100°C. The surface is sand-blasted to create a ‘key’ for six layers of lacquer, which is hand-sanded before being polished to a brilliant finish. The final effect is subtle, yet rewards those who examine it with remarkable depth and clarity.

If Immersive Seating is commissioned with a Centre Console, clients can specify the Black Badge family motif, the infinity symbol, onto the rear Technical Carbon ‘Waterfall’ section that separates the rear reclining seats and conceals the Champagne cooler. Rendered in aerospace-grade aluminium, it is applied between the third and fourth layers of six layers of tinted lacquer, which appears to make the symbol float.

Black Badge Ghost Series II also uses an advanced technique known as physical vapour deposition to darken the interior metals. The speaker grilles and air vent surrounds on the dashboard and in the rear cabin are enhanced with this process, which does not discolour or tarnish through repeated use, exposure to temperature extremes, or over time.


BLACK BADGE GHOST SERIES II: A DISRUPTIVE MATERIAL MIX

Black Badge clients are invited to explore the new materials made available for Ghost Series II. This includes the marque’s dramatic Duality Twill textile, an innovative rayon fabric made from bamboo. The development of this bold new material was inspired by the extensive bamboo grove in Le Jardin des Méditerranées on the Côte d’Azur, which neighbours Sir Henry Royce’s former winter home, Villa Mimosa. It is embroidered with an artistic ‘Duality’ graphic, which is based on an abstract interpretation of the two interlinked letter R initials of the marque’s founders. A complete Duality Twill interior can incorporate up to 2.2 million stitches and 11 miles of thread, taking up to 20 hours to complete. This exquisite material can be made even more impactful with daring and extrovert contrast colourways that clients can create with 51 colours of thread to choose from, further elevating this remarkable new finish for Black Badge clients.

Alternatively, clients may choose Placed Perforation – an innovative contemporary craft technique in which small perforations are made in the seat leather to create unique artworks. The perforations vary in size to create the perception of depth, allowing detailed and seemingly three-dimensional graphics to be created. The initial pattern is inspired by the shifting shapes and shadows of clouds over the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood. It is composed of up to 107,000 0.8- and 1.2-millimetre perforations, each individually examined to ensure absolute uniformity.


BLACK BADGE GHOST SERIES II: ENGINEERING

In Black Badge Ghost Series II, the formidable V12 engine is presented in a high-power configuration, producing 29PS more power and 50NM more torque than Ghost Series II. As with all Rolls-Royce Black Badge models, the ‘Low’ button situated on the gear selection stalk unlocks Black Badge Ghost’s full suite of technologies, including a 50% increase in gearshift speeds when the throttle is depressed to 90%, and a subtly more voluble note from the motor car’s exhaust system – features that dramatise, but never compromise the effortless Rolls-Royce driving experience.

To harness this additional power, the Black Badge Planar Suspension system is used for Black Badge Ghost Series II. As with Ghost Series II, this decorated chassis technology incorporates a unique Upper Wishbone Damper unit above the front suspension assembly. This is linked with continuously variable, electronically controlled shock absorbers and self-levelling air strut assemblies front and rear to create an even more agile expression of the marque’s signature ‘magic carpet ride’.

To inspire driver confidence, when exploring the motor car’s significant power reserves, the braking bite point has been raised, and pedal travel decreased, directly responding to client requests for a uniquely potent expression of the Rolls-Royce brand.


THE LUXURY OF AGILITY

Black Badge Ghost Series II reflects a growing desire among the marque’s clients to enjoy a dramatic expression of the brand’s uncompromising V12 engine and uniquely advanced chassis systems while benefitting from Rolls-Royce’s peerless Bespoke capabilities. This extraordinary new motor car builds on the overwhelming success of its predecessor, embodying a bold vision of luxury in motion.

• Rolls-Royce Motor Cars presents the Black Badge Ghost Ékleipsis Private Collection
• Limited to just 25 examples, it is inspired by the drama, spectacle and mystery of a solar eclipse
• The animated Starlight Headliner adds a true sense of theatre and wonder for the occupants as they take their seats in the cabin
• Bespoke fascia depicts stages of a total solar eclipse and includes a Bespoke timepiece inset with a dazzling 0.5-carat diamond
• ‘Panoramic Sunset’ bi-coloured and perforated leather seats capture the haunting 360-degree twilight effect seen at the moment of totality

“With Rolls-Royce Black Badge Ghost Ékleipsis, we draw inspiration from a total solar eclipse: a seldom-seen and spellbinding phenomenon that reflects the rarity and beauty of Rolls-Royce Private Collections. In capturing the magic of this celestial alignment, our Bespoke Collective of designers, engineers and craftspeople have once again elevated contemporary craftsmanship, with a landmark series of exquisite details that project the marque’s culture of ambition and excellence. We are exceptionally proud to present these motor cars to 25 of our most significant clients around the world – it is these individuals who inspire greatness within our brand, and who drive us to create ever more bold and richly detailed expressions of modern luxury.”
Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is delighted to present the Rolls-Royce Black Badge Ghost Ékleipsis Private Collection, inspired by the seldom-seen wonder of a solar eclipse. Harnessing the incredible forces of this celestial phenomenon, these exquisite commissions explore the captivating interplay of light and darkness, recreating the awe-inspiring moment when the Moon completely obscures the Sun.

The purity of Rolls-Royce Ghost, infused with the subversive Black Badge spirit, presents the Rolls-Royce Bespoke Collective with the perfect canvas and limitless possibility to express the beauty of this wonder of the universe.

The launch of these highly Bespoke motor cars, limited to just 25 examples, coincides with the annular solar eclipse visible in parts of the Western Hemisphere on 14 October.


EXTERIOR: GOLDEN DARKNESS

The mysterious, ethereal light cast by a total solar eclipse is captured in the Lyrical Copper exterior colour of the motor car. This stunning Bespoke finish incorporates powdered copper pigment, which appears darker until it catches the light when it produces a rich and dramatic iridescence. Mandarin adorns the inserts below the Pantheon Grille and brake callipers, recalling the intense pulses of sunlight witnessed as the eclipse progresses. The same Mandarin hue is used for the hand-painted coachline, which includes a delicate abstract representation of the transition from sunlight to darkness as the Moon approaches to cover the Sun.


ANIMATED STARLIGHT HEADLINER

The Rolls-Royce Black Badge Ghost Ékleipsis features a fully Bespoke Starlight Headliner with a special animation that, like the eclipse that inspires it, gives those inside a true sense of awe and wonder. As the coach doors close and the engine is started, the ‘stars’ in the Starlight Headliner darken and a mesmerising sequence begins, replicating the totality of the solar eclipse, when the dark silhouette of the Moon completely obscures the bright light of the Sun. A circle of 940 ‘stars’ is formed, representing the bright corona of light around the lunar silhouette. This is surrounded by a further 192 illuminating ‘stars’, recreating the otherworldly spectacle of stars visible in the sky during daylight, which occurs only during a total solar eclipse.

The animation remains visible for precisely seven minutes and 31 seconds – the longest possible duration of a total solar eclipse. Once this time has elapsed, the full constellation of stars in the night sky is restored. This highly technical feature required a year of painstaking development, in which the Bespoke Collective produced three complete prototypes to perfect the design and sequencing of the ‘stars’.


ILLUMINATED FASCIA AND ‘DIAMOND RING’ TIMEPIECE

The illuminated fascia of Rolls-Royce Black Badge Ghost Ékleipsis is adorned with 1,846 laser-etched ‘stars’ in a symbolic timeline of a total eclipse. A single Bespoke designer had sole responsibility for adjusting the individual size and position of each ‘star’ to create the mesmeric effect; a delicate and exacting process that took over 100 hours to complete.

The composition culminates in a Bespoke timepiece, which incorporates a brilliant-cut 0.5-carat diamond, recalling the ‘Diamond Ring’ effect, when a single, dazzling point of light can be seen on the Moon’s outline in the split seconds just before and immediately after it obscures the Sun. The bezel geometry has been modified to accommodate the precious gem, as this is the first time in Rolls-Royce history that a gemstone has been integrated into the clock’s bezel. The assembly underwent rigorous adhesion tests, which included climatic cell cycling from -30°C to +90°C, to ensure the diamond is robustly secured. The timepiece is finished with an etching on its dark aluminium surround, revealing the bright metal underneath. This beautiful piece of contemporary craftsmanship is the result of over 14 design iterations.


PANORAMIC SUNSET INTERIOR

At totality of a solar eclipse, there is a moment when a golden twilight surrounds those viewing the eclipse, giving the illusion of a 360-degree sunset. In Rolls-Royce Black Badge Ghost Ékleipsis, the beauty of this rarely observed phenomenon is captured in bi-coloured seats with a unique perforated artwork, made of over 200,000 individual perforations.

The bold Mandarin leather is tinted in a black shade that is then perforated to reveal the brighter contrasting colour beneath, creating a visual effect with extraordinary depth and subtlety. Using computational design tools, the Bespoke Collective developed a unique pattern, which was then manually refined over seven trials and iterations.

Bespoke finishing touches include illuminated treadplates, umbrellas with Mandarin piping concealed in the coach doors, and a unique indoor motor car cover bearing the Private Collection’s wordmark.

All 25 examples of the Rolls-Royce Black Badge Ghost Ékleipsis Private Collection have been allocated to clients around the world.

• Rolls-Royce celebrates the first 20 years of production at its Goodwood manufacturing centre
• A story of continuous progress and evolution, told through 20 individual models
• Each created and handmade at the Home of Rolls-Royce since 2003
• Includes EX experimental cars, which revived a naming convention last seen in the 1950s
• Describes an arc of technical innovation and responses to changing client requirements
• Leads to the new all-electric era ushered in by the Rolls-Royce Spectre

“Rolls-Royce has always stood for innovation and progress, constantly pushing technical and creative boundaries in the relentless pursuit of perfection demanded by its co-founder, ##Sir Henry Royce##. Our remarkable record of creating 20 different models in our first 20 years at the Home of Rolls-Royce is a direct result of that restless, adventurous spirit. Each of these models is a magnificent achievement in itself; together, they demonstrate our unique understanding of – and ability to respond to – our clients’ changing needs, tastes and desires over time.”
Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

When Rolls-Royce Motor Cars began full-scale manufacturing at Goodwood, it produced just a single model: the original, seventh-generation Phantom. The first completed motor car was handed over to its new owner in a special ceremony at one minute past midnight on 1 January 2003.

Since that historic moment, no fewer than 20 different models and variants have been created and handmade at #Goodwood – equivalent to one for every year. Today's Rolls-Royce model family reflects two decades of continuous innovation and progress in design, technology, materials and methods, as the marque seeks to satisfy its clients' ever-changing needs, tastes and desires.

Phantom, and its siblings Phantom Drophead Coupé and Phantom Coupé, were followed by the more approachable Ghost, which went on to become the best-selling model the marque has ever produced since its foundation in 1904. The product family grew further with Wraith (2013) and Dawn (2016), respectively the most powerful and seductive models in the marque’s portfolio; they were joined in 2018 by Cullinan, the 'Rolls-Royce of SUVs', which is now ranked among the world's most desirable and in-demand luxury products.

With the exception of Phantom, all models in the current product family are available as Black Badge variants. Created for a new breed of client who desired a more subversive, rebellious expression of the Rolls-Royce brand, this permanent Bespoke series now accounts for more than a third of the marque’s total output.

Since 2003, the Home of Rolls-Royce’s design and engineering teams have produced a number of experimental motor cars. In keeping with tradition, these were given the ‘EX’ designation, used until the 1950s by Rolls-Royce engineers to maintain secrecy during testing and development, and the distinctive red-on-silver 'RR' badge. Never intended for series production, they were fundamental to the process of creating some of the most technically significant and commercially successful products in the marque's history.

Two Coachbuild masterpieces that represent the ultimate expression of Rolls-Royce's Bespoke capabilities also grace the list. Individually commissioned and entirely hand-built, they echo the coachbuilding traditions of the marque's early years, while employing the very latest in contemporary design, engineering, manufacturing and craft techniques to create true works of art.

The first 20 years at #Goodwood have culminated in the launch of Spectre. The first all-electric Rolls-Royce in history, this landmark motor car also marks the beginning of a new technological era, in which every new Rolls-Royce model will be fully electric from 2030 onwards. With series production yet to begin, Spectre is not strictly among the 20 cars produced between 2003 and 2023, so does not appear in the list that follows. However, it is both the next evolutionary step in the model family's development, and the technical and philosophical foundation for all that will follow in future.

This remarkable period in the marque’s history has seen the creation of a countless deeply personal, complex and beautiful expressions of the marque’s motor cars. While it is nearly impossible to edit a selection of the best of the last twenty years, here are some truly exemplary examples:

20 CARS FOR 20 YEARS

1. Phantom, 2003
The original 'Goodwood Phantom' was the seventh generation to wear what is now the longest-established nameplate in automotive history. With its marriage of technology, comfort, performance and the signature 'Magic Carpet Ride', it set a new standard for every model that has followed.

2. 100EX, 2004
Produced to mark the centenary of the first meeting between Charles Rolls and Henry Royce, this was the first Experimental Car produced by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars under BMW Group ownership. Powered by an extraordinary 9-litre V16 engine, it was never intended for production, but was the direct forebear for what would become the celebrated Phantom Drophead Coupé.

3. Phantom Extended, 2005
Unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2005, Phantom Extended was 250 mm (9.8 in) longer than the 'standard' Phantom. This created additional legroom in the rear cabin, making this model especially popular with clients who prefer to be chauffeur-driven.

4. 101EX, 2006
Like 100EX, this experimental prototype was built on a shortened version of Phantom's aluminium space frame, with the body panels constructed in carbon-fibre composite. It would find enduring life and global fame in its eventual production guise as Phantom Coupé, powered by the iconic 6.75-litre V12 engine.

5. Phantom Drophead Coupé, 2007
One of the most sought-after models ever produced at Goodwood, the Phantom Drophead Coupé stunned the world on its debut. With distinctive styling derived from 100EX (see above), its defining feature is the interior wood veneering that flows around the cabin into the teak tonneau cover, inspired by a racing yacht deck.

6. Phantom Coupé, 2008
With its pillarless construction, this was a true hardtop two-door coupé – the first Rolls-Royce of its type to be produced in more than two decades. Like its drophead sibling, Phantom Coupé incorporated many of the design features and construction techniques developed on the experimental 101EX.

7. 200EX, 2009
Presented at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2009, 200EX was the experimental car that responded to client feedback for a more approachable and driver-orientated Rolls-Royce.

8. Ghost, 2010
Designed for a new generation of ascendent Rolls-Royce clients, Ghost immediately won praise for its simple, contemporary design and effortless, dynamic performance. To date it is the most commercially successful model in Rolls-Royce history.

9. 102EX, 2011
Known as the Phantom Experimental Electric (EE), this one-off electric prototype version of Phantom began Rolls-Royce's exploration into suitable technology to power future generations of its motor cars. The world’s first super-luxury battery electric vehicle, it toured the world gauging reactions from clients, enthusiasts, the media and the wider public.

10. Ghost Extended, 2011
Responding to feedback from clients who prefer to be chauffeur-driven, Rolls-Royce introduced an Extended version of Ghost, offering additional space and comfort for rear-seat passengers while maintaining the motor car’s more focussed driving characteristics.

11. Wraith, 2013
The fastback Wraith was intended as the ultimate gran turismo; a car that embodied the bold, pioneering spirit, sense of adventure and love of speed that inspired the marque's co-founder, The Hon Charles Stewart Rolls.

12. Dawn, 2016
The definitive super-luxury four-seater convertible, Dawn was designed to enable four adults to travel sociably together in complete comfort. The roof is a design and engineering masterpiece: dubbed 'the Silent Ballet' the mechanism operates in complete silence in just 22 seconds, and at cruising speeds of up to 50km/h; with the roof closed, the interior is as silent as a Rolls-Royce Wraith.

13. Black Badge Wraith and Black Badge Ghost, 2016
The Black Badge family introduced the world to the marque’s enfants terribles, subverting perceptions of what a Rolls-Royce ‘should’ be. These variants are more powerful and specifically engineered to deliver an even more direct, engaging driving experience, while still offering near-limitless opportunities for Bespoke personalisation. In Black Badge guise, both Wraith and Ghost received additional torque, unique air-suspension set-up and drive shafts, Intuitive Throttle Response and crisper, more urgent 8-speed automatic transmission. The result was an even more agile and involving motoring experience, without compromising the intrinsic elements of the effortless Rolls-Royce ‘Magic Carpet Ride’.

14. 103EX, 2016
Perhaps the most radical experimental car ever produced at Goodwood, Rolls-Royce Vision Next 100, codenamed 103EX, presented the marque’s uncompromised view of the future of luxury mobility. Fully electric, with a completely autonomous drive and enhanced artificial intelligence, it made an unequivocal statement about Rolls-Royce's future direction, both in terms of electric power and effortless, highly personalised travel.

15. ‘Sweptail’, 2017
Rolls-Royce revived the art of coachbuilding with the magnificent ‘Sweptail’, described at the time as ‘automotive Haute Couture’. Inspired by coachbuilt Rolls-Royces and racing yachts of the 1920s and 30s, this unique two-seat coupé featured a panoramic glass roof and a pair of attaché cases concealed behind the coach doors.

16. Phantom 8, 2017
No nameplate occupies a more revered place in the pantheon of great cars and indeed, luxury goods as Phantom. The task to re-invent it for a bold, new era was therefore approached with exquisite care. The result was a Phantom that responded to the changing sensibilities of a new generation whilst maintaining the iconic presence that ensures its ongoing status as the “Best Car in the World”.

17. Cullinan, 2018
Cullinan is truly the ‘Rolls-Royce of SUVs’, designed and built to take younger, successful high-net-worth individuals to the ends of the Earth in ultimate comfort. With its ‘effortless, everywhere’ capabilities, endless Bespoke possibilities and unique lifestyle features – including the Recreation Module – it has become one of the most desirable luxury goods on the planet.

18. Black Badge Cullinan, 2019
Cullinan revelled in its new, darker persona, which included a more powerful 6.7-litre V12 engine, black 22-inch forged alloy wheels, Pantheon grille and Spirit of Ecstasy mascot, plus the first painted brake callipers ever fitted to a factory-delivered Rolls-Royce.

19. New Ghost, 2020
When it came to present a new Ghost, Rolls-Royce responded to the requirement from a new ascendent generation of successful women and men for a motor car, perfectly aligned with new codes of luxury. The result is an aesthetic that prioritises minimalist design and celebrates material substance. The motor car was also engineered to possess an engaging and dynamic character with no compromise to the serenity and comfort in the rear suite.

20. Boat Tail, 2021
The Boat Tail commissions took Rolls-Royce Coachbuild into new realms of complexity and audacity, in a demanding technical and creative project that lasted almost four years. A genuine objet d'art, this entirely handcrafted motor car demonstrated the marque's commitment to coachbuilding as a central part of its future direction and strategy.

• Rolls-Royce Motor Cars will serve a highly contemporary presence at the Festival of Speed
• Bespoke expressions of the full Black Badge product portfolio will be presented
• Collection presented on Festival’s Laundry Green

 

“Each year many clients, friends of the brand and media come together for the Festival of Speed. With its location, just a stone’s throw away from The Home of Rolls-Royce on the Goodwood Estate, the Festival of Speed is a very important event for the brand. This year, our full Black Badge portfolio will be displayed at the event on the Laundry Green. I am delighted to showcase such highly Bespoke cars in vivacious colours and luxurious hues, testament to the creativity of our artisans, designers and engineers.”
Boris Weletzky, Regional Director UK, Europe, Russia and Central Asia, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars


Visitors attending the Festival of Speed will experience the global public debut of the full Black Badge product portfolio.

Displayed on the Festival’s Laundry Green, adjacent to Goodwood House, will be a selection of highly Bespoke commissions – Black Badge Wraith, Black Badge Dawn, Black Badge Cullinan and the purest expression of a Rolls-Royce Black Badge to date, Black Badge Ghost. Each commission reveals an owner’s aesthetic sensibilities and the marque’s peerless craftsmanship.


BLACK BADGE

Launched in 2016, Black Badge is Rolls-Royce’s response to a new type of client. A permanent Bespoke treatment to its motor cars, these products are darker in aesthetic, more urgent in personality and dramatic in material. Designed with more torque, control and power, Rolls-Royce Black Badge is for those who reject conformity and live on their own terms. It is for the innovators, trailblazers, rule-breakers — and above all — those who dare. Since its introduction, more dynamic patrons of luxury have responded by pushing the boundaries of the marque’s bold alter-ego through their own Bespoke commissions.

Black Badge, the highly successful alter ego of Rolls-Royce, now represents 27% of commissions worldwide and is codified by the mathematical symbol that represents a potential infinity. This graphic, also known as a Leminscate, was applied to Sir Malcom Campbell’s record-breaking Rolls-Royce powered Blue Bird K3 hydroplane and the marque’s designers nominated this hallmark for Black Badge motor cars to reflect their own unrelenting pursuit of power and the infinite possibilities that darkness provides. Today it can be found within the Black Badge motor car’s interior.

For this year’s Festival of Speed, Rolls-Royce presents five new powerful creations, inspired by its clients’ desires.


BLACK BADGE GHOST

Launched in late 2021, Black Badge Ghost is the marque’s purest and most technologically advanced Black Badge motor car yet.

A Galileo Blue and Black exterior finish was selected to signify the dramatic intent of this Black Badge Ghost commission. Striking Red brake callipers and a single wheel centre pinstripe in Galileo Blue confidently resolve the aesthetic exterior. The blue theme is carried through to the interior, with the seat piping and Bespoke interior leather in Galileo Blue.

The second Black Badge Ghost model is on display in the VIP area, its vibrant Lime Green coachwork creating a striking contrast against its dark carbon fibre Spirit of Ecstasy.


BLACK BADGE CULLINAN

Named after the world’s largest rough Diamond, Cullinan is a super-luxury SUV, designed to make luxury travel effortless everywhere. Since its launch, Black Badge Cullinan has embarked on a remarkable Bespoke journey, and a unique Black Badge Cullinan has been created for the event. The commission reconciles the notions of utility, power and effortlessness that Black Badge Cullinan embodies. Presented in Dark Olive with a single Mandarin coachline and Mandarin brake callipers, the signature Black Badge design flourishes, including a milled carbon fibre Spirit of Ecstasy, and 22-inch Black Badge wheels embolden the exterior aesthetic.


BLACK BADGE DAWN

Black Badge Dawn is the most uncompromising expression of open-top luxury in the world. Presented in a striking two-tone, Jasmine with Black, this commission embodies the notions of adventure and freedom. This bold and powerful two-tone treatment is also applied to the steering wheel, and the flanks of its bold coachwork are underscored by 21-inch Black Badge wheels.


BLACK BADGE WRAITH

Black Badge Wraith presents an intoxicating manifestation of the world’s most powerful Rolls-Royce. The athletic prowess of the luxury Grand Tourer meets an irresistible dynamism, sculpted for those who dare to defy convention. Black Badge Wraith is presented in Tucana Purple, with the upper body in Black. A Mandarin coachline showcases the marque’s surface finish capabilities. Inside, a Mandarin and Black theme creates a dramatic and powerful aesthetic.

In addition to the four cars presented on the stand, a Rolls-Royce Black Badge Ghost will take to the hill climb up to four times a day in the exclusive ‘First Glance’ showcase. Further demonstrating Black Badge’s agility, a Rolls-Royce Black Badge Wraith will join the cars in the ‘Michelin Supercar Run’. Both motor cars can be viewed in their Paddocks between their scheduled high-speed outings.


Other Rolls-Royce motor cars attending the Festival of Speed include a Black Badge Dawn as a Courtesy Car and a Black Badge Cullinan as a Festival Course Safety Car.

• Black Badge Ghost debuts dark side of Post Opulent design
• 6.75-litre V12 engine now delivers increased power (600PS) and torque (900NM)
• Drivetrain and chassis re-engineered for more urgent performance
• Curated collection debuts striking Turchese Leather and Technical Carbon veneer
• Bespoke alloy wheel introduced in Black Badge house style with carbon fibre barrel
• Infinity lemniscate symbol continues to codify noir expression of Rolls-Royce

“After considerable internal debate, Rolls-Royce announced that it would create an officially sanctioned response to a new kind of client: a permanent Bespoke treatment to its motor cars named Black Badge. These products, which were launched in 2016, would be darker in aesthetic, more urgent in personality and dramatic in material treatment.

“In the five years since Black Badge became publicly available, this bold family of motor cars has come to symbolise the pinnacle of a new type of super-luxury product, setting in motion a shift across the wider luxury industry. Subsequently, nearly all luxury makers create products that seek to capture the Black Badge spirit.

“Today, we announce a product that represents a new kind of Black Badge motor car, one that seizes on the minimalist, Post Opulent design treatment that has recast the legend of Ghost but amplifies and subverts it with the application of black. Our most advanced motor car yet has been reengineered to characterise the alter ego of Rolls-Royce: assertive, dynamic and potent. This is the purest Black Badge motor car in the marque’s history. This is Black Badge Ghost.”
Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars



INTRODUCTION

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has a unique fluency in its clients. Its close relationship with the women and men who patronise the marque affords the company’s decision-makers an unparalleled understanding of the super-luxury consumer: their aesthetic preferences, uncompromising lifestyle requirements and changing taste patterns. Only with this understanding, and briefings supplied by the brand's Luxury Intelligence Unit, is the marque able to create an accurate product response. Black Badge is a vivid example of this.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has always attracted subversive clients – rebellious women and men who built their success by breaking rules, taking risks and challenging conventions. In the 2020s, these women and men engage with luxury products on their own terms. They reject suits for streetwear, use blockchain not banks and influence the analogue world through their digital endeavours. In doing so, they have created new codes of luxury that resonate with their sensibilities: darker in aesthetic, assertive in character and bold in design.

Their approach to Rolls-Royce products is no different. The marque has responded accordingly, developing new colour palettes, more technical surface treatments and even more powerful driving experiences without ever compromising the effortless sensibilities that have drawn this bold group of clients to the Rolls-Royce brand.

Black Badge, the highly successful alter ego of Rolls-Royce, now represents more than 27% of commissions worldwide and is codified by the mathematical symbol that represents a potential infinity, which is found within the motor car’s interior. This graphic, also known as the Lemniscate, was applied to Sir Malcolm Campbell’s record-breaking Rolls-Royce-powered Blue Bird K3 hydroplane and the marque's designers nominated this hallmark for Black Badge motor cars to reflect their own unrelenting pursuit of power.

Rolls-Royce debuted Black Badge with Wraith and Ghost in 2016, followed by Dawn in 2017 then Cullinan in 2019. Today, a new, Post Opulent expression of Black Badge joins the family. The purest and most technologically advanced Black Badge motor car yet, Black Badge Ghost.



THE DARK SIDE OF POST OPULENCE

Conceived in response to a group of clients who requested a Rolls-Royce that was agile, discreet, highly connected and free of any superfluous design, the new Ghost is not just the most technologically advanced Rolls-Royce yet, but also the most aesthetically pure. In the twelve months since this motor car has been available, it has become one of the fastest-selling products in the marque’s history, representing more than 3,500 commissions worldwide.

This motor car also started a new design conversation in its relentless pursuit of minimalism and purity. Named ‘Post Opulence’ by Rolls-Royce designers, this aesthetic movement is characterised by reduction and substance. In service to this, exceptional materials are selected and celebrated while overt design is limited, intelligent and unobtrusive.

However, within this group of clients – who celebrate minimalism and material substance – a rebellious subset sought to create a disruptive expression of Ghost by permanently cloaking it in a shade so pure that its very classification as a colour remains a subject of debate: black. Black Badge Ghost reflects these clients’ desires. It is the dark side of Post Opulence: minimalism in extremis.



EXTERIOR

Clients are free to select any of the marque’s 44,000 ‘ready-to-wear’ colours or create their own entirely unique Bespoke hue. However, the overwhelming majority of women and men who requested this darker expression of Ghost have selected the signature Black. To create what is the motor car industry’s darkest black, 100lbs (45kg) of paint is atomised and applied to an electrostatically charged body in white before being oven dried. The motor car then receives two layers of clear coat before being hand-polished by a team of four craftsman to produce the marque’s signature high-gloss piano finish.

At between three and five hours in duration, this operation is entirely unknown in mass production, creating an intensity simply unattainable elsewhere in the automotive industry. It is this depth of darkness that serves as the perfect canvas for clients to add a high-contrast, hand-painted Coachline, which has done much to create the Black Badge ‘black and neon’ aesthetic that has come to characterise this vivid family of Rolls-Royce motor cars.

To match this dramatic coachwork, the marque’s Bespoke Collective of designers, engineers and craftspeople collaborated to create an entirely customisable process that allows Rolls-Royce hallmarks such as the high-polished Spirit of Ecstasy and Pantheon Grille to be subverted. Instead of simply painting these components, a specific chrome electrolyte is introduced to the traditional chrome plating process that is co-deposited on the stainless-steel substrate, darkening the finish. Its final thickness is just one micrometre – around one hundredth of the width of a human hair. Each of these components is precision-polished by hand to achieve a mirror-black chrome finish before it is fitted to the motor car.

The exterior treatment resolves with a Bespoke 21-inch composite wheelset. Designed in the Black Badge house style and reserved for Black Badge Ghost, the barrel of each wheel is made up of 22 layers of carbon fibre laid on three axes, then folded back on themselves at the outer edges of the rim, forming a total of 44 layers of carbon fibre for greater strength. A 3D-forged aluminium hub is bonded to the rim using aerospace-grade titanium fasteners and finished with the marque’s hallmark Floating Hubcap, ensuring the Double R monogram remains upright at all times. To celebrate the material substance and remarkable surface effect, a lightly tinted lacquer is applied to protect the finish but still allow clients to observe the technical complexity of the wheels unique carbon fibre construction.



INTERIOR

Advanced luxury materials have been meticulously created and crafted for a unique ambience in the interior suite. While recalling the dramatic mechanical intent of Black Badge Ghost, the materials are true to Ghost’s Post Opulent design philosophy – one defined by authenticity and material substance rather than overt statement. In this spirit, a complex but subtle weave that incorporates a deep diamond pattern rendered in carbon and metallic fibres has been created by the marque’s craftspeople.

Multiple wood layers are pressed onto the interior component substrates, using black Bolivar veneer for the uppermost base layer. This forms a dark foundation for the Technical Fibre layers that follow. Leaves woven from resin-coated carbon and contrasting metal-coated thread laid in a diamond pattern are applied by hand to the components in perfect alignment, creating a three-dimensional effect. To secure this extraordinary veneer, each component is cured for one hour under pressure at 100°C. This is then sand-blasted to create a keyed surface for six layers of lacquer, which is hand-sanded and polished before being incorporated into the motor car.

If specified in the client’s commission, the Technical Fibre ‘Waterfall’ section of the individual rear seats receives the Black Badge family motif: the mathematical symbol that represents potential infinity known as a Lemniscate. Rendered in aerospace-grade aluminium on the lid of Black Badge Ghost’s Champagne cooler, it is applied between the third and fourth layer of a total of six layers of subtly tinted lacquer, creating the illusion that the symbol is floating above the Technical Fibre veneer.

Aesthetes from the marque’s design team elected to further enhance the noir ambience of Black Badge Ghost by subduing the brightwork. Air vent surrounds on the dashboard and in the rear cabin are darkened using physical vapour deposition, one of the few methods of colouring metal that ensures parts will not discolour or tarnish over time or through repeated use. The Post Opulent principles of simplicity have also been applied to dramatic effect in the Black Badge Ghost timepiece design: only the tips of the hands and the twelve, three, six and nine o'clock markers are picked out, in a subdued chrome finish, creating a remarkably minimal clock. Additional timepieces are available within Black Badge Ghost to suit the client’s aesthetic preference.

The timepiece is flanked by a world-first Bespoke innovation that debuted with Ghost: the Illuminated Fascia, which displays an ethereal glowing Lemniscate, surrounded by more than 850 stars. Located on the passenger side of the dashboard, the constellation and motif are completely invisible when the interior lights are not in operation. As in Ghost, the Lemniscate motif is illuminated via 152 LEDs mounted above and beneath the fascia, each meticulously colour-matched to the cabin’s clock and instrument dial lighting. To ensure the Lemniscate is lit evenly, a 2mm-thick light guide is used, featuring more than 90,000 laser-etched dots across the surface. This not only disperses the light evenly but creates a twinkling effect as the eye moves across the fascia, echoing the subtle sparkle of the Shooting Star Starlight Headliner.



ENGINEERING

Black Badge is not just an aesthetic – it is an experience. The clients who requested this motor car demanded that the Bespoke treatment of Black Badge Ghost extend from the design atelier into the marque’s engineering department. In doing so, the Bespoke Collective of designers, engineers and craftspeople collaborated to create a vivid driving personality that matched Black Badge Ghost’s visual intent without compromising the marque’s effortless ride proclivities and exhaustive acoustic tuning.

Key to its potent character is the Architecture of Luxury, Rolls-Royce’s proprietary all-aluminium spaceframe architecture that debuted with Phantom. This sub-structure not only delivers extraordinary body stiffness, but its flexibility and scalability allowed Ghost to be equipped with all-wheel drive, four-wheel steering and the award-winning Planar Suspension system. For Black Badge, these peerless engineering qualities have been comprehensively re-engineered, including the fitting of more voluminous air springs to alleviate body roll under more assertive cornering.

The capacity of the Rolls-Royce twin-turbocharged 6.75-litre V12 engine was deemed sufficient. However, the flexibility of this celebrated power plant has been exploited to generate an extra 29PS, creating a total output of 600PS. The sense of a single infinite gear has also been dramatised with the addition of a further 50NM of torque, for a total of 900NM. The powertrain has also received Bespoke transmission and throttle treatments to further enhance the engine’s increased power reserves. The ZF eight-speed gear box and both front- and rear-steered axles work collaboratively to adjust the levels of feedback to the driver, depending on throttle and steering inputs.

As with all products in the marque’s Black Badge portfolio, the ‘Low’ button situated on the gear selection stalk unlocks Black Badge Ghost’s full suite of technologies. This is asserted by the amplification of the motor car's engine through an entirely new exhaust system, subtly announcing its potency. All 900NM of torque is available from just 1700rpm and, once underway in Low Mode, gearshift speeds are increased by 50% when the throttle is depressed to 90%, delivering Black Badge Ghost’s abundant power reserves with dramatic immediacy.

To bolster confidence when exploiting Black Badge Ghost, the braking bite point has been raised and pedal travel decreased. Non-Black Badge Ghost is provisioned with a robust braking hardware package that was deemed more than ample under extreme conditions, even accounting for the Black Badge alter ego’s increased power output. However, a new suite of bold high-temperature brake calliper paint colours has been developed in preparation for forthcoming Black Badge Ghost commissions.

Black Badge Ghost is available to commission now.